Posted on 06/10/2026 7:35:01 AM PDT by Libloather
Costco is pushing back hard against a proposed class-action lawsuit that accuses the retail giant of misleading shoppers about its popular $5 rotisserie chicken.
In a motion filed last week in the US District Court for the Southern District of California, the warehouse club asked the court to dismiss the case, which was brought in January by two California customers.
The plaintiffs claim Costco’s Kirkland Signature Seasoned Rotisserie Chicken contains carrageenan and sodium phosphate while still being marketed as having “no preservatives.”
According to the lawsuit, that labeling misleads consumers and violates Washington’s Consumer Protection Act, California’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act, and other California statutes.
Costco’s legal team fired back, arguing the case rests on a misunderstanding of how the ingredients are classified.
Attorney Charles Sipos, representing the company, called the false advertising allegations “fatally flawed,” saying the substances in question are not considered preservatives under US Food and Drug Administration regulations.
Instead, he said they are used as part of the chicken’s seasoning mix.
Carrageenan, derived from seaweed, is commonly used in processed foods as a thickener and stabilizer.
Sodium phosphate serves multiple functions in food production, including thickening, curing, leavening, and emulsifying.
The lawsuit seeks to stop Costco from advertising the product as free of preservatives and to allow US customers who purchased the chicken to join a class action seeking monetary damages.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
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The Costco rotisserie chicken is one of the best bargains in the market today. And plaintiff’s lawyers are going to F it up too.
Of course this lawsuit was filed in California.
Any company doing business there is going to regret it sooner or later.
Costco asked for this by operating in California.
Costco is going to end up eliminating this product and ruining for everyone, all on account of some meddlesome Karens.
The same thing happened with the TD Bank coin counting machine. It counted coins for free. But some Karen hired a plaintiff’s attorney to sue because the machine miscounted and screwed her out of a dollar’s worth of change - even though there were warning signs that the machine may miscount and everyone who used it was willing to take that risk. TD Bank lost the lawsuit and shut the machines down and everyone lost out.
“ Don’t like it? Don’t eat it.”
You have a right to know what you’re eating. As evidenced by this case
Why we would let a federal government office cubicle sitter bureaucrat decide what a “preservative” is beyond my comprehension.
Neither one of those ingredients will hurt you, especially carrageenan.
Carrageenan is found in a lot of ice cream so you can make it home from the store without it melting.
Finally, a very, very important lawsuit filed for every person on the planet. Finally! This gives those skanky Dipstick Court Judgettes in their black robes something to screw around with other than the “rights” of freeloading, illegal alien scumbag invaders.
All Costco had to do was be honest
Not too much to expect
There are a ton of processed foods out there that Americans are willing to by and screw up their systems with
Just list the crap you’re putting in it. That’s all
I don’t buy from Costco I don’t trust them. I’ll wake up with a migraine and know they just dosed me with something they didn’t list
“ Neither one of those ingredients will hurt you, especially carrageenan.”
Check the FDA on this.
I do the highest level of Costco and Sam’s Club membership, and use both enough to make it worthwhile.
I consider myself an expert on where each club is better or worse in some areas. For the Rotisserie Chicken, Sam’s Club is far better.
Here are some others:
-Costco bakery better
-Costco Meats better
-Sam’s Club and Costco both have their own great coffees
Clothing deals can be very good at both - the variety is great when using both.
-General prepackaged food - Sam’s better
-Credit card - use both - Sam’s slightly better earnings
-Checkout experience - with Scan and Go, Sam’s Club far superior. If using cashiers, Costco far superior.
-Costco better Beer and Wine
-Costco food court superior
-Produce - depends on the item - Costco is also eaten up with the bogus, nebulous term “organic”, which translates to “rip off”. One great story was for cherry tomatoes. We bought some “organic” ones from Costco that were produced in Canada - they were awful. Now we only buy them from Sam’s - they are from Mexico and very good.
-Dairy and Eggs - I prefer Sam’s, but I can see how some would prefer Costco if they were more elitist about such items.
-Employees - Costco far superior
-Clientele - Unfortunately in my area both make me feel like I am visiting a 3rd world country. I sometimes fee like one of the only Anglo shoppers in the whole place at both.
-Gas - I do both depending on timing
$5 chickens are for poor people. Costco has money. They get that money by taking a loss on the chicken. After decades of $5 chicken they should raise the price to $10 and blame the Karens and Bernies. Safeway charges $9 for it’s rotisserie and it’s half the size. Since Costco has money guess why they sued? Opportunistic lawyers?
There is no evidence they were not honest.
Just list the crap you’re putting in it. That’s all
The contention isn't that the ingredients in question were unlisted. The lawsuit contends those two ingredients are "preservatives".
Attorney Charles Sipos, representing the company, called the false advertising allegations “fatally flawed,” saying the substances in question are not considered preservatives under US Food and Drug Administration regulations.
Just to clarify on the rotisserie chicken...I meant the flavor and the packaging, nothing about additives etc. The Sam’s Club one is consistently much better than the Costco one in flavor, texture, and packaging - Costco uses a stupid cheap bag, Sam’s uses a nice plastic shell. The Costco chicken often has slimy areas with strange texture, and the flavor is not great.
Both cost the same.
If the ingredients were not used as preservatives, they were not being dishonest.
I have always had very good experiences with Costco. They seem to be a very well-run company.
“ Costco is going to end up eliminating this product and ruining for everyone, all on account of some meddlesome Karens.”
***********************************************
“meddlesome Karen’s”? Actually PARASITIC LEFTIST PLAINTIFF ATTORNEYS.
Yep, great taste and the deal of the decade.
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