Parchment Baking Paper vs Plastic Food Wrap: which is safer?
If You Care Parchment Baking Paper is the clear pick. Kirkland Signature Plastic Food Wrap carries a failing PFAS grade, and we never recommend buying a failing product.
Our pick
If You Care
Parchment Baking Paper
PFAS grade
Overall grade
Verdict
Hazard flags
Material
Confidence
PossibleSilicone coating degradation at extreme heat
PossibleMicroplastics from silicone coating shedding
Kirkland Signature
Plastic Food Wrap
PFAS grade
Overall grade
Verdict
Hazard flags
Material
Confidence
LikelyPFAS in release agent coating
PossiblePVC chlorine leaching (if PVC formulation)
PossibleMicroplastics from degradation
Where these two actually differ
- We flag Silicone coating degradation at extreme heat and Microplastics from silicone coating shedding on the If You Care and not on the Kirkland Signature.
- We flag PFAS in release agent coating, PVC chlorine leaching (if PVC formulation), Microplastics from degradation and Coating degradation and unknown leachates on the Kirkland Signature and not on the If You Care.
- The If You Care is silicone-coated parchment paper where the Kirkland Signature is PVC or polyethylene film with undisclosed release agent/coating, which is most of the difference in these two grades.
- The gap is 65 points, wide enough that this is not a close call, and the If You Care is the one to buy.
- We are less certain about the Kirkland Signature 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 fast food wrappers, see the full ranking