The Difference Between Butcher Paper and Kraft Paper?

If you’re in a profession or industry that uses kraft paper or butcher paper every day, you may think that the two are entirely different. While they are generally used for different purposes, you may be surprised to learn that butcher paper and kraft paper start out as the same paper.

The term butcher paper first appeared when butchers began using paper to wrap and store meat and seafood.

Both kraft paper and butcher begin with the same exact raw materials, meaning kraft paper actually shares the same wood fiber as butcher paper. When it comes to the true differences between these papers, they basically come down to how they are processed beyond their raw materials and how they are best used.

What’s in a color?

If you’re like most people, you may think that color is the main differentiator between kraft and butcher papers. Kraft paper is brown, and butcher paper is white, right? Not necessarily. Many manufacturers offer brown kraft paper, but in reality, the paper is available in a large variety of colors.  It can be brown, white, or multicolored.

The same is true of butcher paper, which can be white, but is also available from some suppliers in other colors, such as black and pink. In fact, the use of pink butcher paper, also known as peach paper, has exploded in recent years among barbecue aficionados and enthusiasts.

Kraft paper is commonly offered as virgin or recycled paper. Virgin kraft paper is durable and well suited for all types of packaging applications including wrapping, surface protection, pallet interleaving, carrier sheets, as well as newspaper bottom wrap. On the other hand, recycled kraft paper offers a bit less power and strength and is most widely used for box filler applications, for box and tray liners, inter-leavers and dunnage.

White or bleached kraft paper is used in applications where strength, whiteness and resistance to yellowing are important.

So what’s the true difference?

What makes butcher paper different from kraft paper comes down to the treatment applied to butcher paper to strengthen it for food grade use. Butcher paper is engineered to withstand moisture better than kraft paper and offers superior blood, and moisture holdout than standard kraft paper.

Butcher paper is FDA approved for direct contact with food. This is important to note if you’re in the foodservice industry. If your paper is coming in contact with food, you want to make sure your paper vendor is supplying you with 100% FDA Approved butcher paper.

Butcher Paper, supplied by Quick Pak Inc is the highest grade of butcher paper on the market today and is suitable for a range of foodservice applications from wrapping sandwiches to serving barbecue to storing meats.

Quick Pak Inc offers all varieties of kraft paper and butcher paper to meet all of your needs. Learn more about our paper products:  www.quickpakinc.com