A Costco customer has horrified the internet with the astonishing discovery she made while carving into a rotisserie chicken she'd bought earlier that day that made her feel "instantly nauseous."
In a now viral Reddit post, Michele Campbell (user u/Bogusfakeaddy) shared a picture on July 22 of the partially-carved chicken. However, rather than being completely white inside, parts of it were green. In the days since the post was shared, it has gained over 9,900 votes and 500 comments.
Campbell, 58, of St. Augustine, Florida, told Newsweek via email that the chicken looked "perfectly fine" at first and that she and her husband Bob had already eaten the legs and wings. However, when she carved into the breast portion, that's when she noticed the green discoloration.
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"I was utterly grossed out and immediately concerned that we were going to get sick," Campbell said. "When I saw the green chicken, I took a picture of it and put it back in the bag. We'd also bought a second chicken, so I bought that out of the fridge and hacked into it with a knife to make sure it wasn't green too. Thankfully, it wasn't. Then I started Googling to see if anyone else had experienced this and whether we should seek medical attention."
Newsweek has contacted Costco to provide comment via its online media form.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), green chicken is also known as ischemic myopathy and it doesn't present a food safety hazard to consumers.
It typically occurs in large chickens or turkeys with very large deep pectoral muscles. According to the USDA, when these birds flap their wings a lot, they can damage the blood supply to the deep pectoral muscle and when it loses that, the muscle turns green as a result.
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Research from Mississippi State University suggests other factors can interrupt the blood supply, which include: the speed at which the grower walks the chickens, light intensity in the house, activity level in the days before catch, handling of birds before catching, and excessive noise disturbances.
Campbell explained that they regularly shop at Costco, and they always buy a rotisserie chicken before going on trips as it provides multiple meals while they're away. They've never had this issue before, but she says it will be "a very long time" before she buys another chicken from there.
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Shortly after making the discovery in her food, Campbell liaised with Costco customer service and was given a refund for the chicken. However, she notes that the staff "didn't seem surprised" by what she found.
"If I ever get brave enough to buy another rotisserie chicken, it'll be the smallest bird with the smallest breasts, not the largest one," she continued.
Reddit Users React
Campbell shared a picture of the discolored chicken on Reddit to connect with others who may have experienced something similar, and to find out what she should do about it.
While she never expected it to generate as much attention as it has done so far, she hopes it will increase awareness and that large retailers, like Costco, will address the issue.
"I shared it on Reddit because, if people knew about it or experienced it themselves, they'd tell me what their experience was like and whether they got sick," Campbell said. "If they didn't know Costco has a problem with green chickens, they will now and will hopefully carve their birds and look out for it, instead of finding it after eating part of it and then feeling instantly nauseous like I did."
With over 500 comments on Reddit so far, users were left disgusted by Campbell's discovery and shared their thoughts.
One user wrote: "I'm no expert on chickens, but I don't think it's supposed to be green."
Another added: "That's honestly so disgusting. It's lucky you carved it like that before consumption."
While another Reddit user asked: "Can we just go back to smaller, naturally raised birds please?"
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