Bad Meat from Costco

[Plata-O-Plomo]

Last Saturday I picked up two cryo packs of Costco's baby back's. That's six racks total. I made sure the expiration date (date to be sold) was the furthest out. These packs were the newest in the bin and could have been held another five days for sale. The ribs were for a family gathering on Sunday. After getting home I placed them right into my storage frig in the garage. Total time out of the refrigerator was about 20 minutes from Costco to home. Truck was air conditioned. Outside temp in the 70's. Should not be a problem. I made up some homemade root beer BBQ sauce for Sunday and waited.


Sunday morning I got up. Got the smoker going and opened the first pack of ribs to season. They smelled really porky and like they were going bad. I seasoned them then opened up the next pack. These were totally bad and smelled up the whole house. Really rank. I tossed them immediately and later ended up having to take them to a landfill in that they smelled like decomp!



I ended up going the whole nine yards with the three racks I had kept but in the end they did not get any better and I would not risk serving them so they too were tossed.



Costco has made it good by reimbursing me for the racks (I did return the ones I cooked. I bet they loved that.). I was just shocked that they would sell ribs that were obviously bad. My bet is my local Costco or where they purchase them, forgot to put a case of ribs into the refrigerator and then when they caught the error put them in for selling even though they had spoiled.



I am just glad I did not serve them and get the whole family sick.

 

[CptKaos]

Sometimes pork has an odor until you wash the meat off with just plain water.

Larry

 

[zippy12]

I bet they were left out of refrigeration for a few days then put back in the cooler... Had a pork butt do the same thing from kroger...

Now then I pay for them I slit the packaging and smell them. Also put the thermometer in your fridge and make sure its not taking a dump on you.

 

[Lynn Dollar]

I bought a 3-pak from US Chef Store a couple weeks ago that was bad, I cut that baybee open and wow , there was no doubt . It was a markdown but still a week ahead of the " sell by " date.

US Chef Store did an even exchange.

 

[ronbrad62]

Those things happen, unfortunately it is usually the consumer that finds the bad products at an inopportune time. As a former meat cutter, I will inspect the cryovac to make sure that there are no leaks, and I will also look at the juices in the bag. If they are mostly clear, no problem, but if it is a little milky or cloudy, it isn't going home with me.

 

[Plata-O-Plomo]

Thanks for the tip ronbrad62. I always look at the meat to see the condition before purchase but did not think to look at the fluid inside. I have always been trusting. Not any more.


My refrigerator temp is good. The one I used for the ribs is for beer storage and I monitor it every day as I have a beer or four. My doctor said I need to drink more water so I added Coors light to my IPA stock. Got to stay hydrated! That should do it.

 

[Kirk]

I had the same thing happen to me this weekend, but with spares from Sam's. One pack was fine and the other stank badly. I was cooking for a friendly neighborhood block party rib cook off too. That left me with enough bones to turn in but not much to share later. It all ended well though, I still won. :-D

 

[NC Mike]

I've often wondered about food that gets left on a shelf somewhere it does not belong in a store. I've seen meat, dairy and frozen food left in all kinds of places. I think most employees don't care if it's warm or not and someone eventually puts it back in stock.

 

[Ron_L]

Glad no one got sick. I've gotten bad meat before, too. Not from Costco, but from other places. It sucks.

I was just shocked that they would sell ribs that were obviously bad.

How would they know? You didn't know until you cut open the cryo, so I'm not sure how they would know. If they were mishandled by an employee it could be that the employee didn't say anything, so the store management would have no idea.

 

[SoCalWJS]

Had one time I picked up a cryovac of BB from Costco, opened them up at the house for prep the next day, and they stunk to high heaven.

Took them back immediately. Costco took them back no questions asked. Seemed like I was not the only one based on their reaction (though I did not ask). Picked up another pack which turned out fine.

Love Costco. :thumb:

 

[gcs]

The two times I bought baby backs from costco they were both bad, never had a problem with any other meat from them....

 

[SonnyE]

Well, Costco and Sam's too are good on their return policies, in our experiences.
No telling what happened. Truck break down, layover with the refer off, Dumb heads behind the walls.

What erks me to no end is to open something and find meat paint on something that is obviously old inside, usually a bulk package of ground beef.
They knew damn well it was old meat, so they paint it to screw the customers.
Where I live, Walmart is the worst for this. So bad, we don't buy meat from them.

 

[WilliamKY]

I've had the exact same problem on three different occasions from Costco. Rotten ribs, rotten chicken breasts, rotten shrimp. My nearest Costco never has anything that isn't 1-3 days from expiration and the meat never seems really cold. I don't understand that. I had a rack of ribs that I opened and they were rancid and still 2 days from expiration. They were so bad I threw them on my compost pile. I took my receipt to the store and they told me I had to return the meat even though I explained it was rotten. Store policy. Angrily I went home and gathered the ribs, dirt, leaves, and all and took them to the store in the back of my truck. It stunk up the store. I got a refund but the return was ridiculous. Costco has a great variety but I don't buy meat there anymore. I'll go to Kroger or Walmart until something changes.

