Costco shoppers expect quality and safety when they load up their oversized carts with bulk items. But 2025 brought several unexpected recalls that sent customers rushing back to their local warehouses for refunds. From contaminated salads to potentially exploding bottles, this year tested even the most loyal Costco members. Some recalls affected just a few states, while others spread across the entire country. The good news is that Costco and its suppliers moved quickly to address these issues, but the recalls served as important reminders about food safety and the importance of checking those email alerts from your favorite warehouse club.
Caesar salads contained plastic pieces in the dressing
Nobody wants a crunchy surprise in their salad dressing, especially when it’s plastic. In November 2025, Costco and supplier Ventura Foods recalled Caesar salads and chicken sandwiches with Caesar salad after discovering that plastic material contaminated the dressing. The affected products included Item #19927 Caesar Salad and Item #11444 Chicken Sandwich with Caesar Salad, sold between October 17 and November 9. Costco didn’t mess around with its warning, telling customers to immediately stop eating these products. While the items were past their sell-by dates when the recall was announced, anyone who still had them at home needed to either toss them or return them for a full refund.
The plastic contamination posed real risks beyond just an unpleasant eating experience. Small plastic pieces could potentially cause choking or internal injuries if swallowed. This recall affected multiple states and required Costco to track down products that customers had already purchased and taken home. The company issued urgent statements asking people to check their refrigerators immediately. For anyone who experienced illness or injury after eating these salads, health officials recommended contacting a doctor right away. The recall highlighted how manufacturing issues at supplier facilities can quickly affect thousands of customers across multiple warehouse locations.
Tuna cans had compromised seals allowing botulism bacteria
Canned tuna seems like one of the safest products you can buy, with its long shelf life and sealed container. But in February 2025, Costco locations in Georgia and Florida had to recall Genova brand tuna produced by Tri-Union Seafoods because of potential botulism contamination. The problem stemmed from manufacturing issues with the easy pull lids on the cans. These compromised lids could allow dangerous bacteria called Clostridium botulinum to get inside the cans and contaminate the fish. Botulism is extremely serious and can damage the nervous system, potentially leading to paralysis or even death in severe cases. The fact that something as simple as a faulty lid could create such a dangerous situation shows why food manufacturers need to maintain strict quality control.
Other retailers besides Costco were affected by this recall, including Trader Joe’s, which had to pull tuna from stores in many more states. Costco got somewhat lucky that its exposure was limited to just two states, but any botulism risk demands immediate action. Customers who bought this tuna needed to check their pantries carefully and return any affected cans rather than taking chances. The symptoms of botulism can appear anywhere from a few hours to several days after eating contaminated food, and they include blurred vision, difficulty swallowing, muscle weakness, and trouble breathing. This recall served as a reminder that even shelf-stable canned goods aren’t completely immune to safety issues.
Prepared foods from Fresh & Ready caused hospitalizations
When you’re tired after a long day and grab a prepared sandwich or salad from the Costco deli, you expect convenience and safety. Unfortunately, in May 2025, six different Fresh & Ready Foods products sold at Costco locations in four states turned out to be potentially contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The recalled items included garlic pesto salad, egg salad sandwiches, and turkey and cheese croissants. This recall had tragic consequences that went beyond just throwing away food. Ten people became sick after eating these products in California and Nevada, with all of them requiring hospitalization. Most devastating of all, one person died from the contamination. These prepared foods never get cooked or heated before eating, which means any bacteria present goes straight into your body without being killed off first.
Listeria is particularly dangerous for pregnant women, elderly people, and anyone with a weakened immune system. The bacteria can cause fever, muscle aches, nausea, and diarrhea, but in severe cases it leads to serious infections of the bloodstream or brain. The Fresh & Ready recall showed that prepared foods from the deli section carry slightly higher risks than packaged products because they’re handled more during preparation and eaten without any additional cooking step. While the chances of getting sick from deli items remain relatively low overall, this incident reminded everyone that food safety isn’t guaranteed. Anyone who bought these products during the affected time period needed to dispose of them immediately or return them to their local warehouse for a refund.
