Costco has a serious problem with its $4.99 chicken

Costco’s $4.99 chicken has become one of its major calling cards, and Warehouse Club has gone to extremes to keep it at that price point.

“Costco is willing to go to extreme lengths to keep its prized rotisserie chicken at $4.99,” according to CNN. “For the past few years, it has been recruiting farmers in Nebraska and recently opened its own $450 million poultry complex in Nebraska.”

The warehouse club loses money selling the chickens, but makes up for it in additional sales and by luring members to stores.

“A loss leader is an item that costs more to produce or manufacture than it sells for, but it gets people in the door and buys other items for a hit to the company’s bottom line,” Food Republic reported. “In the case of Costco, the nearly three-pound bird is a beloved item whose ultra-low price tag alone is worth a trip to the store for many.”

Those cheap chickens, however, appear to be putting Coast’s members at risk of salmonella, according to a report shared by Sentient Media.

“The report, by the 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 annually slaughters more than one million chicken and Kirkland Signature raw chicken brands, and reportedly supplies 40% of Costco’s chicken,” the news website shared.

The data showed a few things about Costco’s chicken.

• Since Costco’s Fremont plant opened in 2019, it has consistently failed the USDA’s monthly rolling tests for salmonella, receiving the worst Category 3 rating of 92%, the report says.

• In the most recent period, from September 2023 to July 2025, the Fremont plant received a Category 3 rating 100% of the time, Andrew Decoriolis, director of Farm Forward, tells Sentient, suggesting contamination rates are getting worse.

• Consumer Reports also ranks the Costco plant among the most contaminated poultry plants in the U.S. based on data collected through July 26, 2025.

Consumer Reports shared tips on how to avoid eating contaminated meat.

• Wash your hands with hot soapy water during the cooking process—before preparation, after handling raw meat, and again after finishing. Also wash knives used for meat before using them to cut other foods.

• Use separate cutting boards for meat and other food products.

• Cook the chicken to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F and use a meat thermometer to check.

• When shopping at the grocery store, put raw meat in a disposable bag, away from other foods, especially foods you might not eat after cooking, such as fruits and vegetables.

• In the refrigerator, store raw meat in a bag or bowl to prevent leakage.

• Thaw frozen meat in the refrigerator so it stays below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Doing so inhibits the growth of bacteria.

• Do not rinse raw meat as this can spread bacteria around your sink or counter.

Just because the USDA has a plant failure doesn’t mean it can stop its products, in this case chicken, from reaching consumers.

“The agency does not have the authority to stop plant operations, prevent raw meat from reaching stores, or recall raw meat products. Contaminated chicken can still be sold in grocery stores across the country,” Sentient reported.

Costco did not immediately return a request for comment on this story filed through its media request form.

As a longtime, but not current, Costco member, I have not enjoyed its rotisserie chicken. The chain injects its chickens with a saline solution, and I find the pricier, but still affordable, whole chickens at Fresh Market and Whole Foods to be a good option.

Former CFO Richard Galanti explained in Costco’s first-quarter 2023 earnings call that the $4.99 price was part of the chain’s brand promise.

“Part of it is consciously pricing the chicken at $4.99 … and pricing the hot dog. All of those things go into that equation. But we know that can be a driver of business,” he said.

In a 2015 earnings call, he noted that the move cost the company money.

“When others were raising their chicken prices from $4.99 to $5.99, we were ready to eat, if you will, $30 to $40 million a year in gross margin by keeping it at $4.99,” Galanti said, according to the Seattle Times. “It’s what we do for a living.”

• Costco sold about 137 million rotisserie chickens in 2023According to Chowhound.

• Costco is having a sale More than 100 million rotisserie chickens annually from at least 2020LA Business Journal added.

• Previous filings / reporting show 117 million sales in fiscal 2022 and 106 million in 2021According to the chain’s 2023 annual report.

Related: Costco quietly added a major credit card benefit

This story was originally published by TheStreet on January 13, 2026, where it first appeared in the Retail section. Add TheStreet as a preferred source by clicking here.