365 Everyday Value 365 by Whole Foods Market Organic No Oil or Salt Microwave Popcorn vs Butter Popcorn Rice Cakes: which is safer?

Quaker Butter Popcorn Rice Cakes is the clear pick. 365 Everyday Value 365 by Whole Foods Market Organic No Oil or Salt Microwave Popcorn carries a failing PFAS grade, and we never recommend buying a failing product.

365 Everyday Value 365 by Whole Foods Market Organic No Oil or Salt Microwave Popcorn

365 by Whole Foods

365 Everyday Value 365 by Whole Foods Market Organic No Oil or Salt Microwave Popcorn

PFAS grade

Poor 25/100

Overall grade

Bad 0/100

Verdict

Skip

Hazard flags

⚑ 3

Material

paper/kraft bag with greaseproof coating, likely PFAS-based

Confidence

45%

LikelyPFAS in greaseproof coating

PossibleMicroplastics from packaging degradation

PossibleThermal migration of coating additives

Our pick

Quaker Butter Popcorn Rice Cakes

Quaker

Butter Popcorn Rice Cakes

PFAS grade

Good 70/100

Overall grade

Good 66/100

Verdict

Buy

Hazard flags

⚑ 1

Material

puffed rice cakes in paperboard packaging

Confidence

72%

PossibleMold or bacterial growth in packaging

Where these two actually differ

  • We flag PFAS in greaseproof coating, Microplastics from packaging degradation and Thermal migration of coating additives on the 365 by Whole Foods and not on the Quaker.
  • We flag Mold or bacterial growth in packaging on the Quaker and not on the 365 by Whole Foods.
  • The 365 by Whole Foods is paper/kraft bag with greaseproof coating, likely PFAS-based where the Quaker is puffed rice cakes in paperboard packaging, which is most of the difference in these two grades.
  • The gap is 45 points, wide enough that this is not a close call, and the Quaker is the one to buy.
  • We are less certain about the 365 by Whole Foods grade, at 45% confidence against 72%, because it discloses less.

Both products run through the same public rubric: materials, coatings, brand disclosure, lab findings, and recalls, plus a beyond-PFAS hazard analysis. Grades are model-based estimates, not lab tests. How grades work →

More microwave popcorn: see the full ranking