16 oz Square Paper Food Pail with Handle vs Compostable Food Storage Container 5ct: which is safer?
Matter Compostable Food Storage Container 5ct is the clear pick. 16 oz Square Paper Food Pail with Handle carries a failing PFAS grade, and we never recommend buying a failing product.
Fold-Pak
16 oz Square Paper Food Pail with Handle
PFAS grade
Overall grade
Verdict
Hazard flags
Material
Confidence
PossibleCoating composition (non-PFAS hazards)
ReportedCoating degradation and migration
Our pick
Matter
Compostable Food Storage Container 5ct
PFAS grade
Overall grade
Verdict
Hazard flags
Material
Confidence
PossibleMicrobe/mold growth if stored damp
PossibleCellulose degradation under repeated hot/wet stress
Where these two actually differ
- We flag Coating composition (non-PFAS hazards) and Coating degradation and migration on the Fold-Pak and not on the Matter.
- We flag Microbe/mold growth if stored damp and Cellulose degradation under repeated hot/wet stress on the Matter and not on the Fold-Pak.
- The Fold-Pak is kraft paper, grease-resistant coating (unspecified) where the Matter is Plant-based fiber pulp (compostable), which is most of the difference in these two grades.
- The gap is 75 points, wide enough that this is not a close call, and the Matter is the one to buy.
- We are less certain about the Fold-Pak grade, at 35% confidence against 82%, because it discloses less.
Both products run through the same public rubric, which covers 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 food packaging, see the full ranking