Woman says her Costco chicken salad listed cooked chicken breast, yet the chicken inside looked pink and glossy: ‘literally raw’

A shopper returned a container of Costco chicken salad for a refund, then asked online whether anyone else had been sold the same batch. According to Subplot News, she shared the problem in a TikTok video that shows cooked chicken breast listed first and chicken that looked pink and glossy. She says the container was sealed when she opened it.

The video opens on a text overlay that reads “My Costco chicken salad is literally raw.” She films the label up close, then moves in on the chicken itself. “Pretty sure that the chicken in my chicken salad is raw,” she says. The label, shown in the clip, tells shoppers to keep the product refrigerated or frozen and to thaw it in the refrigerator or microwave.

The package prints handling instructions that warn some food products “may contain bacteria that could cause illness if the product is mishandled or cooked improperly.” They include “Cook thoroughly” and “Keep raw meat and poultry separate from other foods.” The salad, which includes rotisserie chicken, came from the premade meals area.

She returned the salad for a refund

In the caption, she says she has always loved Costco’s chicken salad on croissants, and this time she chose a container instead. She claims there was “definitely uncooked chicken mixed into it.” She adds, “I am not bashing Costco, and I did return it for a refund.” Her worry is for other shoppers who may have bought that batch and “HAD actually eaten it and gotten ill.” All details are based on her TikTok video and caption. The outlet also reached out to Costco for comment.

Pink chicken has drawn complaints before, including a Chick-fil-A nugget with a dark pink mass, though color alone is not a reliable guide. According to the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, “The color of cooked poultry is not always a sure sign of its safety.” Turkey, for example, can stay pink even after cooking to 165°F.

According to the CDC, “If you eat undercooked chicken, you can get food poisoning.” Raw chicken can be contaminated with Campylobacter, Salmonella or Clostridium perfringens germs. The CDC’s Salmonella symptoms page states that symptoms usually start 6 hours to 6 days after infection and usually last 4 to 7 days. They include watery diarrhea that might have blood or mucus and stomach cramps that can be severe. A fever higher than 102°F and diarrhea or vomiting lasting more than 2 days are among the reasons it lists to call a doctor.

Costco’s rotisserie chickens have turned up in viral videos before, such as an Instacart shopper’s 20 rotisserie chickens.

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