Orville Redenbacher's Kettle Corn Microwave Popcorn vs Butter Popcorn Rice Cakes: which is safer?

Quaker Butter Popcorn Rice Cakes 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

Quaker Butter Popcorn Rice Cakes

Quaker

Butter Popcorn Rice Cakes

PFAS grade

Good 70/100

Overall grade

Good 66/100

Verdict

Buy

Hazard flags

⚑ 1

Material

puffed rice cakes in paperboard packaging

Confidence

72%

PossibleMold or bacterial growth in packaging

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 Quaker.
  • We flag Mold or bacterial growth in packaging on the Quaker and not on the .
  • The is paper/paperboard popcorn 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.
  • We are less certain about the grade, at 45% confidence against 72%, 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 microwave popcorn, see the full ranking