This article has been updated since its initial publish date.
There’s a lot to love about Costco. Incredible deals on all sorts of bulk items, unique frozen food options, and even some seriously stylish clothes. Many people would also include this membership-based warehouse store’s rotisserie chicken on that list–but not everyone would agree.
Not only was this fan-favorite chicken recently criticized by a celebrity chef as being “inedible,” but now even shoppers who once loved it are now saying it tastes a little “off” lately. In fact, Reddit users are saying Costco’s famous $4.99 rotisserie chicken has a “chemical flavor.” What’s up with that?!
Since 2009, the price of rotisserie chickens at Costco stores has remained steadfastly low, clocking in at a wallet-friendly $4.99. It seems like an unbelievable bargain, but according to a recent report from Consumer Reports, there might be a hidden reason for this low cost that has gone unnoticed.
Mercy for Animals shared a video of a Nebraska Costco chicken farm in early 2021, and as Consumer Reports noted, the animal rights group's clip "showed swollen, injured, and deformed chickens living in a crowded, darkened warehouse."
After the retailer sparked controversy for this, the group asked Costco to pledge their commitment to the Better Chicken Initiative - a comprehensive framework that aims to safeguard the welfare of animals, promote environmental sustainability, and ensure the provision of top-quality food.
Despite being signed by its competitor, BJ's, and other noteworthy corporations such as Burger King and Subway, Costco was reluctant to join the cause, and never signed it. Costco shoppers on social media have also recently weighed in on the "unsettling taste" of its rotisserie chicken:
Reddit users think Costco’s chicken tastes like chemicals
One Costco shopper, MillennialModernMan, drew attention to the change in the flavor of the store’s rotisserie chicken in a Reddit post titled “What’s up with the rotisserie chicken lately?”
“I was at Costco today and bought my rotisserie chicken just like every time I'm there,” the post states. “We tasted it and it has a distinct chemical flavor to it, really off putting.”
According to the poster, this wasn’t a one-off event: “Same thing happened last time, about 3 weeks ago. This was never a problem before, been buying it for years, has something changed recently?”
Many commenters jumped in to say that they, too, have noticed the difference in taste. One even said they were concerned that they had COVID when they realized the chicken didn’t taste right, describing the flavor as “chemically and soapy.” Someone else noted that there was a “distinct chlorine-like taste.” Those definitely aren’t words we’d like to describe our dinner!
One person, who described themselves as “probably [in the] top 1% of rotisserie chicken consumers world wide,” says that they get an off-tasting chicken every now and then. However, they said it’s “happened less than a handful of times,” and noted that medium chickens tend to taste better than the small or extra-large ones.
Possible explanations for chemical taste in Costco chicken
Luckily, a few Reddit users were able to provide a bit of insight regarding the difference in flavor. A warehouse worker and deli worker both explained that they receive chicken from two different suppliers–and one supplier provides better-tasting chicken.
“For my coworkers and I, we don’t really like the chicken from one of them and just refer to it as bad chicken,” the commenter who works at a warehouse said. “It doesn’t cook really well as the one from the other supplier, and O’ve heard the taste isn’t really good, so that might answer your question.”
The deli worker shared a similar explanation: “We get two different types of chickens. One is our in-house brand from our processing plant in Nebraska. The other is foster farms. The foster farm chickens are of lower quality and tend to cook differently than ours…if your chicken is gross, it's most likely due to the fact that it's a foster farm chicken.” The more you know!
However, some people believe it may have to do with the packaging. “The last one I got the chemical taste was only on the pieces that are nearly touching the clear lid. The sides and bottoms were fine,” one person wrote. “Maybe the packaging they’re using now is different, or the chickens are going into the packaging too soon after being cooked.”
While we can’t be sure what the exact reason for this strange taste is, the sheer number of people who have tasted the difference makes it seem like it’s certainly more than a fluke. Regardless of the issue, commenters say that contacting customer service for a refund is the best way to go.