 

[sudsandswine]

It’s happened to me before too. There is any number of things that could have caused it including some other customer strolling around with them in their cart for an hour only to change their mind and put them back. Costco gave me no hassle about the refund even though I threw them in the trash. They did say if it happened again to bring it back or at least keep the wrapper because their supplier wants to know/they want to inform the supplier when such things happen.

When you smell bad pork....you know.

 

[AUswimKC]

Well, Costco and Sam's too are good on their return policies, in our experiences.
No telling what happened. Truck break down, layover with the refer off, Dumb heads behind the walls.

What erks me to no end is to open something and find meat paint on something that is obviously old inside, usually a bulk package of ground beef.
They knew damn well it was old meat, so they paint it to screw the customers.
Where I live, Walmart is the worst for this. So bad, we don't buy meat from them.

Ok, what is meat paint?

 

[BGEChicago]

I don't mean to hijack, I thought you guys would want to know general retail practices to all supermarkets. With all high risk blended meats (anything ground) I would only buy from a reputable butcher for 20 cents higher per pound than the supermarket:
Nitrogen
Like your ground beef to be a bright red color? You can thank carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, a large percentage of nitrogen, and the FDA. This three-gas mixture helps to keep the red look desired by, well, everyone. And while it’s completely safe to eat, it does mess with our perception of the concept of fresh. (And, by the way, you won’t be able to find nitrogen on a label. If you really want to know if the beef you’re eating uses this, ask your grocer; if you want to know if your beef is fresh, use your nose.)

Full link:
https://www.thekitchn.com/whats-really-in-your-ground-beef-228752


Many times I went to my local butcher at the end of the day, I asked for 2 pounds, they gave me 3 for the same price. They said "I'd rather give it to you for free then throw it away."

Thanks,
Greg

 

[SonnyE]

Ok, what is meat paint?

https://www.animalsaustralia.org/features/food-dye-food-lies-poison-gas-chemical-dyes.php

If you ever buy a big package of Ground beef, and break it down into smaller sizes for your freezer, it may be bright fresh red on the outside, or on the part you can see at the store through the cellophane.
But the bottom, or the middle can be pretty ugly.
It's been tinted to look fresher than it is. It's a meat tint, or I call it paint, to make old meat appear fresher.
Check out the link and the videos in it. :shocked:

 

[Jason TQ]

How would Costco know? Bad meat happens. Don’t over analyze it. Happens at different stores. Literally never bought bad pork once at Costco in 10+yrs. Had some stinky stuff from RD and a few local supermarkets. Took it back and they exchanged it or refund.

Had this happened a lot from one place something is not right with how they handle meat........but one is not a big sample size.

 

[Smoke on Badger Mountain]

Never had a piece of bad meat from Costco ever. But I'm sure it happens there just like any other store. But if I did get a bad piece I would make sure to tell my little brother, He's a staff manager for Costco. I like giving him a hard time. That is what big brothers do!

I did have one meat mistake there once though. I was cooking for about a hundred people and wanted to buy a case of pork butt. I asked one of the guys in the meat department to grab me a case of pork shoulder. He came back a few min later with the case and the correct shoulder case price label on the side that he printed after weighing it. Payed for the meat and went out to the truck to pack it away in the ice chest. (it's 1.25hrs from town to home) Well when I opened it up it was not shoulder. It was cushion meat. So I took it right back to returns. It was easy to return as are most things at Costco. But the returns supervisor was bummed about the money that they literally tossed into the trash right before my eyes. He said that if they ever make a mistake like that again and its in my favor, such as paying for roast and getting beef tenderloin just keep it because otherwise its going in the trash. I now really want one of those mistakes.

 

[Nomamm]

Last Saturday I picked up two cryo packs of Costco's baby back's. That's six racks total. I made sure the expiration date (date to be sold) was the furthest out. These packs were the newest in the bin and could have been held another five days for sale. The ribs were for a family gathering on Sunday. After getting home I placed them right into my storage frig in the garage. Total time out of the refrigerator was about 20 minutes from Costco to home. Truck was air conditioned. Outside temp in the 70's. Should not be a problem. I made up some homemade root beer BBQ sauce for Sunday and waited.


Sunday morning I got up. Got the smoker going and opened the first pack of ribs to season. They smelled really porky and like they were going bad. I seasoned them then opened up the next pack. These were totally bad and smelled up the whole house. Really rank. I tossed them immediately and later ended up having to take them to a landfill in that they smelled like decomp!



I ended up going the whole nine yards with the three racks I had kept but in the end they did not get any better and I would not risk serving them so they too were tossed.



Costco has made it good by reimbursing me for the racks (I did return the ones I cooked. I bet they loved that.). I was just shocked that they would sell ribs that were obviously bad. My bet is my local Costco or where they purchase them, forgot to put a case of ribs into the refrigerator and then when they caught the error put them in for selling even though they had spoiled.



I am just glad I did not serve them and get the whole family sick.

Ummm, we are neighbors for the most part. Unless you went to Reno or sparks Costco, you went to the one on clear creek. I have bought many packs of ribs from them, a lot! Never had an issue. I bought a pack about 3 weeks ago and all was good. Makes me wonder, I buy a ton steaks from this Costco and had some of the worst meat ever. Just terrible.

It’s up and down with Costco