The 11 Biggest Costco Recalls Of All Time

When it comes to helping you save the most money possible on your next trip for groceries, there is a reason why an estimated 136 million people globally purchase a membership to shop at Costco supermarkets. Stocking a combination of diverse and high quality fresh, frozen, and canned food and beverages, Costco is the perfect place to buy ingredients or pre-made meals in bulk to help you keep food on the table. 

To provide value for money to customers, Costco emphasizes offering goods in bulk, which in turn requires large supply chains. However, the substantial stocking requirements for each of its 627 store locations across 49 U.S states means that when a product is found to be defective, contaminated, or dangerous, massive product recalls are required. As Costco approaches nearly 50 years of helping American families with their groceries, here is a list of the biggest Costco product recalls that have ever happened and the reasons why.

As the oldest entry to be featured on this list, the 1998 Kirkland Signature ground beef recall was not only one of earliest but also largest product recalls throughout Costco's history. While you can't find any official FDA recall notices regarding this incident online, reporting by Reuters in 1998 archived by the Los Angeles Times reveals all the key details of the incident. Due to a E.Coli contamination, over 172,000 pounds of ground beef was eventually disposed of. This discovery was originally made after an elderly woman in New York became sick from eating this ground beef at a barbecue. 

Kirkland Signature ground beef products were recalled from 24 states, including Kirkland 6-pound packages of ground sirloin and loin of beef patties, boxes of individual ⅓-pound frozen patties, Kirkland Signature ground beef patties, and boxes of 24 individual ¼-pound frozen patties. 

This recall sparked doubts from the FDA and public alike after seven other people who attended the same barbecue came forth stating they did not get sick from consuming the Costco beef. Furthermore, later testing and analysis found no traces of the E.Coli contamination. Regardless, Costco made sure to offer full refunds to customers who purchased ground beef products during June of 1998.

The rotisserie chicken is hands down one of the best items you can add to your cart while shopping at Costco. In 2015, however, this Costco staple became the focus of an investigation for an E.Coli outbreak. Reported to have began on November the 3rd of 2015, the E.Coli outbreak resulted in 19 individuals becoming sick across seven states. 16 of these individuals were found to have consumed Costco rotisserie chicken salad in the week prior to developing symptoms, and the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) concluded Costco Wholesale stores were the most probable source of the outbreak.

Due to this E.Coli outbreak, five people were hospitalized while two developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a severe blood disorder. In response to the outbreak, Costco voluntarily recalled all its rotisserie chicken salads stocked across the country, while the provider of the onion and celery blend in the salad (Taylor Farms Pacific) voluntarily recalled the blend being used in other products at the time. After Taylor Farms Pacific voluntarily submitted its vegetable blend for further laboratory analysis, it was concluded to have not contained the E.Coli bacteria. After pulling rotisserie chicken salads from shelves, the FDA continued to advise all Costco customers to dispose of their rotisserie chicken salads to avoid infection.

In November of 2024, Costco was forced to recall a staple of its in-house brand, Kirkland Signature: Signature unsalted sweet cream butter and Signature salted sweet cream butter. The reason why Costco needed to recall these creamy sticks of butter wasn't because they contained anything out of the ordinary, but simply because the product failed to declare it contained milk on the allergen label.

To operate within the regulations outlined by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), all food products sold in supermarkets are required to list major allergens on the packaging, such as shellfish, tree nuts, and of course, milk. While it may seem obvious that a stick of butter would contain milk in its ingredients, Costco was mandated to recall all Kirkland Signature butter distributed throughout the state of Texas.

In total, the Kirkland Signature butter recall resulted in over 2,000 cases of salted and unsalted butter being removed from Costco store shelves, equivalent to nearly 80,000 pounds of butter. As food allergies can lead to potentially life-threatening allergic reactions such as anaphylaxis, Costco did the right thing by expediently retracting its butter from Texan warehouses. Kirkland butter sticks with this allergen labelling defect had best by dates between February 22, 2025 and March 29, 2025.

In February of 2025, Tri-Union Seafoods recalled the Genova yellowfin tuna in olive oil being sold in major supermarket chains including Trader Joe's, Walmart, and of course, Costco. Unlike the first entry on this list however, these 7 ounce cans of fish posed a much more significant threat to consumers. After shipping the Genova yellowfin tuna in olive oil, Tri-Union suppliers discovered the 'easy to pull' can lids would sometimes result in the product's seal being compromised. 

