Walking into Costco feels like entering a wonderland of bulk buying, where giant containers of everything promise months of worry-free meals. But what happens when those trusted products suddenly disappear from shelves or worse, get recalled for safety issues? Recent months have shown how quickly a routine shopping trip can turn into a frantic search through pantries and freezers, checking dates and lot numbers on products that seemed perfectly safe yesterday.
Ready-to-eat tuna poke triggered nationwide alerts
Busy shoppers love grabbing pre-made meals from Costco’s deli section, but September 2025 brought a frightening wake-up call about ready-to-eat convenience foods. The Kirkland Signature Ahi Tuna Wasabi Poke, packaged in clear plastic containers with a September 22, 2025 sell-by date, was recalled across 33 states after potential Listeria contamination was discovered in the green onions used in the product. What made this particularly scary was how the contamination came from a single ingredient that seemed harmless – those little green garnishes that added fresh crunch to the fish.
The recall affected over 3,300 pounds of product, and shoppers were urged to immediately dispose of any containers they had at home rather than risk severe illness. Western United Fish Company, the producer behind the Kirkland brand item, had to work quickly with suppliers to determine how contaminated green onions made it into thousands of ready-to-eat meals. The incident reminded many people that even grab-and-go items from trusted stores can carry hidden dangers, especially when they contain raw ingredients from multiple suppliers.
Rotisserie chicken salad sickened customers nationwide
Costco’s famous rotisserie chicken became the center of a health scare in 2015 when the popular chicken salad made from these birds caused an E. coli outbreak affecting 19 people across seven states. The outbreak began on November 3rd and quickly spread, with 16 victims having consumed the chicken salad within a week before developing symptoms. What seemed like a simple, safe prepared food – combining the beloved rotisserie chicken with basic vegetables – turned into a nightmare scenario that landed five people in the hospital and caused two to develop a severe blood disorder.
The investigation revealed how complicated food safety can be even with seemingly simple ingredients. Taylor Farms Pacific, the supplier of the onion and celery blend used in the salad, voluntarily recalled their vegetable mix, but further testing showed their products weren’t actually contaminated. This left everyone puzzled about the true source of the outbreak, but Costco still pulled all rotisserie chicken salads from stores nationwide and advised customers to throw away any they had at home to prevent further illness.
Butter recall highlighted labeling oversights
Sometimes the most ridiculous-sounding recalls turn out to be completely necessary, as Texas Costco shoppers learned in November 2024. Kirkland Signature butter – both salted and unsalted varieties – had to be pulled from shelves not because anything was wrong with the product itself, but because the packaging failed to clearly state that butter contains milk. While this might sound obvious to most people, food labeling laws require all major allergens to be explicitly listed on packaging to protect people with severe allergies who might not immediately recognize all sources of milk products.
The recall affected over 2,000 cases of butter, equivalent to nearly 80,000 pounds of product, all because of missing allergen information on the label. Kirkland Signature butter with best-by dates between February 22, 2025, and March 29, 2025, had to be removed from Texas warehouses to comply with FDA regulations. This incident showed how even the most basic oversight in packaging can trigger massive recalls, and why food manufacturers must be extremely careful about every detail on their labels, no matter how obvious the ingredients might seem.
Frozen chicken patties contained plastic pieces
Foster Farms frozen chicken patties seemed like the perfect solution for quick family dinners until customers started finding clear plastic shards mixed in with their food in 2022. These pre-cooked, breaded patties were contaminated during production on August 11th, leading to a recall of 148,000 pounds of chicken across Arizona, California, Colorado, Utah, and Washington. The 80-ounce bags containing 20 patties each were supposed to make meal planning easier, not create a dangerous dining experience where every bite could potentially cause injury.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service moved quickly once the plastic contamination was discovered, but their main concern was reaching customers who had stored these bags in their freezers for later use. Foster Farms products with a best-by date of August 11, 2023, needed to be identified and disposed of immediately. While no injuries were reported from the contaminated patties, the incident highlighted how manufacturing defects can turn convenient frozen foods into potential hazards sitting undetected in home freezers for months.
Organic strawberries carried hepatitis risk
Frozen organic strawberries from Kirkland Signature seemed like a healthy choice for smoothies and desserts until March 2023, when they became linked to a hepatitis A outbreak that hospitalized nine people across California, Oregon, and Washington. The 4-pound bags of organic strawberries, supplied by California Splendor Inc., were recalled from stores in Colorado, Texas, California, and Arizona after investigators traced the contamination back to farms in Baja California, Mexico. What appeared to be a nutritious frozen fruit option turned into a serious health threat that could cause liver damage.
