Costco Sued Over Alleged Salmonella Contamination at Chicken Plant
A proposed class-action lawsuit has been filed against retail giant Costco Wholesale Corp., alleging that its iconic rotisserie chickens may pose a significant food safety risk. The complaint, filed in a Seattle federal court, claims that the company’s primary poultry processing facility in Fremont, Nebraska, consistently fails to meet U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) safety standards for Salmonella contamination. The legal action stems from a December 2025 study by the nonprofit animal welfare organization "Farm Forward." According to the complaint, USDA inspection data revealed that over 9.8% of whole chickens and 15.4% of chicken parts at the Nebraska plant tested positive for Salmonella. These figures allegedly place the facility in "Category 3," the lowest USDA rating, indicating a failure to maintain adequate pathogen control.
While the lawsuit does not cite specific instances of foodborne illness, it contends that customers overpaid for a product they believed was produced under higher safety standards. The company sold over 157 million rotisserie chickens in 2025 alone.
