WaxWrap Beeswax Cotton Food Bags Review

Reviewed by Michelle

Having become more and more aware of the issues of climate change I am always on the look out for sustainable replacements for disposable, single use items I use regularly. I’ve seen beeswax wraps and covers around, noticed them getting more common and have been planning to get some to see if they could really replace my sandwich bags and clingfilm.

WaxWrap sell three Beeswax organic cotton wrap products, Food Wraps/Cloth Sheets, Food Rolls and Food bags. All are made from “organic cotton cloth that’s been dipped into a mixture of beeswax, pine resin and jojoba oil to keep food fresh”. Beeswax is used as it has natural antibacterial properties, allows the food to breathe while protecting it but still lets the food retain its moisture thus slowing down the ripening process.

The food bags come in a pack of three bags, each a different size. The smallest is bigger than standard sized plastic sandwich bags so was bigger than I was expecting, I decided not to risk using it for my sandwich and instead popped my leftover packet of ham and my cheese in. I left them in their own wrappings as I popped them into the same bag. Normally my ham starts looking the worse for wear around the open edge of the packet when I put it in the fridge and cheese goes a little hard at the end I’ve cut it, even if I use plastic sealable bags first. Coming back to my ham and cheese the next day they were still in excellent condition and even days later I didn’t find I needed to cut any dodgy bits of ham or hard bits of cheese off.

I always struggle to eat a loaf of bread before it goes stale so I decided to see if the remaining loaf could be made to last slightly longer if I stored it in the large sized wax wrap food bag instead of attempting to reseal its own plastic bag. I’m very pleased to say that despite my pulling a few slices out daily as I needed them I did manage to get extra days out of my loaf and actually managed to eat most of it before needing to toast the rest.

Wax wraps can be used to store, protect and preserve almost any food. I haven’t yet managed to test the claim that cut fruit and veg will last longer when placed in these bag but I have no reason to disbelieve this and my punnet of grapes is faring well in the medium sized bag. The only problem is I keep putting things on top of them in the fridge because they’re hidden in the bag. I will be much happier buying fresh fruit and vegetables and using these bags now and will be pleased to give switching from mostly frozen only back to fresh a go.

Don’t use wax wraps to store raw meat or raw fish, as it would be impossible to avoid cross contamination to foods that don’t need cooking. Whilst they can be washed it must be in cold water as wax melts in heat. For the same reason wax wraps must not be put in the dishwasher. When washed in cold water, with a little washing up liquid, and left to dry naturally wax wrap food bags are reusable many times over. They should last for over a year before reaching the end of their life. It is possible to re soak the cloth in wax again but I suspect this is not something many of us will want to do, it’s probably easier to just replace. So at the end of its life they can be used as fire lighters for a BBQ or fire or they can be composted as they will naturally biodegrade.

I feel this makes the wax wrap products very economical to buy and am delighted there are options for disposal at the end of their usefulness. I think the food roll or sheets may be more versatile than the box of three bags, as these may be more adjustable to various sizes. They may feel more expensive as an upfront purchase than clingfilm or plastic sealable bags however as they are reusable for me at least, they will be better value than the repeated cost of buying the single use plastics. Thus I certainly won’t be going back to cling film and that is another small change made in my household.

Rating: 4 out of 5

RRP: £22.50

WaxWrap Beeswax Organic Cotton Food Bags can be purchased here.