What action should be taken if a product shows adhesive residue on the outside of the bottle?

• A. Quarantine the item until investigated
• B. Use after cleaning the residue
• C. Return to shelf for sale
• D. Ignore and proceed

Answer: (C)

A packaging issue like adhesive residue on the outside is treated as a cosmetic defect that does not affect the safety or contents of the product, as long as the packaging itself is intact and there’s no sign of tampering. If you verify the seal is intact, the labeling is legible, and there’s no leakage or other integrity concerns, you can return the item to the shelf after documenting the observation. This keeps inventory flowing while still capturing QA notes for follow-up if needed.

Quarantining would be more appropriate only if there were indications of contamination or tampering. Cleaning the outside isn’t the approved corrective action in most workflows, and ignoring the issue could risk selling a product with packaging defects.