"Nauseous" Costco customer makes alarming discovery carving into chicken (2024)

FAQs

Is there anything wrong with Costco chicken? ›

After some investigation, experts concluded the flavor came from the use of phosphates in the preservation process of the chicken. For some palates, phosphates can taste strange and chemical-like, the same way cilantro tastes like soap to some people.

About 100 years ago in 1925, chickens lived for 112 days before being slaughtered at 2.5 pounds. Modern chickens, such as those raised by Costco, are slaughtered at only 47 days but at 5 pounds weigh more than double what their ancestors weighed at slaughter.

In 2019, the grocer established its own massive chicken production complex in Fremont, Nebraska, and partnered with a company called Lincoln Premium Poultry (or LPP) to manage it.

The reason Costco's chicken is so juicy is because of a salt solution pumped inside, which is basically like super-brining. That makes the meat moist and evenly seasoned every time, delivering a consistent—though there has been some Reddit uproar about weird-tasting chicken lately in some states—tasting chicken.

Costco breeds and slaughters approximately 100 million chickens per year. The shareholders alleged that Costco—which has near-total control over the genetics, lives, and deaths of the birds it sends to these contract growers—had abdicated its legal obligation to protect the animals.

Costco says Pinty's Delicious Foods is voluntarily recalling Pinty's Crispy Chicken Breasts “due to the possible presence of pieces of metal.” The recalled product sold by Costco has a Best Before Date of Oct. 2, 2024. There have been two reported incidents, Costco said.

Costco's Rotisserie Chicken

But while roasted rotisserie chickens are convenient, tasty, and easy on your wallet, they're often not so good for your health. As CR previously reported, a salt solution is often injected into the cooked chickens to enhance flavor and tenderness.

Because Costco's rotisserie chicken is cooked though, and thorough cooking at the right temperature kills bacteria, the risk is far lower. But you're not quite out of the woods if your rotisserie chicken leaks juices into a bag or a surface like a countertop.

Summary. Costco was willing to lose $30-$40 million annually on rotisserie chicken in 2015, but recent changes in packaging may lead to a $388.85 million net financial loss.

Goldstein interviewed Harshavardhan Thippareddi, PhD, professor of poultry science at the University of Georgia, who explained that chickens are injected with phosphate to keep them juicy through the rotisserie preparation process, and some consumers may interpret this addition as a soapy or chemical-like flavor.

What does Costco inject their rotisserie chickens with? ›

To get its signature, addictive flavor, Costco injects its chickens with a salt solution. Similar to marinating or brining, this salt solution infuses the chicken with a salty taste in every bite, inside and out.

Don't worry, though—the chicken itself is staying the same, and you'll still be able to use it in recipes to create family meals or eat it straight up for a grab-and-go lunch. What's changing is the packaging.

Costco's rotisserie chicken is arguably the most controversial piece of poultry in America. In the span of just one year, customers have claimed that the rotisserie chicken tastes like chemicals and causes gastrointestinal issues.

Chemical changes occur during cooking. Oven gases in a heated gas or electric oven react chemically with hemoglobin in the meat tissues to give it a pink tinge. Often meat of younger birds shows the most pink because their thinner skins permit oven gases to reach the flesh.

Costco Raises Its Own Chickens

To cut costs, Costco opened its own 400,000-square-foot poultry processing plant in Nebraska in 2019. The plant enables the company to manage the chickens from farm to production and ensures that the birds are grown to the correct size, typically around 3 pounds.

Costco is making a major change to the packaging of its rotisserie chickens and customers are not happy. The wholesaler's $4.99 rotisserie chicken has long been praised for its cost-effectiveness, taste and ease in terms of having a prepared meal item.

In a 2023 earnings call, Costco Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti said Costco's rotisserie chicken is "an investment in low prices to drive membership, to drive sales in a big way." That's a fancy way of saying that the product is a "loss leader" for the warehouse store giant.

While some complaints seemed rather insignificant (such as problems with the choice of packaging), other issues regarding the quality make us hesitant to ever buy them from Costco. For instance, some customers on Reddit complained in 2023 that Kirkland chicken thighs had gone bad before the date on the packaging.