Oil behaves differently to almost everything else sold in glass. It doesn't spoil from bacteria the way a fresh product does. It spoils from light and air, slowly, in ways a customer won't notice until the bottle is half empty and the flavour has already gone flat. If you're bottling olive oil, rapeseed oil, or a herb-infused oil for retail, farm shop, or food service, the bottle you choose is doing real technical work, not just holding the product.

What makes oil packaging different

Oil oxidises. Exposure to light accelerates the breakdown of the tocopherols, carotenoids, and chlorophyll that give good olive oil its flavour, colour, and shelf life. A widely cited storage study on extra virgin olive oil found that oil stored in the light had significantly lower levels of these compounds than the same oil kept in the dark, and that after only two months of light exposure the oil no longer met the legal standard for extra virgin (Caponio et al., Influence of the exposure to light on extra virgin olive oil quality during storage, European Food Research and Technology, 2005). Clear glass transmits far more light than dark, tinted glass, which is why colour matters as much as any other spec on the bottle. Heat has a comparable effect, which is why producers who hot-fill or store stock in warm units need to think about thermal tolerance as well as light.

None of this is unique to extra virgin olive oil. Rapeseed oil, sunflower oil, and infused oils all oxidise, just at different rates depending on their fatty acid profile. The packaging principle is the same across all of them: keep light and heat away from the product for as long as possible before it's opened.

The regulation that applies specifically to olive oil

If you're bottling olive oil for sale to consumers in Great Britain, one rule matters more than any other. Retained EU law, Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 29/2012 on marketing standards for olive oil, requires that olive oil sold to the final consumer is packaged in containers no larger than 5 litres, fitted with an opening system that cannot be resealed once it has been opened for the first time (legislation.gov.uk, Article 2). In practice, this means a genuine non-refillable pourer insert or a tamper-evident cap that visibly breaks on first use, not a plain screw cap that a bottle could be quietly refilled and resold with. The exemption is for oil going to restaurants, hospitals, canteens, and similar collective catering settings, where a competent authority can permit larger containers.

This requirement is specific to olive oil. It doesn't extend automatically to rapeseed oil, sunflower oil, or blended infused oils, though many producers use the same non-refillable closures across their whole range for consistency and because retailers increasingly expect it regardless of oil type.

Food contact materials and labelling apply to all oils

Whatever oil you're bottling, the glass itself needs to be food-safe under the UK's food contact materials regime, and your supplier should provide a Declaration of Compliance confirming the glass and any coating meet the requirements set out in The Materials and Articles in Contact with Food (England) Regulations 2012 and related UK legislation. Standard food-grade soda lime glass is suitable for oils, no special acid-resistant specification is needed the way it is for vinegar, since oil doesn't react with glass the way an acidic liquid does.

Labelling follows the general Food Information to Consumers rules: business name and UK address, product name, ingredients if it's a blended or infused oil, allergen declarations where relevant, and a lot number for traceability. Extra virgin and virgin olive oil carry additional category-specific rules under the marketing standards regulation, including restrictions on what claims you can make about extraction method and acidity, so check the category rules before finalising a label if you're bottling a graded olive oil rather than a blend.

Choosing glass that protects the product

Clear glass shows off the colour of a good oil, which matters at a farmers' market stall where customers are buying on appearance as much as anything. It offers essentially no light protection, though, so it's a reasonable choice only for oil that will be sold and used quickly, or displayed briefly before going into an outer carton for transport and storage.

Dark glass, typically antique green, blocks the great majority of UV and visible light that drives oxidation. It's the standard choice for any oil intended to sit on a shelf, in a kitchen, or in transit for more than a few weeks. Jars & Bottles stocks Dorica (round) and Marasca (square) bottles across 100ml, 250ml, and 500ml. The 100ml size comes in clear glass only, in 24mm or 31.5mm neck finishes. Antique green becomes available from 250ml upwards in both shapes, which is worth knowing if light protection matters for your product but you're working at a smaller sample or gift size, since you'll need to rely on outer packaging rather than tinted glass below 250ml. The square Marasca shape uses shelf and case space more efficiently than a round bottle of the same volume, which matters once you're shipping by the case rather than selling one bottle at a time.

Closures worth getting right

Given the regulatory requirement for olive oil specifically, and the practical benefit for any oil, a non-refillable pourer insert is the sensible default. It controls the pour, which matters for both cooking use and for reducing spillage in transit, and it satisfies the resealability rule without you needing to source a separate tamper-evident mechanism.

