Orville Redenbacher's Kettle Corn Microwave Popcorn vs Cheddar Blast Puffs: which is safer?

Pirate's Booty Cheddar Blast Puffs is the clear pick. Orville Redenbacher's Kettle Corn Microwave Popcorn carries a failing PFAS grade, and we never recommend buying a failing product.

Orville Redenbacher's Kettle Corn Microwave Popcorn

Orville Redenbacher's Kettle Corn Microwave Popcorn

PFAS grade

Poor 25/100

Overall grade

Bad 0/100

Verdict

Skip

Hazard flags

⚑ 5

Material

paper/paperboard popcorn bag with grease-resistant coating

Confidence

45%

ReportedPFAS migration from bag coating

PossibleThermal degradation of coating polymers

PossibleMicroplastics and particulates from bag lining

Our pick

Pirate's Booty Cheddar Blast Puffs

Pirate's Booty

Cheddar Blast Puffs

PFAS grade

Good 70/100

Overall grade

Good 58/100

Verdict

Buy

Hazard flags

⚑ 3

Material

paperboard bag with standard food-contact lining

Confidence

72%

PossiblePolymer food-contact lining leaching

PossibleMicroplastic fragmentation

PossibleMoisture barrier failure and mold/bacterial growth

Where these two actually differ

  • We flag PFAS migration from bag coating, Thermal degradation of coating polymers, Microplastics and particulates from bag lining and Residual monomers and processing aids in coating on the and not on the Pirate's Booty.
  • We flag Polymer food-contact lining leaching, Microplastic fragmentation and Moisture barrier failure and mold/bacterial growth on the Pirate's Booty and not on the .
  • The is paper/paperboard popcorn bag with grease-resistant coating where the Pirate's Booty is paperboard bag with standard food-contact lining, 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 Pirate's Booty is the one to buy.
  • We are less certain about the 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