Costco's beloved $5 rotisserie chickens are ruffling feathers-here's why

"The legendary $4.99 rotisserie chickens from Costco are under fire this week as a proposed class action lawsuit claims the big box retailer has been misleading customers. Two California shoppers noticed something that might seem obvious in retrospect: To sell an entire, slow-roasted chicken in a plastic bag, Costco added two preservatives. Problem is, the Issaquah, Washington-based company had promised on the packaging, in-store displays, and online that the chicken contained "no preservatives.""

"The lawsuit filed last week with the Southern District claims that Costco's promise that its rotisserie chickens contain no preservatives signals to "reasonable consumers"-like the two women who are plaintiffs in the case-that nothing was added to preserve the taste, flavor, texture, or shelflife of the product. But two preservatives -sodium phosphate and carrageenan-are listed on the ingredient list. "Costco Wholesale Corporation has systemically cheated customers out of tens-if not hundreds-of millions-of dollars by falsely advertising its Kirkland Signature Seasoned Rotisserie Chicken as containing 'no preservatives,'" the lawsuit reads, in part. "Consumers reasonably rely on clear, prominent claims like 'No Preservatives,' especially when deciding what they and their families will eat," Wesley M. Griffith, the California managing partner with Almeida Law Group, which represents the plaintiffs in this lawsuit, said in a statement."

A proposed class-action lawsuit alleges Costco marketed its Kirkland Signature Seasoned Rotisserie Chicken as containing "no preservatives" while the ingredient list names sodium phosphate and carrageenan. Two California shoppers are plaintiffs in the suit filed in the Southern District, asserting that the labeling misled "reasonable consumers" and cost shoppers tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. The lawsuit contends that consumers rely on clear claims like "No Preservatives" when purchasing food. Costco removed preservative statements from labeling and on-line/warehouse signs and acknowledged the use of carrageenan and sodium phosphate in its rotisserie chickens.

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