Snappy Movie Theater Butter Microwave Popcorn vs Cheddar Blast Puffs: which is safer?

Pirate's Booty Cheddar Blast Puffs is the clear pick. Snappy Movie Theater Butter Microwave Popcorn carries a failing PFAS grade, and we never recommend buying a failing product.

Snappy Movie Theater Butter Microwave Popcorn

Microwave Popcorn

Snappy Movie Theater Butter Microwave Popcorn

PFAS grade

Poor 25/100

Overall grade

Bad 13/100

Verdict

Skip

Hazard flags

⚑ 3

Material

Paper bag with grease-resistant coating

Confidence

45%

PossibleGrease-resistant coating leachables (non-PFAS polymers/additives)

PossibleThermal degradation of bag coating during microwave use

PossibleMicroplastic shedding from coating wear

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 Grease-resistant coating leachables (non-PFAS polymers/additives), Thermal degradation of bag coating during microwave use and Microplastic shedding from coating wear on the Microwave Popcorn 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 Microwave Popcorn.
  • The Microwave Popcorn is Paper 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 Microwave Popcorn 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