The solubility of glass in contact with food, beverages, or pharmaceutical products is an important consideration for the safe packaging and storage of such materials. Autoclave conditions are specified since sterilization is often employed for the packaging of the product. It also represents one of the most extreme conditions, particularly of temperature, that containers will ordinarily experience. Any of the three test methods described may be used to establish specifications for conformity to standard values, either as specified by a customer, an agency, or "The United States Pharmacopeia:"

3.1.1 Test Method B-A is intended particularly for testing glass containers primarily destined for containment of products with a pH under 5.

3.1.2 Test Method B-W is intended particularly for testing glass containers to be used for products with a pH of 5.0 or over.

3.1.3 Test Method P-W is a hydrolytic autoclave test primarily intended for evaluating samples from untreated glass containers. It is often useful for testing the resistance of containers of too small capacity to permit measurements of solubility on the unbroken article by the B-W test method. Yielding the water resistance of the bulk glass, it can also be used in conjunction with the B-W test method to distinguish whether the internal surface of a container has been treated to improve its durability.

All three test methods are suitable for specification acceptance.