PFAS in Deli and Sandwich Paper, Why Greaseproof Is the Word to Watch

The top grades in this category go to papers with a brand statement behind them. Two listings of the IDL Packaging White Butcher Paper Roll filed here grade 95 out of 100, plain paper with no coating described and an IDL Packaging PFAS-free statement we have not verified. Two If You Care parchment listings reach 90, on an If You Care statement that its baking tools have no added PFAS and a published lab result with no fluorine detected. Among papers from makers that say nothing about PFAS, the best grade is 70, a Good grade, and they get there by being plain uncoated kraft with nothing added. Everything below that carries a barrier of some kind, and the papers sold specifically as greaseproof or grease-resistant are the ones our model flags hardest, because grease resistance in paper is the exact property fluorinated coatings were widely used to create.

The clearest example is the Huhtamaki Grease-Resistant Paper Wraps and Liners at 25 out of 100, bleached kraft with a grease-resistant coating whose composition is not given, and the Albertsons Greaseproof Deli Paper at the same grade. Across this category the recorded concerns were led by PFAS in a grease-resistant coating, followed by a lack of ingredient transparency and coating degradation over time. Below we break down the graded papers so you can see where each lands and why.

Summary comparison table

Product	PFAS grade	Verdict
Kraft Paper Sheets 24x24, 500 per case	Good, 70/100	Uncoated kraft paper in a pre-cut sheet format
International Paper Natural Kraft Paper Roll	Good, 70/100	Unbleached kraft cellulose, no coating described
Georgia-Pacific KP640 Kraft Paper, 40#	Good, 70/100	Uncoated kraft at 40 lb weight
Kraft Paper Roll	Good, 70/100	Plain uncoated kraft
Unbleached Butcher Paper Rolls	Good, 70/100	Unbleached kraft with no stated coating
Bryco Goods 18 x 150 Kraft Paper Roll	Good, 70/100	Kraft paper with no disclosed coating
Butcher & Packer Kraft Butcher Paper	Good, 70/100	Kraft, bleached or unbleached, uncoated
Pacon Lightweight Kraft Paper Roll	Good, 70/100	Uncoated kraft in a lighter weight
Pacon Butcher Paper, Natural, 48" x 25'	Good, 70/100	Kraft described as uncoated or minimally coated
Amaama Box Butcher Paper 40#	Good, 70/100	Unbleached kraft with no apparent coating
Paper Mart Check Dry Wax Paper Wrap, 12 x 12	Good, 50/100	Wax coating recorded as a paraffin or soy blend, see below
Master Deli Dry Waxed Paper SW-12	Good, 50/100	Wax-coated deli sheet
Paper Mart Deli Paper Sheets	Poor, 25/100	Grease-resistant coating, composition unspecified
Albertsons Greaseproof Deli Paper	Poor, 25/100	Unspecified grease-resistant coating
Huhtamaki Grease-Resistant Paper Wraps and Liners	Poor, 25/100	Bleached kraft with a grease-resistant coating
Reynolds Parchment Paper Non-Stick, 50 sq ft	Bad, 20/100	Cellulose paper with a non-stick coating, composition not given
Reynolds Kitchens Air Fryer Liners	Bad, 20/100	Parchment or silicone coating, left unspecified
Norpro Nonstick Baking Paper	Bad, 20/100	Our lowest grade here, unspecified nonstick and water-resistant treatment

How we graded these papers

Every grade in this article is a model-based estimate built from publicly available materials disclosures, manufacturing descriptions and brand documentation, not a lab test performed by our team. A high score means lower concern based on reviewed sources, never PFAS-free and never safe. Only If You Care has both a public no-added-PFAS statement and published lab data on record here, which is why its two parchment listings reach 90. Mamavation reported in April 2021 that an EPA-certified lab found no total fluorine at or above 10 ppm in If You Care Parchment Baking Paper. No other maker in this category has both. IDL Packaging has a PFAS-free statement in our record but no published lab data, which puts its two plain rolls at 95 and its coated grease-proof sheets at 50. Two of the recorded concerns in this category are explicitly about disclosure rather than chemistry, a lack of ingredient transparency and a lack of regulatory or third-party verification. You can compare any specific paper using our PFAS product finder.

We changed the model because of the wax papers

When this guide was first published the two dry wax papers graded 25, the same as the greaseproof papers, and we said so with a caveat. A paraffin or soy wax is not fluorinated chemistry, and treating it as equivalent to an unnamed grease-resistant coating was a limitation of our scoring rather than a finding about the paper.

On 16 September 2026 we fixed it. A coating the manufacturer actually names, and that is not a fluorochemical, now carries a much smaller penalty than an undisclosed barrier, because naming a benign chemistry should beat refusing to say. The two wax papers moved from 25 to 50 as a result, and they now sit above the greaseproof papers rather than beside them. Thirty-two products across the site moved for the same reason.

The distinction still is not a clean bill. A wax layer is a barrier, it is still counted, and no independent test data exists for any wax paper in this category. What changed is that a disclosed wax no longer scores as though it might be a fluorochemical.

The Good tier, 70 out of 100

31 papers grade 70, mostly plain kraft with no barrier described, alongside recycled paper towels and tissue filed in this category, and none of their makers says anything about PFAS. As in butcher paper, bleaching does not separate them.