For gift or premium formats, a drizzle spout combined with a wax capsule or shrink band adds presentation value on top of the compliance function. For wholesale or catering formats sold in larger volumes to businesses rather than end consumers, a standard screw cap without a pourer insert is acceptable, since the non-resealable requirement applies to consumer packaging, not to bulk oil supplied for business use.

Formats by sales channel

Farm shops and delis (100ml): Smaller formats suit impulse purchases and gift buying. The 100ml Dorica or 100ml Marasca gives a clean, premium look at an accessible price point. Both are clear glass at this size, so pair with a smaller batch you'll sell through quickly, or with an outer box or sleeve if the oil needs longer light protection on a shop shelf.

Retail and online direct (250ml): The most common retail size for UK-produced oils. The 250ml Marasca in antique green is the square, light-protective option currently in stock. The round equivalent, 250ml Dorica in antique green, is the same idea in the round shape, worth checking stock before specifying it since availability moves. If you need clear glass at this size, the 250ml Dorica is in stock.

Food service and catering (500ml): Larger formats suit back-of-house refilling or table use. The 500ml Marasca in antique green and 500ml Dorica (clear, with an antique green version also available) both work with a controlled pourer or a plain screw cap, depending on whether the oil is going straight to a table or into a kitchen for use in the pass.

Gift and seasonal ranges: The 100ml Dorica or Marasca, dressed with a decorative capsule, wax seal, or ribbon, works well for hamper inclusion, following the same logic that works for the chutney gift packaging range. Since antique green isn't available at this size, a printed or sleeved outer box does the light-protection job that tinted glass would otherwise do.

Getting your first order right

Work out your primary sales channel before choosing a format. A bottle that works well for a farm shop counter might be the wrong shape for efficient case packing if you're shipping direct to customers by post.

Confirm whether your product is graded olive oil, a blend, or an infused product, since that decision affects both your labelling obligations and whether the non-resealable packaging rule applies as a legal requirement rather than a best practice choice.

Order bottle samples before committing to a production run. Fill them with your actual oil and check colour retention and any flavour change after a few weeks in typical storage conditions, not just at the point of bottling.

Ask your supplier for a Declaration of Compliance for the glass and closure together, not just the bottle. If a producer or retailer asks for evidence that your packaging is food-safe, this is the document they want to see.

Frequently asked questions

Does UK law require dark glass for olive oil? No. The legal requirement is a 5-litre maximum container size and a non-resealable opening system for consumer packaging. Dark glass isn't mandated, but it's the practical choice for protecting flavour and shelf life, since clear glass offers no defence against light-driven oxidation.

Do I need a non-refillable cap for rapeseed oil or infused oils? The legal requirement under the olive oil marketing standards regulation applies specifically to olive oil. Other oils aren't covered by the same rule, though many producers use the same closures across their range for consistency and because retailers often expect it regardless of oil type.

What's the difference between the Dorica and Marasca bottle shapes? Dorica is round, Marasca is square. Both come in matching sizes (100ml, 250ml, 500ml) and neck finishes, though antique green is only available from 250ml upwards, both shapes are clear-only at 100ml. The square Marasca shape packs more efficiently into cases and on shelves, which can matter once you're shipping by volume rather than selling individually.

Can I use the same bottle for oil and vinegar? Physically, yes, standard food-grade soda lime glass suits both. The regulatory position differs: vinegar carries labelling exemptions that oil doesn't, and olive oil carries a packaging requirement that vinegar doesn't. Treat the two as separate compliance questions even if you use the same bottle shape for both.

How long does oil keep in dark glass compared to clear? This varies by oil type, storage conditions, and whether the bottle is opened, so there's no single figure that applies to every product. The consistent finding across storage studies is that light exposure accelerates the loss of flavour compounds and increases oxidation markers, which is the basis for using dark glass rather than clear for anything with a shelf life longer than a few weeks.

References

    1. legislation.gov.uk, Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 29/2012 on marketing standards for olive oil, Article 2: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2012/29/article/2
    2. Food Standards Agency, Food contact materials guidance: https://www.food.gov.uk/business-guidance/regulated-products/food-contact-materials-guidance
    3. legislation.gov.uk, The Materials and Articles in Contact with Food (England) Regulations 2012: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/2619
    4. GOV.UK, Food Information to Consumers Regulation 1169/2011 guidance: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/food-labelling-giving-food-information-to-consumers
    5. Caponio, F., Bilancia, M.T., Pasqualone, A. et al. Influence of the exposure to light on extra virgin olive oil quality during storage. European Food Research and Technology 221, 92-98 (2005): https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00217-004-1126-8