Bakery Packaging Materials: Comparing Plastic, Paper, and Sustainable Options

Grease-resistant paper for bakery packaging changed in 2024. FDA reported in February of that year that grease-proofing substances containing PFAS, used on paper and paperboard for food contact, were no longer being sold into the US market by their manufacturers (FDA on authorized uses of PFAS in food contact applications). So the question for a croissant bag or a pastry box is no longer only paper versus plastic; it is also how a paper package now resists grease, and whether that treatment changes what happens to the package after use. Compare materials by what the product needs, then check each candidate’s documentation.

What the product needs decides the shortlist

The table is a starting shortlist, not a test result; confirm each candidate with the supplier’s data and a trial on your product. A material that fails the product’s main need is the wrong choice whatever it costs or however it is marketed.

Plastics

• Polyethylene bags and films. Bread bags are made from low-density or high-density polyethylene, and polypropylene bags are also sold for bread. Polyethylene bags keep moisture in, which suits soft bread and works against crisp crusts.
• Polypropylene containers. Used for hinged containers and lids. Claims that a container can be reheated hold only if the container itself is labeled for that use; ask for the label, not the resin name.
• Clear PET containers. Used for domes and display packs where clarity matters. Ask the supplier for the temperature range the container is made for before using it for anything warm.
• Polystyrene foam. Insulates and cushions. Check whether your state or city restricts foam food containers before buying it.

For any plastic that touches food, the federal question is whether the specific resin is permitted for that use. Polyethylene and polypropylene are covered by 21 CFR 177.1520; ask the supplier to name the section its resin complies with and the food types it covers. If a supplier offers packaging with recycled plastic content for direct food contact, ask whether FDA has given advice on the recycling process used: FDA considers each proposed food-contact use of recycled plastic separately (FDA on recycled plastics in food packaging).

Paper and board

• Kraft paper. Strong and simple; absorbs grease and moisture unless treated or lined.
• Glassine and grease-resistant papers. Hold back grease for pastries and fried products. After the 2024 FDA announcement, ask suppliers what grease-proofing treatment they use now, especially if you hold older stock.
• Folding cartons and corrugated boxes. Protect against crushing and carry branding; need a liner or a grease-resistant board for fatty products.
• Molded fiber. Trays and containers molded from paper fiber. Its moisture and grease resistance depend on how it is treated, so ask, and test it with your most moist and most greasy products.

Paper’s limits are moisture and grease. Moist bread can soften a paper bag; fatty pastries mark untreated paper. Coatings and liners solve those problems, and they also change how the package can be recycled or composted, so ask about both at once.

Compostable and plant-based materials

• Bagasse, made from sugarcane fiber, is used for plates, trays and clamshells.
• PLA, a plastic made from plant sugars, is used for clear cups, windows and containers.

For both, the environmental claim depends on what happens after use. A package sold as compostable helps only if it reaches a composting route that accepts it. Ask the supplier whether the product is certified for industrial or home composting, and check whether a facility your customers can reach accepts it. If nothing in your area does, the package’s end of life is the same as any other waste.

The same caution applies to recyclable claims: a package is recyclable for your customers only if their local program accepts that material.

Reduce before you substitute

The packaging with the smallest footprint is the packaging you do not use. Before switching materials, look for packaging you can remove: double wraps, oversized boxes, individual wraps for products sold together, and disposable packaging on routes where returnable trays would work. Then choose materials for what remains.

Questions for any packaging supplier

• Which resin, paper or fiber is the package made from, and is it made for direct food contact with my product type?
• What grease-proofing or moisture-resistant treatment does it carry?
• What temperatures is it made for, and is it labeled for reheating, if customers will reheat?
• Does it contain recycled content, and if it touches food, what documentation covers that content?
• Is a compostable or recyclable claim certified, and for which route?
• What are the minimum order, lead time and storage requirements?

Ask the same questions of every supplier, in writing, and compare the answers side by side before price enters the decision.

Sources

• FDA: authorized uses of PFAS in food contact applications
• 21 CFR 177.1520, olefin polymers (govinfo)
• FDA: recycled plastics in food packaging