WHATS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BUTCHER PAPER AND KRAFT PAPER?

With the upsurge in environmental awareness amongst the population, several consumers are placing their loyalties on eco-friendly products. Various eco-friendly designs have emerged that aim to incorporate friendly practices amongst businesses and consumers. In the food paper industry, butcher paper and kraft paper are one of those papers that are incorporating eco-friendly components in their designs.

However, butcher and kraft paper are used every day in the food industry for totally different purposes. Even though purposes may differ, it is interesting that both kraft paper and butcher paper commences from a similar paper.

When butchers started to wrap and store seafood and meat using papers, the paper became known as a butcher paper. However, the same raw material is utilized in the manufacture of both the butcher and kraft paper. Specifically, the same wood fiber that makes a kraft paper also makes a butcher paper. How they are processed and how they are utilized, at best, is where the differences in these two papers emanate.

What about their color?

Most people think that color is the one that differentiates between a butcher paper and a kraft paper. In their opinion, the individual knows that butcher papers are usually white while Kraft papers are brown in color. That kind of assertion is further from the reality. Though several manufacturers manufacture mostly brown paper, the papers come in a wide variety of colors. The papers can be either white, brown or multi-colored.

The same reality in colors is also reflected in butcher papers. Though such papers are commonly white, suppliers can distribute in several other colors like pink and black. Even interesting is that peach paper, commonly known as pink butcher paper, has created a phenomenon trend amongst barbecue enthusiasts and aficionados circles.

Manufacturers offer kraft papers in two forms: either as a virgin or recycled paper. Virgin Kraft papers are usually durable enough to suit most packaging tasks like pallet interleaving, surface protection, carrier sheets, newspaper bottom wrap and wrapping. Recycled kraft papers on their part are not that rigid making them fit for light applications like as dunnage and interleaves, gift wraps, for tray and box liners as well as other box filler applications.

Now, what is the difference?

The true difference emanates from the treatment that occurs in these two papers. Butcher papers are usually treated and strengthened to be useful in food grade applications. A butcher paper has the property of being able to withstand a lot of moisture content compared to a kraft paper. Better still, in handling meats, a butcher paper offers a much superior moisture and blood holdout as opposed to the common standard kraft paper. 

Even more important, a butcher paper is always an FDA approved paper. It implies that it can be comfortably utilized in the food industry since it is safe to come into contact with food material.

So, ensure you get a hold of a kraft or a butcher paper that best suits your needs. For those looking for a roll of pink butcher paper? Check this high quality pink butcher paper which is 100% FDA approved.