Why This Costco Meat Is Frequently Returned

Even though Costco is a great store to buy meat from, not every protein offering is of the same caliber. Surprisingly, an everyday pantry staple comes up as a frequent disappointment: the Kirkland Signature bacon. On a Costco Reddit thread, customers take issue specifically with the pre-sliced packages, noting a scant thickness that deteriorates upon cooking. "[The] last pack we bought was so thin that it practically glued itself to the [tray] and was unsalvageable," one commenter noted. Other users critique the flavor, disliking the intense saltiness. And Redditors on a different Costco discussion chime in with further disappointments regarding the fat content. "You can't even separate [the slices] sometimes because the fat just sticks and then [separates] onto the other piece," one user wrote.

All such off-putting factors make the cured pork one of the Costco foods that shoppers return the most. Thankfully, the retailer offers a generous return policy built to ensure customer satisfaction. Although beneficial, it's not even strictly necessary to bring the receipt or original packaging, but it's best to arrive at the store with at least half of the foodstuff remaining. So if you accidentally throw the bacon into the cart, politely explain any problems and you'll likely be compensated.

Costco's Kirkland Signature brand sliced bacon draws the bulk of negative reviews, but it's not the retailer's only flawed cured pork product. In times past, customers preferred the store's thick-cut bacon variety, although the item's reception has also declined. Costco Reddit users pointed out worrying defects like "[lots] of liquid in the package," a slimy texture, and, as with the thin-cut product, excessive fattiness.

The bacon bits don't fare much better. "They are tough and dry and so much worse than the previous 10 years of buying them," a Redditor on a different Costco thread wrote. And to further add to the worries, both Canadian and American Costco shoppers report a common issue with bacon packaging, noting often ruptured vacuum seals. Such a defect can result in possible spoilage, as well as an off-putting appearance, making a bacon purchase immediately regrettable.

Some folks theorize that Smithfield makes Kirkland Signature bacon, a brand that also appears at grocers like Kroger and Dollar General. Shoppers report industry-wide dissatisfaction with this cured pork type, so perhaps the huge bacon manufacturer unites such supply chain issues.