Topo Chico mineral water contained harmful Pseudomonas bacteria
Bottled water seems like the last thing that could make you sick, but even this simple product wasn’t safe from recalls in 2025. In June, Costco stores across Texas and Louisiana had to pull cases of Topo Chico Mineral Water from their shelves after discovering potential contamination with Pseudomonas bacteria. The affected cases were sold over a nine-day period, which meant tracking down every customer who bought them during that window. Coca-Cola, which owns Topo Chico, tried to downplay the risks by saying that healthy people face very low danger and that immunocompromised individuals might only experience minor health issues. That description seems to gloss over the reality that Pseudomonas infections can become quite serious, especially for people with weakened immune systems.
In the worst cases, Pseudomonas infection can cause severe illness and even death in vulnerable people. Even milder infections bring nasty symptoms like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, difficulty breathing, fever, and skin abscesses. The bacteria can affect multiple parts of the body at once, making people feel absolutely miserable. While most healthy adults who drank the contaminated water probably didn’t experience serious problems, anyone with a compromised immune system faced real risks. The recall showed that even products as basic as bottled mineral water need careful quality control throughout the manufacturing and bottling process. Costco and Coca-Cola moved quickly to notify customers and remove affected products from shelves before more people could be exposed.
Ritz crackers were packaged in the wrong wrappers
Mislabeling might not sound as scary as bacterial contamination, but it creates serious dangers for people with food allergies. In July 2025, Costco discovered it was selling Ritz Peanut Butter Cracker Sandwiches that were individually wrapped in foil meant for the cheese variety. Mondelēz Global LLC, the manufacturer, had shipped these incorrectly packaged crackers in three different box sizes plus a 20-count variety pack. The products were sold throughout June and July before anyone caught the mistake. The big problem was that while the outer boxes listed peanuts as an allergen, the individual foil wrappers inside did not. Someone with a nut allergy could easily grab one of these wrapped packs, assume they were cheese crackers based on the wrapper, and eat them without realizing they contained peanuts.
This scenario becomes even more likely with bulk products from Costco because people often remove items from their original boxes and store them separately. A parent might put individually wrapped crackers in a kid’s lunch box or leave them in a pantry without the outer packaging nearby. Anyone checking the wrapper wouldn’t see any warning about peanuts and could eat them without knowing the danger. Nut allergies can cause severe, life-threatening reactions that require immediate emergency treatment. The fact that these mislabeled crackers sat on Costco shelves for weeks before anyone noticed the problem is concerning. Allergen information needs to be completely accurate and clearly visible on every piece of packaging, not just the outer box. Fortunately, no illnesses were reported from this recall, but it easily could have ended tragically.
Dubai chocolate had incorrect allergen information listed
Dubai Style Chocolate became wildly popular throughout 2025, and Costco jumped on the trend by stocking Rolling Pin brand chocolate bars. Unfortunately, the rush to get this trendy product on shelves led to an oversight with the allergen labeling. For almost three months, Costco sold this chocolate with packaging that listed gluten as an allergen instead of wheat. The manufacturing company didn’t catch the mistake until the chocolate had been available in stores for quite a while. While most people who are allergic to wheat know to avoid gluten as well, allergen labels should always be as specific and accurate as possible. Someone quickly scanning the ingredients might miss the connection and assume the product was safe for them to eat.
Mislabeling allergens is always serious because people with food allergies depend on this information to make safe choices. A wheat allergy can cause reactions ranging from mild discomfort to severe anaphylaxis requiring emergency treatment with an EpiPen. The fact that this incorrectly labeled chocolate sat on Costco shelves for nearly three months shows that both the manufacturer and retailer missed multiple opportunities to catch the error. Quality control checks should happen before products ever reach store shelves, and regular reviews should catch mistakes that slip through initially. The good news was that nobody reported becoming ill from eating this chocolate, probably because most wheat-allergic people do avoid gluten anyway. Still, the recall highlighted the importance of getting every detail right when it comes to allergen information.
Kirkland Prosecco bottles could explode without warning
A bottle of bubbly is supposed to pop when you open it for celebration, not explode randomly on your shelf. But in September 2025, Costco issued a recall for Kirkland Signature Prosecco Valdobbiadene sold between April and August after discovering the bottles could shatter unexpectedly. The recall notice warned that these bottles posed an immediate risk of harm because they could explode even when nobody was touching them. Imagine reaching into your wine rack or walking past a cabinet when a bottle suddenly bursts, sending glass shards flying in every direction. The defective bottles didn’t need any trigger like movement or temperature changes to explode, they could just go off randomly at any time. This created a genuinely dangerous situation in people’s homes where they should feel completely safe.
