PEVA vs Silicone Storage Bags: Is PEVA Safe for Food?

Quick answer: PEVA and silicone are different materials. PEVA is a chlorine-free plastic, and the food-grade kind is fine for cold and room-temperature food storage, but it can't take heat. Silicone handles the freezer, microwave, oven and dishwasher, and it lasts longer. Pick PEVA for cheap cold storage and silicone for anything that involves heat.

You're in the kitchen aisle, or more likely scrolling a product page at eleven at night, and two reusable bags look pretty much identical. One says silicone. The other says PEVA and costs about half as much. Same zip top, same promise to replace that drawer full of disposable bags. So what are you actually paying extra for? And is PEVA even safe to put food in?

It mostly comes down to what you plan to do with the bag. Below we'll go through what each material is, where PEVA runs out of road, and how we'd choose between them.

What Is PEVA?

PEVA is short for polyethylene vinyl acetate. It's a plastic, made by combining ethylene with vinyl acetate, and it came along as a replacement for PVC. That's the vinyl that used to be in every shower curtain and lunch bag lining. Why did it take over? PVC has chlorine in it, and PEVA doesn't.

You've almost certainly got some at home already. It's in shower curtain liners, wipe-clean table covers, the inside of cooler bags and a lot of the cheaper reusable sandwich bags. It's soft and a little waxy when you touch it, and it's usually clear or slightly frosted.

Is PEVA the Same as Silicone?

No, and this is the mix-up we run into most. PEVA is a plastic that comes from petroleum. Silicone is a kind of synthetic rubber built on a silicon and oxygen backbone that starts with silica, the stuff sand is made of. In a product photo you'd struggle to tell them apart. Put them near heat and you'll know right away.

So if a listing says "food-grade PEVA" and the photos show the bag sitting in a pot of boiling water, something doesn't add up. That's a job for silicone.

Is PEVA Safe for Food?

For cold and room-temperature storage, yes. Food-grade PEVA is permitted for food contact in the US and it's widely used. There's no chlorine in it, and it doesn't need phthalates to stay soft the way PVC does. In the US, plastics in this family (ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers) are permitted in food-contact products under an FDA rule, 21 CFR 177.1350, as long as the product meets the conditions in it. So a PEVA bag with a sandwich in it, or some cut fruit, or last night's leftovers in the fridge, is doing exactly what it was made to do.

That said, there are two caveats we think you should hear.

The first is that "safer than PVC" and "proven harmless" aren't the same thing. PEVA simply hasn't been studied as much as the older plastics. Like PVC, it can give off volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, and that's the faint plastic smell you sometimes get from a new bag. One 2014 lab study found those compounds stressed the freshwater worms it was tested on, and the author's conclusion was blunt: PEVA shouldn't be treated as a safe alternative just because the chlorine is gone. It's one small study, and worms in a lab are a long way from people eating lunch. But it does tell you the research is thin.

The second is heat, and this one's less of a gray area. PEVA goes soft at fairly low temperatures. Most PEVA bags say right on the label to keep them out of the microwave, the oven and boiling water, and plenty of them aren't dishwasher safe either. We'd take those warnings at face value.

One more thing, since it trips people up. "Food grade" describes a particular product, not PEVA in general. A PEVA shower liner isn't food grade just because a PEVA sandwich bag is. Look for a food-contact statement on the packaging before you trust it with your lunch.

PEVA vs PVC: Why PEVA Replaced It

PVC is the older vinyl. It contains chlorine, it's often softened with phthalates, and you know that strong "new shower curtain" smell? That's VOCs coming off the plastic. PEVA gets rid of the chlorine and doesn't need phthalates to stay soft, which is the main reason it replaced PVC in so many household products.

PEVA is still a plastic, though. If a new PEVA bag has a noticeable smell when you open the package, wash it and leave it out to air before it goes anywhere near food.

PEVA vs Silicone, Side by Side

To be fair to PEVA, neither of these is kind to the planet once you're done with it. They don't biodegrade, and most curbside recycling won't take either one. So the green argument for any reusable bag is really about how many disposable ones it saves before it wears out. A bag that lasts for years wins that pretty comfortably.

Are Silicone Storage and Freezer Bags Safe?

Yes, when it's food grade. Silicone is one of the most widely used materials for food storage and cooking, and it's permitted under the FDA's food-contact rules when it meets them. The rule that applies is the one for rubber articles meant for repeated use, 21 CFR 177.2600. Used inside its temperature rating, it stays flexible in the freezer and gets through cooking without melting or warping. If you want more on the material itself, we've got a piece on food-grade silicone vs plastic.

It's not perfect, though. Silicone can hold on to the smell of strong food, and anyone who's stored curry in one knows what we mean. A new bag can also give off a faint rubbery smell the first time it's heated. Both of those fade, and a wash with baking soda clears up most of what's left.

Which One Should You Buy?

Here's how we'd think about it. What's the hottest thing this bag is ever going to deal with?

If the answer is "nothing", because it's only ever going to hold lunches, snacks and fridge leftovers, PEVA will do the job and you'll save a few dollars. Just keep it away from heat and wash it by hand.

If you freeze meals and want to reheat them in the same bag, get silicone. Being able to go from the freezer to the microwave without decanting anything is the whole appeal. The same goes for sous vide, oven cooking or infusions, where PEVA really isn't an option.

