Movie Theater Butter Microwave Popcorn vs Butter Popcorn Rice Cakes: which is safer?
Quaker Butter Popcorn Rice Cakes is the clear pick. Orville Redenbacher's Movie Theater Butter Microwave Popcorn carries a failing PFAS grade, and we never recommend buying a failing product.
Orville Redenbacher's
Movie Theater Butter Microwave Popcorn
PFAS grade
Overall grade
Verdict
Hazard flags
Material
Confidence
LikelyGrease-barrier coating migration (fluorinated or unknown chemistry)
PossibleUnlabeled chemical additives in coating
PossibleThermal degradation of bag material at high heat
Our pick
Quaker
Butter Popcorn Rice Cakes
PFAS grade
Overall grade
Verdict
Hazard flags
Material
Confidence
PossibleMold or bacterial growth in packaging
Where these two actually differ
- We flag Grease-barrier coating migration (fluorinated or unknown chemistry), Unlabeled chemical additives in coating and Thermal degradation of bag material at high heat on the Orville Redenbacher's and not on the Quaker.
- We flag Mold or bacterial growth in packaging on the Quaker and not on the Orville Redenbacher's.
- The Orville Redenbacher's is Paper bag with grease-resistant coating 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.
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