The outbreak investigation revealed how international supply chains can complicate food safety, with multiple fruit companies including Scenic Fruit Company, Willamette Valley Fruit Co., and Wawona Frozen Foods all issuing similar recalls for strawberry products from the same Mexican farms. Hepatitis A can cause liver failure in severe cases, making this recall particularly frightening for families who had been regularly using these strawberries in breakfast smoothies and baked goods. The incident showed how even organic produce from reputable suppliers can carry serious health risks when contamination occurs at the source.
Organic eggs threatened breakfast routines
Kirkland Signature Organic Pasture Raised 24-Count Eggs represent everything people love about Costco – quality products in convenient bulk packaging at reasonable prices. But November 2024 brought an unwelcome surprise when Handsome Brook Farms discovered that some of these eggs had been contaminated with salmonella and mistakenly distributed to 25 stores across Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Nearly 300,000 individual eggs had to be pulled from shelves, disrupting breakfast routines and baking plans for thousands of families who depended on these large cartons for their weekly meal planning.
Salmonella contamination in eggs occurs when bacteria from chicken fecal matter gets on the shells, making proper handling and cooking essential for safety. Handsome Brook Farms worked with the FDA to identify and remove 10,800 units before any illnesses were reported, but the recall reminded everyone that even premium organic eggs from pasture-raised chickens aren’t immune to bacterial contamination. The incident particularly concerned families with young children or elderly relatives, who face higher risks from salmonella exposure and might not show symptoms immediately after consuming contaminated eggs.
Greek yogurt packaging mix-up confused customers
Sometimes recalls happen not because of contamination or safety issues, but due to simple human error that could affect people with food allergies. Ellenos Real Greek Yogurt faced exactly this situation in April 2023 when their variety packs containing 12 four-ounce cups were recalled due to a packaging mistake. Customers opening cups labeled as Vanilla Bean Greek Yogurt were surprised to find bright yellow lemon curd puree on top instead of the expected vanilla flavor. While this might seem like a minor mix-up, the error posed serious risks for people with citrus allergies who expected vanilla but got lemon instead.
The packaging defect showed how even small mistakes in food production can have major consequences for consumer safety. Ellenos Real Greek LLC had to recall their variety packs sold at Costco because customers with lemon allergies could have severe reactions if they consumed the wrong flavor without knowing it. This incident highlighted why accurate labeling matters just as much as food safety – people need to trust that what they’re eating matches what the package promises, especially when dealing with allergies or dietary restrictions that could cause serious health problems.
The peanut butter panic left parents scrambling
Nothing disrupts back-to-school routines quite like discovering the peanut butter for daily lunch sandwiches has vanished from store shelves. Costco shoppers experienced exactly this panic when Kirkland Signature Organic Peanut Butter seemingly disappeared overnight. Parents who relied on those familiar red-topped jars for quick breakfast spreads and afternoon snacks found empty spaces where their go-to protein source used to sit. The timing couldn’t have been worse, hitting right when families were stocking up for busy school schedules and meal prep routines.
When concerned shoppers asked employees about restocking, they received devastating news – the product had been completely deleted from the system. Social media erupted with worried parents sharing their disbelief and scrambling to find alternatives at other stores for much higher prices. This wasn’t the first time this popular spread had disappeared, having gone missing for several months in 2021 and during a peanut shortage in 2012, but that didn’t make the news any easier for families depending on affordable bulk nutrition.
Ground beef contamination started the recall trend
Back in 1998, Costco faced one of its largest and most significant recalls when over 172,000 pounds of Kirkland Signature ground beef had to be removed from 24 states due to suspected E. coli contamination. The scare began when an elderly woman in New York became ill after eating the ground beef at a barbecue, leading to an investigation that affected multiple product varieties including 6-pound packages of ground sirloin, individual frozen patties, and bulk boxes of quarter-pound portions. This massive recall showed how quickly a single reported illness could snowball into a nationwide safety concern.
What made this recall particularly controversial was that seven other people at the same barbecue didn’t get sick, and later testing found no traces of E. coli in the remaining products. Despite the questionable evidence, Costco chose to err on the side of caution and offered full refunds to everyone who had purchased ground beef during June 1998. The incident established a precedent for how the company would handle future safety concerns, prioritizing customer wellbeing over potential financial losses even when contamination couldn’t be definitively proven.
These major Costco recalls show how quickly trusted household staples can become safety concerns, affecting millions of shoppers who depend on bulk buying for their families. From missing peanut butter to contaminated ready-to-eat meals, these incidents remind everyone to stay alert about recall notices and check their pantries when problems arise. The good news is that Costco consistently prioritizes customer safety over profits, offering full refunds and working quickly with suppliers to address issues before they spread further.