Costco clarified that while it sold the Prosecco under its Kirkland Signature brand, the actual manufacturer was Ethica Wines, and customers should direct concerns to them. Still, Costco had to do most of the work tracking down bottles sold across 12 different states. Anyone who bought this Prosecco during the affected months needed to handle the bottles very carefully while removing them from their homes. The safest approach was to place the bottle in a box or bag to contain any glass if it shattered, then carefully transport it back to Costco for a refund. This recall was particularly frustrating because Kirkland Signature wines, including the Prosecco, are popular products that many Costco members buy regularly. Hopefully Ethica Wines fixed whatever manufacturing issue caused the dangerous pressure buildup in these bottles.
Kirkland ahi tuna poke had Listeria from green onions
Fresh fish from the grocery store always requires a bit of trust, and in September 2025 that trust was tested when Kirkland Signature Fresh Ahi Tuna Wasabi Poke was recalled for potential Listeria contamination. Western United Fish Company, which manufactured the product, discovered that the poke might contain the dangerous bacteria. Interestingly, the contamination wasn’t linked to the fish itself but to the green onions that were mixed into the product. These onions came from a different supplier and apparently weren’t properly screened for bacteria before being added to the poke. No illnesses had been reported at the time of the recall, but Western United moved quickly to notify Costco and customers about the potential danger. Raw fish dishes like poke are already eaten without cooking, which means any bacteria present goes straight into your system.
This recall created a massive headache for Costco even though the contaminated product was only sold on a single business day. The poke had been stocked in an incredible 33 different states, meaning the warehouse club had to try tracking down roughly 1.6 tons of prepared fish across the country. Anyone who bought the affected poke needed to either throw it away immediately or return it to their local Costco. The short shelf life of fresh fish meant that most customers had probably already eaten their poke by the time the recall was announced, which made the situation even more stressful. Listeria can take weeks to cause symptoms, so people had to watch for signs of illness long after eating the potentially contaminated product. This recall showed how ingredients from multiple suppliers can create risks in prepared foods.
Multiple corn dog brands contained pieces of wood
Frozen corn dogs are a quick, easy meal that lasts for months in the freezer. But customers who bought corn dogs from both Jimmy Dean and Foster Farms at Costco during 2025 got an unpleasant surprise when they bit into their food. People started complaining to both companies about finding pieces of wood embedded in the corn dog batter. These weren’t tiny splinters either, some pieces were large enough to be immediately noticeable when chewing. The complaints came from multiple customers over an extended period, with affected products sold for almost half the year before the recalls were finally issued. Both manufacturers had to track down corn dogs sold over many months at Costco locations nationwide. Finding wood in your food is not only gross but also dangerous, as sharp pieces could cause choking or injure your mouth, throat, or digestive system.
The recalls covered corn dogs sold over such a long time frame that many customers had probably already eaten their entire box before learning about the problem. Anyone who still had affected corn dogs in their freezer needed to throw them away or return them for a refund rather than taking chances. The fact that two separate manufacturers both had issues with wood contamination during the same year suggests problems somewhere in the supply chain that multiple companies use. Wood pieces could come from pallets used during shipping, processing equipment that’s breaking down, or other sources in the manufacturing facility. Whatever the cause, it represented a serious quality control failure that should never make it to customers’ plates. These recalls remind us to stay alert even with familiar frozen foods we’ve bought dozens of times before.
These recalls throughout 2025 tested Costco shoppers’ trust in their favorite warehouse club. While most of the contamination and mislabeling issues originated with suppliers rather than Costco itself, the retailer still had to manage the fallout and notify affected customers. The good news is that Costco generally moved quickly to issue recalls and offer full refunds when problems were discovered. These incidents serve as important reminders to check your email for recall notices, inspect food carefully before eating, and never hesitate to return products that seem off. Staying informed and cautious helps protect you and your family from potential food safety issues.
