The aim of this study was to evaluate a thin, TEMPO‐oxidized (2,2,6,6‐tetramethylpiperidine‐1‐oxyl–mediated oxidation) cellulose nanofibril (CNF) coating as a barrier layer in multilayer packaging films together with biobased polyethylenes. The purpose was also to explore the possible interactions between food products and the biobased films, and to evaluate the feasibility of these films for packaging of dry foods. CNF provided the biobased multilayer films with an oxygen barrier suitable for both demanding food products and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP). The MAP pouches made of these multilayer films retained their atmosphere and shape and protected ground hazelnuts from further oxidation for the storage time used in this study. However, irradiation used to sterilize packed foods and aroma compounds from clove in particular impaired the oxygen barrier property of the CNF layer, while the water vapor barrier property of the multilayer films remained unaffected. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017, 134, 44830.