If you’re a frequent Costco shopper, you may find that your purchases are a mix of fun products and household necessities. 

For every mega-pack of toilet paper you buy, you might also bring home a fun Kirkland snack. You might even make a purchase that’s borderline ridiculous, like a giant teddy bear that takes up half of your kids’ playroom, or an inflatable kayak you’ll probably never use.

Chicken is a purchase that tends to fall under the “necessity” category at Costco. And Costco’s rotisserie chicken is often hailed as one of the best grocery deals in all of retail. 

Like the famous $1.50 hot dog and soda combo, Costco’s rotisserie chicken is an inflation-proof deal that tends to lure customers in.

Costco’s rotisserie chicken is actually a loss leader for the company. But Costco is willing to forgo a profit on that product if it means getting more people in the door who then buy other items.

Plus, unlike other retailers, Costco gets a huge chunk of its revenue from membership fees. So it can afford to take a loss on a few products here and there, as long as members consistently renew.

Costco’s rotisserie chicken has long been the subject of controversy.

Image source: Shutterstock

Costco chicken has long been embroiled in controversy

Although rotisserie chicken is one of Costco’s most popular products, it’s been a source of bad press for the company through the years. 

The Humane League reports that in 2020 alone, Costco sold over 100 million rotisserie chickens. That’s not surprising, given the almost unbeatable $4.99 price point.

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But there’s a reason Costco is able to keep its chicken prices so cheap. 

In 2019, the company invested in a $450 million complex in Fremont, Nebraska to process 100 million chickens per year. In the years that followed, Costco received plenty of backlash over its chicken farming practices. 

An undercover investigation found that Costco’s farmed chickens were confined to overcrowded barns, and that many suffered from visible wounds and broken bones. 

Costco, along with Lincoln Premium Poultry, claimed in response that they were “committed to maintaining the highest standards of animal welfare, humane processes and ethical conduct throughout the supply chain.” 

But while Costco members may have been able to look past those animal cruelty claims, other issues with the rotisserie chicken have arisen more recently.

In 2023, Costco members started to notice that the rotisserie chickens had taken on a chemical taste. 

And in mid-2024, Costco changed its rotisserie chicken packaging from hard plastic to bags. Many Costco members took to Reddit to complain about the new packaging.

“These new bags leak!” said one user.

“They were just slick and nasty,” said another.

Watchdog group warns Costco members of salmonella in chicken

Farm Forward, a nonprofit organization, recently issued a report which found that many popular poultry brands contain levels of salmonella that exceed federal safety limits.

Some of the brands accused of having unhealthy levels of salmonella in their poultry include:

• Perdue
• Foster Farms
• Lincoln Premium Poultry, which supplies chicken to Costco

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In 2022, the USDA announced big reforms to the poultry industry designed to protect consumers from salmonella. Those reforms were then withdrawn in 2025.

Not shockingly, poultry trade groups were quick to dismiss Farm Forward’s findings.

Symptoms of salmonella poisoning

The CDC reports that salmonella can cause:

• Watery diarrhea
• Stomach cramps
• Nausea
• Headache
• Vomiting
• Loss of appetite

Symptoms caused by salmonella typically start between six hours and six days after infection and can last up to seven days.

While Costco has not yet issued a response to the report directly, Lincoln Premium Poultry issued a statement that that company “treats the safety of its products as an utmost concern.” The company also pledged to improve its processes.

Meanwhile, Bill Mattos, president of the California Poultry Federation, told the LA Times that “all chicken is safe to eat when properly handled and cooked.”

It will be interesting to see whether these new findings cause Costco members to think twice before loading those rotisserie chickens into their carts. 

Maurie Backman owns shares of Costco.

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