Cardboard Pizza Boxes vs 8" Kraft Paper Open Pizza Box: which is safer?
8" Kraft Paper Open Pizza Box is the clear pick. Cardboard Pizza Boxes carries a failing PFAS grade, and we never recommend buying a failing product.
Cardboard Pizza Boxes
PFAS grade
Overall grade
Verdict
Hazard flags
Material
Confidence
LikelyPFAS in grease-resistant coating
PossibleUndisclosed coating chemicals (other than PFAS)
PossibleMicroplastic generation from coating degradation
Our pick
8" Kraft Paper Open Pizza Box
PFAS grade
Overall grade
Verdict
Hazard flags
Material
Confidence
PossibleChlorine residues from kraft pulp bleaching
PossibleHeavy metals in inks and adhesives
LikelyGrease saturation and structural failure
Where these two actually differ
- We flag PFAS in grease-resistant coating, Undisclosed coating chemicals (other than PFAS), Microplastic generation from coating degradation and Printing inks and dyes on exterior on the and not on the .
- We flag Chlorine residues from kraft pulp bleaching, Heavy metals in inks and adhesives, Grease saturation and structural failure and Microcontaminants from recycled fiber content on the and not on the .
- The is Cardboard with grease-resistant coating (composition unspecified) where the is Kraft paper (uncoated), 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 is the one to buy.
- We are less certain about the grade, at 45% confidence against 78%, 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 pizza boxes: see the full ranking