Costco faces class-action lawsuit over rotisserie chicken

Costco is facing a class-action lawsuit accusing the warehouse retailer of falsely advertising that its Kirkland Signature Seasoned Rotisserie Chicken contained no preservatives, according to court documents.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, alleges that signage inside the Costco store and website “creates the overall net impression that grilled chicken contains no added preservatives.” But the lawsuit also claims those claims are false, arguing that “the roasted chicken is made with two added preservatives — sodium phosphate and carrageenan.”

“The presence of sodium phosphate and carrageenan, the added preservatives that act as such in roasted chicken, belies the overall impression created by Costco’s ‘preservative-free’ advertising,” says the lawsuit filed on behalf of Anatasia Chernoff and Bianca Johnston.

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The plaintiffs argued that customers, including themselves, made purchasing decisions based on whether a food product was “preservative-free” and that they were unable to determine before purchasing the chicken whether it contained additional preservatives.

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Any mention of the ingredients, if they were disclosed at all, appeared only in small print on the back of the label and did not explain their preservative function, the lawsuit says. The lawsuit alleged that these disclosures were insufficient to counter the “no preservatives” claims that Costco prominently displayed.

A customer chooses a roasted chicken at a Costco store in Florida. (Lindsay Nicholson/UCG/Universal Image Group via Getty Images)

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It also alleges that the company had superior knowledge about how ingredients worked and failed to share that information with consumers.

“Consumers reasonably rely on clear and prominent claims like ‘no preservatives,’ especially when deciding what they and their families will eat,” Wesley Griffith, California managing partner at Almeida law Group LLC who represents the party suing Costco, told FOX Business.

He also said that “Costco’s ingredient list is inconsistent with its marketing. Our lawsuit seeks to hold Costco accountable for deceiving its customers.”

The company’s Kirkland Signature Seasoned Rotisserie Chicken is at the center of the lawsuit. (Lindsay Nicholson/UCG/Universal Image Group via Getty Images)

FOX Business has reached out to Costco for comment.

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Costco stock was trading at about $977, down about 0.5% in midday trading. Shares are up more than 13% year to date.