Some Costco Shoppers Have Noticed A ‘Chemical Flavor’ In The Store’s Rotisserie Chicken

One of the items that Costco, the wholesale grocery giant, is known for is its $4.99 chickens. Some Costco shoppers have recently reported noticing a “chemical flavor” in the store’s popular rotisserie chicken. While the exact cause of this taste is unknown, some speculate that it may be due to changes in how the chickens are being processed or seasoned.

Some Costco Shoppers Have Noticed A ‘Chemical Flavor’ In The Store’s Rotisserie Chicken

A stir is being caused online after some loyal Costco chicken consumers notice that the chicken tastes slightly different. Specifically, they notice an odd chemical taste, not unlike chlorine, in their usually tasty rotisserie chickens. In fact, there is now an entire thread on Reddit dedicated to people who have noticed the new “off” flavor. The original post went up by Reddit user MillennialModernMan:

“I was at Costco today and bought my rotisserie chicken just like every time I’m there. We tasted it and it has a distinct chemical flavor to it, really off putting. Same thing happened last time, about 3 weeks ago. This was never a problem before, been buying it for years, has something changed recently?” (1)

The comments followed, many confirming the same distinct new flavor.

“Thank you for posting this. I thought I was losing it/had Covid again when I tried a rotisserie chicken recently and it tasted…chemically and soapy? So odd.” wrote one user.

“Yes, I’ve noticed a distinct chlorine-like taste. I’ve stopped eating it, about a year(?) ago due to the strange chemical taste. I use the Albany, OR store.” confirmed another.

Read: Costco sued over alleged inhumane treatment of chickens

Costco Workers Chime In

Many people have been offering potential theories as to why the chickens are tasting differently. None of those, however, are confirmed. Some Costco employees decided to chime in on the conversation, offering a potential explanation as to why the chickens taste the same as always.

“At the warehouse I work at, I don’t know about other warehouses, but we get chicken from two suppliers. For my coworkers and I, we don’t really like the chicken from one of them and just refer to it as bad chicken. It doesn’t cook really well as the one from the other supplier, and I’ve heard the taste isn’t really good, so that might answer your question idk” offered one Reddit user.

“Deli worker here. 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. Which is do the fact that they’re water cooled while ours are air chilled (more expensive process). Our chickens are raised in Nebraska, while fosters are from California. If your chicken is gross, it’s most likely due to the fact that it’s a foster farm chicken.” agreed another.

Other customers’ comments seemed to confirm this idea. One mentioned that they knew what other users were talking about as they had experienced the chemical-tasting chickens in the past. However, the last three or four chickens they purchased tasted perfectly fine.

Read: Judge rules Subway can be sued over claims that its tuna sandwiches contain other fish species or animal products

Chlorine Washed Chickens

What the second employee is likely referring to when he talks about the water-cooled chickens is something known as chlorinated chicken. Chlorinated chicken is chicken that has been washed post-slaughter with chlorinated water. This process, often called chlorine washing, is used by many poultry companies to reduce the risk of foodborne illness, especially in the case of salmonella and campylobacter. However, many people are against this method because they feel it’s unnatural and unsafe for consumption. (2)

Costco has not yet made any kind of public statement regarding the taste of their chickens. In the meantime, some customers have opted to avoid purchasing the rotisserie chicken until the issue is resolved.

If you are a Costco shopper and have noticed this “chemical flavor” in the rotisserie chicken, we recommend reaching out to Costco’s customer service team for further assistance. They may be able to provide more information or offer a refund for any affected purchases.

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