Kraft Paper Sheets 24x24 are the most directly useful format here for sandwich and deli wrapping, sold pre-cut rather than on a roll. Pros include a plain uncoated sheet that needs no barrier to do the wrapping job. Cons include that it will not resist grease, which is the trade-off running through this entire category.

International Paper Natural Kraft Paper Roll and the Georgia-Pacific KP640 Kraft Paper are both uncoated kraft from large paper manufacturers. Pros include wide availability and consistent stock. Cons include that neither company publishes a PFAS statement for these lines, so the grade rests on the absence of a described treatment.

One entry carries a hedge worth noting. Pacon Butcher Paper, Natural is recorded as uncoated or minimally coated, and that "or" is doing real work. Pros include the same plain construction as its neighbors. Cons include that the listing does not commit to uncoated, which is exactly the ambiguity that separates a 70 from a 25 elsewhere in this category.

The Poor and Bad tiers, 20 to 25 out of 100

The lowest grades belong to papers sold on non-stick performance rather than grease resistance. Norpro Nonstick Baking Paper takes the bottom at 20 out of 100, carrying both an unspecified nonstick and a water-resistant treatment. Reynolds Parchment Paper Non-Stick and the Reynolds Kitchens Air Fryer Liners grade the same on coatings that are named only as non-stick or left as parchment or silicone without choosing between them.

The greaseproof papers sit just above at 25. Huhtamaki Grease-Resistant Paper Wraps and Liners is a foodservice product built for exactly the application where fluorinated barriers were historically standard, and its coating composition is not disclosed. Albertsons Greaseproof Deli Paper and Paper Mart Deli Paper Sheets carry the same unspecified grease-resistant treatment. There are no pros to highlight from a PFAS grading standpoint on these. The con is that the barrier is the product's reason to exist and no maker names it.

What to avoid

• Paper sold as greaseproof, grease-resistant or non-stick where the maker does not name the coating. That is every product in the bottom two tiers here.
• Assuming foodservice bulk packaging is better specified than retail. The most explicitly grease-resistant product in this category is a foodservice line, and it discloses no more than the supermarket ones.
• Assuming every barrier is the same barrier. A named paraffin or soy wax now grades 50 here while an unnamed grease-resistant treatment grades 25, and that gap is the whole point.
• Expecting a top grade from a maker that says nothing. Only IDL Packaging and If You Care products pass 70 here, because no other manufacturer in this category has a PFAS statement or test data in our record.

If you wrap meat rather than sandwiches, our separate butcher paper guide covers that category, including what we found on pink butcher paper. Our fast food wrappers and food packaging categories cover related products with their own grading, and the PFAS hazard page explains how grease-resistant coatings became common in paper.

Our pick

Based on available materials and data, plain uncoated kraft is the lower-concern choice. The highest grade here, 95 out of 100, goes to the IDL Packaging White Butcher Paper Roll, plain paper with a PFAS-free brand statement we have not verified, though it is a large foodservice roll. For sandwich and deli wrapping, the Kraft Paper Sheets 24x24 grade 70 and come pre-cut, so they suit the job without needing a barrier. On a roll, the International Paper Natural Kraft Paper Roll carries the same grade. If you genuinely need grease resistance, a dry wax paper is now one of the better-graded coated options at 50, ahead of the greaseproof papers at 25, because its coating is named rather than left undescribed. The IDL Packaging PFAS-Free Grease-Proof Paper Sheets also grade 50, with a coating our model counts as a treatment offset by IDL Packaging's unverified PFAS-free statement. These are estimates built from disclosed materials, not laboratory proof, and no product here is being called PFAS-free or safe by us.

FAQ

Is greaseproof paper a PFAS risk?

The greaseproof and grease-resistant papers we graded sit at 25 out of 100 because their coatings are not described by the manufacturer. Grease resistance in paper has historically been achieved with fluorinated treatments, which is why an unnamed grease-resistant coating is treated as unresolved in our model. That is an assessment of disclosure, not a laboratory finding about any specific product.

Why does wax paper now grade better than greaseproof paper?

Because the manufacturer names the coating. Until 16 September 2026 our model treated every barrier alike, so a paraffin wax scored the same as a coating nobody would describe. We changed that. A named, non-fluorinated coating now carries a far smaller penalty, which moved the wax papers here from 25 to 50 while the greaseproof papers stayed at 25. A wax is still a barrier and still counted, it is simply no longer scored as though it might be a fluorochemical.

What is the difference between this and butcher paper?

The categories overlap in material, since both are largely kraft paper, but they are bought for different jobs. Deli and sandwich paper is mostly sheets and lighter rolls for wrapping prepared food, while butcher paper is heavier rolls for raw meat and barbecue. The grades follow the same pattern in both, and our butcher paper guide covers the pink butcher paper question specifically.

Should I be worried about health effects from a lower-graded paper?

Any discussion of PFAS and health in our guides describes association, not proven causation, and grades measure estimated chemical concern based on materials and disclosure, not a medical risk assessment for any individual. If you want to reduce potential exposure, cross-reference products using our PFAS product finder alongside categories like food packaging.