And if you just want to buy once and stop thinking about it, that's silicone too. It goes in the dishwasher, and it'll still be going long after a PEVA bag has gone cloudy.

5 Things to Check Before You Buy Any Reusable Bag

1. The material is named, not hinted at

"Eco-friendly reusable bag" tells you nothing at all. The listing should say silicone or PEVA in plain words, and if it doesn't, ask the seller before you buy. A food-contact standard on the label is a good sign as well. In the US that means it's made to the FDA's food-contact regulations. You'll sometimes see LFGB too, which is the German requirement and is usually treated as the tougher test.

2. The temperature rating is an actual number

A real rating reads something like "safe to 450°F". If all you get is "heat resistant" with no number next to it, the bag probably hasn't been rated for cooking. We put our own silicone bags in a 700-watt microwave for five minutes to see what would happen, and nothing melted or warped. The PEVA bags we looked at said on the label to keep them out of microwaves, ovens and dishwashers.

3. It's reusable, not just resealable

Search for reusable bags and half of what comes back is resealable bags, which are just ordinary thin plastic with a zip on top. How do you tell? If the pack has dozens of bags for a few dollars and there's not a word about cleaning them, they're resealable. Those are made to be thrown away.

4. The seal holds when the bag is upside down

Quality is all over the place, even inside one mixed pack. We've filled bags to their stated capacity, flipped them over, and found leakers in the same box as bags that sealed perfectly. If you're going to store liquids, look for a seal described as airtight or leakproof. Then go and search the reviews for the word "leak".

5. It stands up while you fill it

This sounds like a small thing until you're pouring soup with one hand and trying to hold a floppy bag open with the other. Thin PEVA bags tend to fold over on themselves. A bag with a wide, flat base stays put on the counter, so you can fill it without calling for help.

How to Make a Reusable Bag Last

Whichever one you end up with, how you look after it decides how long you'll have it.

With PEVA, wash it by hand in cool or lukewarm soapy water, because hot water and dishwashers will warp it. Prop it open to dry. A bag that gets sealed while it's still damp is going to smell. Keep knives and sharp edges away from it, and once it turns cloudy or sticky, or starts to crack, it's done.

Silicone is less fussy. Turn it inside out and put it on the top rack of the dishwasher, or wash it by hand if you'd rather. Let it dry all the way before you seal it up again. If a strong smell is hanging around, soak it in warm water with a spoonful of baking soda. The one thing to avoid is cutting food while it's in the bag, since a nick in the silicone is about the only thing that'll finish it off early.

Where ONGROK's Bags Fit

We went with silicone for ours, because we wanted one bag that could do everything. The ONGROK Silicone Oven & Storage Bags are BPA-free, food-safe silicone rated to 450°F. They can go in the freezer, the microwave, an electric oven or a pot of boiling water, and afterwards into the dishwasher inside out. The seal is airtight. There are measurement markings up the back too, which means you can measure straight into the bag you're cooking in.

One practical thing: slide the plastic closure bar off before the bag goes in the microwave or the oven. The silicone is rated for that heat, but the slider isn't.

They come in two sizes, 1,500 ml and 3,000 ml, and you get two bags in a pack. The large one is what people tend to use for sous vide and for oven jobs ahead of an infusion. If that's what brought you here, our decarb temp and time chart has the settings, and there are more ideas in making the most of your silicone storage bag.

PEVA and Silicone FAQ

Is PEVA safe?

For cold and room-temperature food storage, yes. Food-grade PEVA is permitted for food contact in the US and is widely used. It has no chlorine in it and doesn't need phthalates to stay soft. It isn't made for heat, so keep it out of the microwave, the oven and boiling water. Research on PEVA is still limited compared with older plastics.

Is PEVA the same as silicone?

No. PEVA is a soft, chlorine-free plastic made from petroleum, and silicone is a synthetic rubber made from silica. They can look alike in a reusable bag, but silicone handles oven and microwave temperatures and PEVA doesn't. Silicone also lasts longer and costs more.

Is PEVA food safe?

PEVA that's sold as food grade is made for food contact, and it's fine for sandwiches, snacks, produce and leftovers in the fridge or freezer. Check that the packaging actually says food grade or food safe. The PEVA in shower liners and table covers isn't made to that standard.

Can you microwave PEVA bags?

No. PEVA softens at low temperatures, and most PEVA bags carry a warning against microwaves, ovens and boiling water. If you want to reheat food in the bag it was stored in, use a silicone bag that states its temperature rating.

What's the difference between PE and PEVA?

PE is polyethylene, the plastic that ordinary zip-top bags are made of. PEVA is polyethylene with vinyl acetate added, which makes it softer and stretchier. Both are chlorine-free plastics, and neither one is meant for cooking temperatures.

Are silicone freezer bags safe?

Yes. Food-grade silicone is permitted for food contact and is widely used for freezing. It stays flexible well below freezing and doesn't crack or go brittle the way thin plastic can. You can freeze a meal in a silicone bag and reheat it in the same bag, as long as you stay inside the bag's temperature rating.

Is PEVA a microplastic?

PEVA is a plastic, so like any plastic it can shed tiny particles as it wears down. Replace any reusable bag, PEVA or otherwise, once it turns cloudy, cracked or sticky, and don't heat food in a bag that isn't rated for it.