This manufacturing defect resulted in many of the tins leaking liquid, and more significantly, this posed a high likelihood of the can's contents being contaminated with clostridium botulinum, more commonly referred to as 'botulism'. While a rare bacterial disease, botulism is a form of food poisoning where the toxins attack the body's nervous system. Botulism in most cases causes people to experience blindness, muscle fatigue, respiratory difficulties, paralysis, and in many cases, death.

Fortunately, this manufacturing mishap wasn't recorded to have affected any of the other Tri-Union canned fish product lines, as the Genova yellowfin tuna in olive oil was the only product featuring the easy pull lids. If you do find you still have one of these cans on your shelf, you are able to return it directly to Costco or order a retrieval kit from Tri-Union Seafoods. Costco locations in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Puerto Rico, and North Carolina were exclusively stocking this product.

Foster Farms is doing something right when it comes to its frozen chicken products. While its chicken tenders continue to make their way into the trolleys of many Costco customers, those who purchased the Foster Farms Frozen Chicken Patties in 2022 might have been in for a shock.

Produced on August the 11th, these pre-cooked, breaded chicken patties were found to have contained "extraneous materials," more specifically, shards of clear plastic. Once the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) was alerted to the presence of the hard plastic contamination, an immediate product recall was issued for these 80 ounce plastic bags, each containing 20 chicken patties. Distributed in the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Utah, and Washington, an estimated 148,000 pounds of chicken was recalled from Costco warehouses in total. However, FSIS declared it was possible this product was shipped to additional store locations across the U.S. with low stock.

During this recall, a major concern for both Foster Farms and FSIS were that Costco customers may be storing these bags of chicken patties in their freezer in bulk, unaware of the danger they could pose to their health. While no injuries were reported from these contaminated patties, FSIS urged all Costco customers to look in their freezers for Foster Farms products with a best by date of Aug. 11, 2023.

After an outbreak of the hepatitis A virus was traced back to products distributed by four major fruit companies, grocery chains including Costco were required to recall a series of products containing the fruit. In March of 2023, California Splendor Inc. (Kirkland Signature's supplier) recalled 4 ounce bags of the Kirkland Signature organic strawberries, affecting Costco Wholesale stores in Colorado, Texas, California, and Arizona. In the same year, Scenic Fruit Company, Willamette Valley Fruit Co., and Wawona Frozen Foods issued similar recall notices for products containing strawberries after an extensive investigation by the FDA and CDC concluded the hepatitis A outbreak originated on farms located in Baja California, Mexico.

A contagious liver disease, hepatitis A poses a serious threat to public health globally. At the time of the recall, nine patients had already been hospitalized in California, Oregon and Washington due to exposure to the organic strawberries shipped from Baja California, Mexico. While most cases of hepatitis A resolve in several weeks or months, extreme cases lead to liver failure and even death within 15 to 50 days. Being vaccinated post exposure can prevent symptoms from developing, so all customers who had been in contact with the contaminated strawberries were encouraged to consult doctors for medical advice.

Kirkland Signature eggs are a consistently loved product at Costco, offering plenty of nutrition and value for money. But one thing people often know about farm-laid eggs (apart from all the different ways you can cook them) is that they can be contaminated with the disease salmonella. Salmonella originates on the shell of the eggs, due to fecal matter from chickens that may contain salmonella bacterium. Potentially fatal for young children, the elderly, or immunocompromised individuals, salmonella commonly leads to symptoms such as fevers, nausea, and in rare cases, aneurysms.

In November of 2024, Handsome Brook Farms reported the contamination of eggs supplied to Costco for its Kirkland Signature brand, labeled and sold as Organic Pasture Raised 24-Count Eggs. A voluntary recall was issued. Handsome Brook Farms stated that the contaminated eggs were mistakenly packaged and distributed to 25 store locations in the states of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. 

While fortunately no illnesses were reported from the Kirkland Signature Eggs, 10,800 units were recalled by Handsome Brook Farms in cooperation with the FDA, meaning that nearly 300,000 individual eggs were removed from Costco warehouses. Other Kirkland signature egg products were unaffected by this massive recall, and customers were urged to return their 24-Count Eggs to their nearest Costco store for a full refund.

Ellenos Real Greek LLC produces a range of delicious Greek yogurts stocked by Costco. In April of 2023 however, variety packs of the Ellenos Real Greek Yogurt containing 12 4 ounce cups of various flavours were recalled after the discovery of a packaging defect. Upon customers opening the blue tin foil lid of Vanilla Bean Greek Yogurt cups, they were found to contain a layer of bright, yellow puree on top. Inadvertently, the Ellenos Real Greek Lemon Curd Greek Yogurt had been packaged as the Vanilla Bean variant.

