Why You Don't See Fish And Chips Wrapped In Newspaper Anymore

These days, if you order takeout fish and chips at most restaurants, they will probably come in a cardboard box. They may also be wrapped in parchment-style paper. But back in the day, every fish and chip shop used to portion the meal onto newspaper and roll it into a cone-shaped bundle so you could carry it and eat it straight from the paper. It was a cheap and easy way to wrap the food while absorbing some of the excess grease. It was also potentially toxic.

It seems like few people thought about it at the time, but the ink used in newspapers is not food safe, nor is an old newspaper particularly sanitary. You may not have touched a real newspaper in a while, but if you recall, that ink smudges very easily and gets on your fingers. Hot, oily fish and chips make it even messier. If you're eating fish and chips wrapped in newspaper, you're probably consuming ink.

The EU began adopting regulations about what was considered safe for food contact materials decades ago, and printing ink was on the shortlist. A regulation from 1976 said that anything that comes in contact with food must not change its composition, appearance, taste, or smell. But newspaper ink did all of that. Due to fears of toxicity and health concerns, newspaper was no longer permitted as fish and chip wrap. Consider this another food safety law that no one followed back in the day.

The origin of fish and chips stretches back centuries, and fish and chip shops have been a staple in the UK since the 1860s. The food was meant to be fast, cheap, and simple. The newspaper tradition started during wartime when there was a shortage of paper, so reusing old newspapers made sense. Newspaper sellers would give unsold newspapers instead of hauling them away, and the papers made for a free and simple wrapper. This kept costs down and eventually became iconic.

One of the truly bizarre things about the practice of wrapping fish and chips in newspaper is that many people remember it tasting better with the potentially toxic ink smeared all over it. There's a lot of nostalgia for it. When the ban was first implemented, customers were angry. Some would even go to chip shops with their own newspapers and demand the food be wrapped in them.

Most fish and chip shops still use paper to wrap up the fish and chips; it's just a food-safe version of it. For a little nod to the past, some have it printed to look like a newspaper. It is not toxic anymore and presumably does not transfer ink onto your fried potatoes and batter as the food cools. If you want to feel the nostalgia for yourself, we have a great fish and chips recipe you can use. If you have an old newspaper around the house, you could try wrapping it up, but we don't recommend it.