Compostable Food Storage Container 5ct vs Compostable Clamshell Food Containers: which is safer?
Matter Compostable Food Storage Container 5ct is the clear pick. Freshware Compostable Clamshell Food Containers carries a failing PFAS grade, and we never recommend buying a failing product.
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
Freshware
Compostable Clamshell Food Containers
PFAS grade
Overall grade
Verdict
Hazard flags
Material
Confidence
LikelyPFAS in grease-resistant coatings
PossibleMicroplastic shedding from polymer degradation
ReportedMigration of coating additives into food
Where these two actually differ
- We flag Microbe/mold growth if stored damp and Cellulose degradation under repeated hot/wet stress on the Matter and not on the Freshware.
- We flag PFAS in grease-resistant coatings, Microplastic shedding from polymer degradation, Migration of coating additives into food and Lack of thermal stability for hot foods on the Freshware and not on the Matter.
- The Matter is Plant-based fiber pulp (compostable) where the Freshware is Compostable plant-based clamshell, grease-resistant coating unspecified, 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 Freshware 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