Snappy Movie Theater Butter Microwave Popcorn vs Butter Popcorn Rice Cakes: which is safer?
Quaker Butter Popcorn Rice Cakes is the clear pick. Snappy Movie Theater Butter Microwave Popcorn carries a failing PFAS grade, and we never recommend buying a failing product.
Microwave Popcorn
Snappy Movie Theater Butter Microwave Popcorn
PFAS grade
Overall grade
Verdict
Hazard flags
Material
Confidence
PossibleGrease-resistant coating leachables (non-PFAS polymers/additives)
PossibleThermal degradation of bag coating during microwave use
PossibleMicroplastic shedding from coating wear
Our pick
Quaker
Butter Popcorn Rice Cakes
PFAS grade
Overall grade
Verdict
Hazard flags
Material
Confidence
PossibleMold or bacterial growth in packaging
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 Quaker.
- We flag Mold or bacterial growth in packaging on the Quaker and not on the Microwave Popcorn.
- The Microwave Popcorn is Paper 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 Microwave Popcorn 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