Introduction
Two suppliers quote "non-stick baking paper" at very different prices and both are technically correct. One stock is silicone coated; the other carries a quilon treatment — a chromium-based release chemistry that predates silicone coating and still appears in quotations from some converters. The performance gap is significant in commercial baking, and so is the compliance risk if the wrong chemistry enters a customer program that has already excluded it. For wholesale buyers the distinction is not academic: release quality, oven limits, re-use capability and food-contact documentation all differ. This guide explains how each coating is made, how they compare on measurable parameters, and how to verify — before the purchase order — which coating you are buying. Every document in our compliance library is tied to a specific construction; see how the custom silicone-coated baking parchment paper programme aligns test reports with the exact grade supplied.
1. What Quilon Coating Is and Where It Still Appears
Quilon is a release treatment based on a complex of trivalent chromium, developed to give paper non-stick and moisture-barrier performance at low cost. It releases moderately sticky doughs better than uncoated greaseproof and was for decades the standard economy parchment in North American foodservice. Documentation scope is confirmed per SKU and destination market, as outlined on our wholesale parchment paper rolls and sheets page.
The chemistry is the issue. Chromium complexes have faced increasing scrutiny in food-contact applications, and major paper producers phased quilon out of their premium food ranges as silicone coating costs fell. It has not disappeared globally: buyers sourcing from smaller converters or through intermediaries will still see "quilon parchment" quoted, often described only as "release-treated" or "non-stick treated." The ambiguity is the risk: a buyer who assumes silicone performance while paying for quilon discovers it at the oven. The factory and certificate library lists the third-party audits and test reports behind these claims.
2. How Silicone Coating Works
Silicone release coatings are thin polymer layers of polydimethylsiloxane chemistry, cured onto the base paper by solvent-based, emulsion or platinum-cure systems. The silicone methyl groups have very low surface energy, which is what gives baked goods their clean release. Characteristics relevant to buyers:
- Thermal tolerance: properly cured silicone coatings withstand commercial baking temperatures without degrading or transferring odor.
- Release quality: consistent across high-fat and high-sugar recipes, where untreated papers stick or caramelize.
- Re-use capability: heavier grades release across multiple bakes, which changes cost per use for operations that re-use sheets.
- Food-contact acceptance: food-grade silicone coatings are covered by established frameworks, including BfR Recommendation XV and the US paper provisions such as 21 CFR 176.170 and 176.180 where the intended use falls within their scope.
Silicone costs more per tonne than quilon treatment but delivers advantages that usually dominate the total cost equation.
3. Performance Comparison for Procurement
The table below summarizes the decision factors that matter at volume:
| Decision factor | Quilon-treated paper | Silicone-coated paper |
|---|---|---|
| Release performance | Moderate; weak on sticky, high-sugar batters | Strong across recipe families |
| Oven behavior | Limited; darkening and odor risk at high heat | Stable at commercial baking temperatures |
| Multi-bake re-use | Essentially single-use | Heavier grades release across several bakes |
| Grease holdout | Moderate | High; pairs well with dense greaseproof base |
| Documentation | Chromium chemistry often flagged in customer specs | Established silicone frameworks; declarations widely available |
| Price per tonne | Lower | Higher |
Quilon wins the quotation on price and loses on application performance whenever recipes are sticky, hot or re-used. Silicone-coated stock wins where release reliability, oven limits and documentation matter. Verify both claims with a bake test on your fattiest recipes before awarding volume.
4. Compliance and Customer Program Considerations
Regulatory acceptability depends on the destination market and intended conditions of use. In the United States, the regulatory status of each paper component determines which provisions of 21 CFR apply; in the European Union, Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 and the GMP rules of Regulation (EC) No 2023/2006 set the framework, with BfR recommendations frequently referenced for silicone-coated articles.
Beyond statute, customer programs matter more every year. Retail and QSR quality standards increasingly require written declarations of coating chemistry and increasingly exclude chromium-based treatments from approved material lists. A supplier unwilling to state the coating chemistry in writing is either selling quilon or does not control its supply base. The document review discipline in the food contact testing guide for paper baking cups applies equally to coated baking paper.
5. Cost per Bake, Not Cost per Sheet
Quilon-treated paper can price 10–20% below equivalent silicone-coated stock per tonne, but the comparison changes once actual usage is applied:
- Re-use differential: if your operation re-uses sheets and quilon supports one bake while silicone supports three to five, effective cost per bake inverts immediately.
- Line stoppage cost: poorer release on sticky recipes increases pan cleaning, rejects and depanning labor.
- Waste and rework: scorching, odor complaints and tearing at peel convert directly into finished-goods loss.
Run a controlled cost-per-bake calculation on your own recipes before awarding volume. The paper that looks expensive per pallet is frequently cheaper per baked unit.
6. How to Verify Which Coating You Are Buying
Protect the order with four steps:
- Specification language: require the coating to be named — "silicone release coated," with base paper grammage and coating weight. Treat vague terms such as "non-stick treated" as a red flag.
- Written declaration: request a declaration of composition covering base paper and coating, tied to the article and destination market.
- Reference sample retention: seal approved production samples and match incoming shipments against them; coating systems differ in surface feel and release.
- Application bake test: run the fattiest and sweetest production recipes at your oven program, then inspect release, pan staining, odor and peel quality.
Buyers building a wider verification program can combine these steps with the checks in the silicone coated baking paper buyer guide.
FAQ
Is quilon-coated paper food safe?
Quilon is a trivalent chromium complex historically used on food papers, and acceptability depends on the destination market and conditions of use. The practical concerns are harder-to-substantiate documentation and exclusion from many retail and QSR approved lists. Require a written declaration of composition.
Can quilon-treated paper be used in the oven?
Within its stated limits, yes — but its release and heat tolerance are inferior to silicone-coated paper. It darkens sooner, may develop odor at higher temperatures and performs poorly on sticky batters. For commercial ovens, silicone-coated parchment is safer.
Why is silicone-coated baking paper more expensive?
Silicone polymer and its curing process cost more than a quilon size-press treatment. The gap narrows or reverses on cost per bake because silicone-coated sheets release more reliably and heavier grades support multiple bakes.
How can I tell quilon and silicone coated paper apart?
The specification is the reliable indicator — a named "silicone release coating" with coating weight. In a sticky batter bake test, silicone-coated paper releases cleanly while quilon stock tends to stick, darken and stain pans. When in doubt, require the composition declaration.
Conclusion
Quilon and silicone coatings are not interchangeable answers to the same RFQ. Quilon is a low-cost, limited-release option that increasingly collides with customer compliance programs; silicone coating is the standard that holds up under heat, sticky recipes, re-use and documentation review. Buyers who name the coating in the specification, demand written declarations and test on their own recipes turn an ambiguous commodity purchase into a controlled supply decision. Our baking parchment paper manufacturing programme programme is audited against the same standards referenced in this guide.
CTA
Specify your recipe families, oven program and destination markets, and LANGMAI will quote silicone-coated baking paper with named coating chemistry, grammage options and food-contact documentation — with production samples for bake verification before volume.
Request Coated Baking Paper Samples and Specifications
Sources
- U.S. eCFR, 21 CFR 176.170: Components of paper and paperboard in contact with aqueous and fatty foods
- U.S. eCFR, 21 CFR 176.180: Components of paper and paperboard in contact with dry food
- EUR-Lex, Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 on materials and articles intended to come into contact with food
- German BfR, Recommendations on food contact materials, including Recommendation XV on silicones
- TAPPI, Testing standards for paper and packaging