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The Massive Ground Beef Recall That Rocked Costco Back In The '90s
Although Costco is known for offering items in bulk, it actually offers fewer different products when compared to other stores — around 4,000 compared to 30,000, which is one of the reasons it's able to keep its prices lower than most other retailers. Over the years, the chain has sometimes had to offer even fewer items than usual after having to pull a product from shelves. One of the biggest recalls to affect the warehouse chain happened just 14 years after the very first Costco location opened its doors.
In June 1998, the company issued a recall for frozen ground beef patties in all 24 states that they operated in at the time due to concerns of potential contamination with E. coli bacteria. The decision affected 172,000 pounds of ground beef across two products (6-pound packages of Kirkland Signature Ground Sirloin and Loin of Beef, in boxes of 18 ⅓-pound frozen patties and boxes of 24 ¼-pound frozen patties) and stemmed from one reported illness in New York state. A report by SFGate claimed this marked the first time Costco recalled one of its own products.
Read more: 7 Costco Kirkland Brand Frozen Meals, Ranked Worst To Best
The one illness linked to the meat involved an elderly woman who consumed the product at a barbecue. The USDA conducted tests on that batch of Costco ground beef and discovered traces of E. coli 0157:H7 bacteria. Seven other people at the same barbecue who ate the beef patties did not get sick. The USDA theorized that the woman may not have washed her hands after she handled the uncooked ground beef. No other contamination of the ground beef was found by tests conducted by Costco and other independent laboratories. Costco nonetheless offered full refunds for returns of the product, even if it had already been opened.
Although that was one of the worst food recalls that Costco had, it doesn't even come close to the biggest meat recall of all time. That unfortunate distinction goes to one of the 10 worst food recalls in U.S. history. It affected 143 million pounds of beef from Westland/Hallmark Meat in 2008. For its part, Costco has had other major recalls of private label products, including ones for its Kirkland Signature Organic Eggs and nearly 80,000 pounds of butter in November 2024.
Read the original article on Tasting Table.
