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  • 1.  Seeking Industry Perspective: Compatibility Testing for Vendor and Resin Changes

    New Member
    Posted 4 days ago

    Hi IoPP community,

    I'd love to get your thoughts and best practices on compatibility testing and test-result bridging in cosmetic packaging.

    For primary packaging in the cosmetic industry, if the package remains essentially the same in format and dimensions, and the material family is the same (for example PE tube to PE tube), but the packaging is sourced from a different vendor using a different resin grade/source, would you typically:

    • require a full compatibility / stability test
    • perform a risk-based reduced study
    • or bridge the previous test results with a scientific justification?

    I'm particularly interested in how you assess cases where the only changes are:

    1. same material type, different resin/vendor
    2. virgin resin to PCR
    3. PCR back to virgin

    For those who allow bridging, what key elements do you include in your bridging statement / technical justification?

    For example, do you typically evaluate:

    • resin type and grade equivalency
    • barrier properties (O₂ / moisture / light)
    • extractables / leachables risk
    • additive package differences
    • product formula sensitivity (fragrance, acids, actives, alcohol, etc.)
    • component-process differences (extrusion / injection / multilayer)

    Would appreciate any examples of change control rationale, risk assessment frameworks, or wording for bridging statements that have worked well in cosmetics.

    Thank you in advance for sharing your experience.

    Best Regard,

    Feng



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    Fenghua Zeng
    Elmhurst NY
    (917) 328-0573
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  • 2.  RE: Seeking Industry Perspective: Compatibility Testing for Vendor and Resin Changes

    Posted 2 days ago

    My experience has been to never underestimate the effective of the volatile compounds and how they might react with packaging materials. I have experience from both the industrial chemical and residential cleaning chemical industries. I have found that requiring the full compatibility and stability test battery to be the best path forward. The resin composition and the amount of virgin/PCR material can introduce significantly different results in stability. 

    Case in point: had a dry, powdered cleaning material where we changed vendors. We different resin configuration of the same materials in the SURP (PET/adh/LLDPE). The secondary material was prone to delamination upon exposure to heightened humidity and temperature ranges. Luckily this was captured before commercialization was complete and kept away from consumers. 

    Since I will always take the more conservative route when it comes to compatibility with packaging materials. 



    ------------------------------
    Vincent Engstrom
    Global Sr. Packaging Manager
    Freudenberg Home and Cleaning Products
    Aurora IL
    16307771606
    ------------------------------



  • 3.  RE: Seeking Industry Perspective: Compatibility Testing for Vendor and Resin Changes

    New Member
    Posted 2 days ago

    Thank you for sharing your experience. This is very helpful, especially to see a real-life example. A more conservative approach should definitely be considered in general.



    ------------------------------
    Fenghua Zeng
    Elmhurst NY
    (917) 328-0573
    ------------------------------



  • 4.  RE: Seeking Industry Perspective: Compatibility Testing for Vendor and Resin Changes

    New Member
    Posted 2 days ago
    Hi.  I will share my experience.   

    Compatibility bridging should be limited to PET only due to the more straight forward nature of the resin.  I am not a polymer scientist and can't speak to it from a deep tech knowledge. However PET, as most know, has 2 components, EG and TPA.  Applications are also fewer as the properties of the material are more limited than polyolefins. 

    Polyolefins are more complicated materials with many monomer components.  Add to that the additive packages to achieve specific performance targets and you have a complex material (polyolefin) where any one component can bring compatibility challenges.  If you add to these complex materials PCR then your confidence of similar results should be very low.   PCR is known to have lot to lot variations due to the wide and varied inputs.   

    In order to establish a bridging confidence, you will need a lot of testing and establish a base line of data.   ASTM has a number of extraction tests that can be performed which may help to establish the types of contaminates that could migrate from package to product.   

    This is my experience which may not have given you the response you were hoping for.   Perhaps someone else can share a bridging method to get you to higher confidence with greater speed. (the holy grail!) 
    Good Luck!  





  • 5.  RE: Seeking Industry Perspective: Compatibility Testing for Vendor and Resin Changes

    New Member
    Posted 23 hours ago

    Hi Elizabeth,

    Thank you for the insight! I don't have a deep background in polymer science, so this is definitely very helpful and worth looking into further. Thank you taking the time to share your experience and perspective!



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    Fenghua Zeng
    Elmhurst NY
    (917) 328-0573
    ------------------------------



  • 6.  RE: Seeking Industry Perspective: Compatibility Testing for Vendor and Resin Changes

    Posted 2 days ago

    Based on beauty and skincare packaging experience over the last 25 years:

    • If a vendor is changed or if your current vendor changes their resin grade/source, I would recommend a full compatibility test be done. 
    • Virgin resin to the same virgin resin with PCR inclusion, it would depend on where the PCR is included in the package. Blended, inner layer, outer layer, percentage of inclusion.
    • PCR back to virgin is lower risk. This again would be dependent on if you were still using the same virgin resin when removing the PCR.

      Feel free to reach out. 



      ------------------------------
      Danica VanBeek CPP
      Owner
      VanBeek Packaging LLC
      Artesia CA
      (562) 760-7660
      danica@vanbeekpackaging.com
      ------------------------------



    • 7.  RE: Seeking Industry Perspective: Compatibility Testing for Vendor and Resin Changes

      New Member
      Posted 23 hours ago

      Hi Danica,

      Thank you for outlining the different scenarios and associated risk levels. This is super helpful for assessing the level of risk across different projects and determining the appropriate testing approach. Thank you for your insights! 



      ------------------------------
      Fenghua Zeng
      Elmhurst NY
      (917) 328-0573
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    • 8.  RE: Seeking Industry Perspective: Compatibility Testing for Vendor and Resin Changes

      Posted 10 hours ago
      Please ensure if you using recycled PET, you know what % of recyclate is added.  This can cause surface blemishes as well and if you use a PSL label application for pack information,  the adhesive may need to be changed as well

      Anuka





    • 9.  RE: Seeking Industry Perspective: Compatibility Testing for Vendor and Resin Changes

      New Member
      Posted 32 minutes ago

      Hi Fenghua,

      In my experience with polymer laminates, transitioning from virgin to PCR resin is high-risk for bridging results. PCR introduces molecular variability that can compromise package integrity. I suggest a risk-based study focusing on:

      ISTA Pre-qualification: Vibration/drop tests (e.g., ISTA 3A) are vital, as PCR often has different stress-cracking resistance.

      Shelf-Life & Barrier Shifts: PCR can alter the polymer matrix, changing OTR and WVTR profiles. This is critical for protecting active ingredients.

      Regards, 

      Rino Jacob

      Packaging Engineer

      HAZMAT & Advanced Materials Specialist



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      Rino Jacob
      Sparks NV
      (585) 766-8346
      ------------------------------