Costco sued over alleged salmonella risk in $5 – Business News
Costco is going through a new lawsuit over its rotisserie chicken, after an animal rights nonprofit claimed that the retailer’s chicken processing plant in Nebraska suffers from salmonella contamination.
The proposed class motion lawsuit filed on Thursday cited a December examine by Farm Forward that criticized security circumstances at Costco’s Lincoln Premium Poultry plant, which opened in 2019 and may course of more than 100 million chickens a 12 months.
According to the grievance, the Fremont, Neb., plant “consistently” fails US Department of Agriculture security requirements, with more than 9.8% of entire chickens and 15.4% of chicken components testing constructive for salmonella contamination.
Costco costs $4.99 for its Kirkland Signature rotisserie chicken. REUTERS
Costco costs $4.99 for its Kirkland Signature rotisserie chicken, which has long been considered as a loss-leader to draw customers into the Issaquah, Wash.-based company’s warehouse shops.
Rotisserie chicken gross sales topped 157 million worldwide in 2025, Costco mentioned at its annual assembly final month.
“Costco’s failure to control salmonella in its chicken supply is not a harmless technicality—it poses a real danger to consumers and violates their trust,” the grievance mentioned.
Neither Costco nor the Lincoln plant instantly responded to requests for touch upon Friday. Lincoln will not be a defendant.
In her grievance in Seattle federal courtroom, the plaintiff Lisa Taylor, of Affton, Mo., mentioned she routinely purchased one or two rotisserie chickens a month at Costco warehouses in the St. Louis space, and believes she overpaid as a result of Costco didn’t disclose the contamination risk.
The proposed class motion lawsuit cited a December examine by Farm Forward that criticized security circumstances at Costco plant in Nebraska. REUTERS
She is in search of compensatory and triple damages for customers who purchased Kirkland Signature rotisserie chicken and uncooked chicken components since Jan. 1, 2019, saying Costco violated Washington client safety legal guidelines and an implied promise that its chickens are suitable for eating.
The case adopted one other proposed class motion filed final month in San Diego federal courtroom, which mentioned Costco falsely marketed its rotisserie chicken as having no preservatives regardless that they contained carrageenan and sodium phosphate.
Founded in 2007, Farm Forward mentioned its mission is to “end factory farming by changing farming, changing policy and changing the stories we tell about animal agriculture.”
