Walmart marks down Great Value chicken wings to $10. There’s just one problem: ‘Gonna get somebody sick’

Americans aren’t feeling particularly confident about the safety of their food right now.

According to the International Food Information Council’s 2025 Food & Health Survey, just 55% of Americans said they were “very or somewhat confident” in the safety of the U.S. food supply.

That’s down from 62% in 2024 and 70% in 2023, marking the lowest level of confidence in the 13 years IFIC has tracked the question.

Among people with low confidence, 59% said they believe companies prioritize profits over safety. Others pointed to different parts of the food system failing to work together to make sure food is safe, not enough government regulation, and too many food recalls.

That anxiety recently came through in a TikTok video filmed by Vincent Cox (@realvincentcox) inside a Walmart store.

In the clip, Cox comes across Great Value chicken wings in the frozen section marked down from $22 to $10. He immediately gets suspicious.

“All right, check it out,” he says. “You think you’re getting a good deal? Was $22, now it’s $10 on this chicken.”

Then, he offers his theory for why Walmart cut the price.

“Look at me in the face and tell me that this wasn’t thawed out and refrozen,” Cox says. “I guarantee you that is probably gonna get somebody sick. But hey, you saved 12 bucks.”

Is Eating Refrozen Chicken Dangerous?

Thawing and refreezing chicken doesn’t automatically make it dangerous to eat.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, food that has thawed in the refrigerator can safely be refrozen without cooking it first. There may be some loss of quality because some moisture gets lost during thawing, but the act of freezing it again isn’t itself a food-safety problem if the chicken doesn’t stay at room temperature at any point.

Additionally, there’s nothing visible in Cox’s clip that confirms the chicken had thawed and then been refrozen, let alone that it had been improperly handled. His suspicion appears to come from the large clearance markdown.

Walmart Has Sold Chicken Tied to Outbreaks Before

Having said that, Walmart has sold chicken products connected to serious foodborne illness outbreaks before.

One recent example involved FreshRealm chicken fettuccine Alfredo meals sold under Walmart’s Marketside brand in the refrigerated section.

In June 2025, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that FreshRealm chicken fettuccine Alfredo meals were contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes and were making people sick. The affected meals had been sold at Walmart and Kroger.

There are older examples, too.

In 2021, federal officials investigated a Salmonella outbreak linked to frozen, raw, breaded and stuffed chicken products made by Serenade Foods. An August update counted 28 cases across eight states and 11 hospitalizations, while the CDC’s final count ultimately reached 36 illnesses across 11 states and 12 hospitalizations.

Viewers Debate the Discounted Chicken

Some commenters were already skeptical of buying meat from the retailer in the first place.

“Who buys meat from Wally World?” they asked.

“I have to agree with you, although Walmart doesn’t mind throwing anything out that is thawed improperly,” a second stated. “I once saw them throw away every frozen and refrigerated item in the store because the power went out for a few hours. Insurance pays for it.”

A third commenter offered a much less alarming explanation for the discount.

“The chicken comes in frozen . if it thawed out it would have to be thrown away,” they wrote. “They most likely marked it down because it came in as a feature item. that now needs to moved for the next featured item.”

@realvincentcox Walmart marked 8 pounds of chicken down from $22.37 to just $10 ? That’s only $1.25 a pound! Would you buy it or pass? #WalmartFinds #ClearanceFinds #GroceryDeals #BudgetShopping ♬ original sound – Vincent Cox

The Mary Sue has reached out to Walmart via its contact form and Cox via TikTok message for comment.

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