Costco’s $4.99 rotisserie hen has been a polarizing product primarily based on its style, not its value.
You’ll be able to’t argue the success of the product, as “the deli division mainstay has garnered a cult-like following, with Costco promoting greater than 100 million rotisserie chickens yearly since 2020, in keeping with Eat This, Not That!.
Some, nevertheless, myself included, discover the hen’s style lower than interesting. That record consists of celeb chef David Chang.
“I think the Costco chicken is the worst rotisserie chicken,” he said on his podcast. “They’re not good. They’re not seasoned. The reason why it’s important to have it properly seasoned is, you might eat it the next day cold, and it’s got to taste good cold.”
Taste, of course, is subjective, but what goes into the $4.99 chicken is not. The warehouse club now faces a lawsuit over what it may or may not put in its low-priced chicken.
Costco faces a class-action lawsuit
The label on every Costco chicken says the same thing: “No preservatives, MSG, gluten, artificial flavors, or colors.”
That declare is the topic of a possible class-action lawsuit.
“A proposed class motion lawsuit has been filed in San Diego federal court docket towards Costco, which accuses the retail large of falsely promoting that its Kirkland Signature Seasoned Rotisserie Hen incorporates no preservatives, court docket papers revealed Friday (Jan. 23),” NBC San Diego reported.
The complaint, filed on behalf of Anatasia Chernov and Bianca Johnston, alleges that Costco’s website and in-store signs state the chickens contain “no preservatives,” despite the presence of additives sodium phosphate and carrageenan.
The lawsuit’s claims include:
- Neither plaintiff would have purchased the chicken or would have paid less if they had known the additives were present.
- It also states that Costco has “systemically cheated clients out of tens — if not lots of — of hundreds of thousands of {dollars}” through the alleged false advertising.
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“Customers fairly depend on clear, outstanding claims like ‘No Preservatives,’ particularly when deciding what they and their households will eat. Costco’s personal ingredient record contradicts its advertising and marketing. That is illegal, and it is unfair,” plaintiffs’ lawyer Wesley M. Griffith mentioned in a press release.
Costco has not issued a press release on the lawsuit and has not publicly commented on whether or not its $4.99 chickens include preservatives.
The FDA has a transparent definition of “chemical preservatives” on its web site.
The time period “chemical preservative,” the company says, “means any chemical that, when added to food tends to prevent or retard deterioration thereof, but does not include common salt, sugars, vinegars, spices or oils extracted from spices, substances added to food by direct exposure thereof to wood smoke, or chemicals applied for their insecticidal or herbicidal properties.”
The claims stay allegations solely, and no court docket has but dominated on whether or not Costco’s labeling violates federal or state legislation.
Costco has held the $4.99 value level on its rotisserie hen.
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$4.99 hen has been a key Costco merchandise
Costco has picked a handful of signature objects, together with its $4.99 hen and $1.50 sizzling canine combo, the place it has determined to by no means elevate costs. The chain has been adamant about maintaining that value level for its hen and even purchased a hen farm and processing facility to reduce its losses from promoting at $4.99.
Costco CFO Gary Millerchip believes that holding costs on some objects sends an vital message to members.
“While our members love the treasure hunt items that they find in our warehouses and online, our everyday value items are also extremely important to them, especially in times of economic uncertainty,” he mentioned in the course of the chain’s fourth-quarter earnings name.
The $4.99 rotisserie hen, a product that is a loss chief for the chain, is a giant a part of that.
“There are no better examples of this than our hotdog combo, rotisserie chicken and KS bath tissue. And in fiscal year 2025, we sold over 245 million hotdog combos, over 157 million rotisserie chickens, and enough bath tissue to reach the moon and back over 200 times,” he added.
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Costco faces a second hen challenge
Along with the potential class motion lawsuit, Costco additionally faces considerations that its low-cost chickens look like placing Costco members vulnerable to salmonella poisoning, in keeping with a report shared by Sentient Media.
“The report, by advocacy group Farm Forward, is based on an analysis of USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service inspection data from 2020-2024 and focuses on Costco’s Lincoln Premium Poultry chicken slaughter and processing plant in Fremont, Nebraska. The plant slaughters over 100 million chickens annually for its rotisserie chicken and Kirkland Signature raw chicken brand, and reportedly supplies about 40% of Costco’s chicken,” the information web site shared.
The info confirmed some regarding issues about Costco’s hen.
- Since Costco’s Fremont plant opened in 2019, it has persistently failed the USDA’s month-to-month rolling exams for salmonella, receiving the worst Class 3 score 92% of the time, the report says.
- Over a more moderen interval, from September 2023 by means of July 2025, the Fremont plant acquired a Class 3 score 100% of the time, the director of Farm Ahead, Andrew deCoriolis, tells Sentient, suggesting that contamination charges are getting worse.
- Shopper Reviews additionally consists of the Costco plant amongst its most contaminated poultry crops within the U.S. primarily based on information collected by means of July 26, 2025.
The FDA doesn’t have the authority to shut the plant.
“The agency does not have the authority to stop the plant’s operation, stop raw meat from reaching store shelves, or recall raw meat products. The contaminated chicken can still be sold in grocery stores across the country,” Sentient reported.
Costco didn’t return a request for touch upon the FDA story filed by means of its media request type.
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