While for some this would just be a surprise, the lemon curd contains eggs (which the Vanilla Bean Greek Yogurt does not). As such, it posed a threat to customers with an egg allergy. Since the packaging did not disclose eggs on the allergen label, this mishap could lead to people with severe food allergies experiencing life-threatening reactions.

In coordination with the FDA, Ellenos Real Greek LLC initiated a full recall of Ellenos Real Greek 12 cup variety yogurt packs. CEO John Tucker in an official statement shared Ellenos Real Greek LLC would fully cooperate with distributors and retail partners to ensure these products were disposed of appropriately. All variety packs were removed from Costco shelves and warehouses in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington, but it is unclear exactly how many cups were disposed of in total or how many individual store locations were directly impacted.

While smoked salmon is an excellent choice of protein to buy at Costco, Kirkland Signature smoked salmon remains the focus of an ongoing product recall. After laboratory testing by the FDA confirmed the presence of listeria monocytogenes on the 21st of October, 2024, the producer of the Kirkland Signature Smoked Salmon, Acme Smoked Fish Corporation, issued an official product recall on the 25th of October. As a result, 111 cases of the 12 ounce twin packs of salmon were pulled from Costco stores. 

Sold in Florida between the dates of October 9 and October 13, 2024, Costco shoppers who purchased smoked salmon were urged to check for a best-by date of November 14, 2024, as consuming listeria monocytogenes leads to the disease listeriosis. In high risk groups, listeriosis can lead to severe illnesses, miscarriages with pregnant women, and in rare cases, fatalities.

However, the initial product recall in 2024 would not be the last. Recently, on January 28, 2025, the FDA escalated the Kirkland Signature Smoked Salmon recall notice to Class I, the highest risk level for contamination that can be issued. The FDA initiates Class I recalls if the product in question has a 'reasonable probability' of leading to severe health impacts and the potential for death.

The BrucePac ready-to-eat (RTE) meat and poultry products are a fantastic way for families and large institutions to cater for big groups. However, in 2024, 11,765,285 pounds of RTE meat was recalled after the RTE meat products were discovered to be potentially contaminated with listeria monocytogenes. once the discovery was made during routine testing of products containing BrucePac RTE meat, FSIS, in coordination with BrucePac based out of Durant, Oklahoma, conducted further investigations and eventually found the RTE chicken to be the source of the contamination, affecting a range of products in major supermarkets.

Most concerningly, FSIS expressed a concern that due to the product's nature it may be being used in restaurants, schools and institutions as part of restaurants and dining halls. Later, this assumption was found to be correct; in October of 2024, FSIS began to develop a list of schools who received products containing the BruePac read-to-eat meat and poultry. 

As the BrucePac RTE meat is present in Costco products such as the Rana meal kits, El Monterey taquitos, and Red's Southwestern Style Grilled Chicken Mini Burritos, all similar products containing BrucePac RTE meat were pulled froms tores to protect customers from potential listeria infection. Furthermore, all customers were urged to check the ingredients labels on goods in their fridges and freezers to ensure they did not contain the BrucePac RTE meat or poultry, and dispose of them if so.

As part of the extensive range of Kirkland Signature beverages, the Colombian Cold Brew Coffee stands out for its sleek appearance, affordability, and unique flavors appealing to any lover of caffeine. However, in February of 2023, Berner Food & Beverage recalled approximately 2.7 million cans of the Colombian Cold Brew Coffee due to a possible presence of metal fragments in the product. With best by dates ranging through to October of 2023, cans of the Colombian Cold Brew Coffee posing this risk were distributed to Costco stores in Georgia, New Jersey, California, Maryland, Michigan, Illinois, Washington, Arizona, Utah, Florida, Colorado, Texas and Minnesota.

According to the official product recall notice published by the FDA on the 17th of February, the recall was initiated after the discovery of a metal bolt on one of the cans. Furthermore, as the FDA were unable to verify that this product received a Certificate of Product Registration — one of the key requirements for receiving approval to distribute — all Colombian Cold Brew Coffee in this shipment were unable to be declared as safe for consumption. 

While no injuries were reported in relation to the consumption of Kirkland Signature Colombian Cold Brew Coffee, there's no doubt the FDA were ahead of the curve on this recall fearing the damage metal contamination could pose to unaware Costco shoppers.