Costco shopper who bought the store chicken issues a major warning: "I just want people to..."

Costco memberships are coveted among shoppers thanks to the deals and free samples, among other perks, such as the return policy that they offer. Recently, customers of the retail chain have been highlighting the flip side of shopping at Costco by raising concerns about the quality of products. The latest to join the bandwagon was a TikToker @lei.unleashed, who shared some facts on the treatment practices of dressed chicken in the U.S., which are banned across Europe. She claimed that the chicken sold by retailers such as Costco is soaked in chemicals such as chlorine.

In a video posted on TikTok, @lei.unleashed revealed the truth behind processed chicken at grocery stores. “Did you know that unless your chicken is air chilled it is dumped in a water bath that has chemicals in it?” she said in her now-viral video. She further claimed that Americans are eating chlorinated chicken that is water-chilled during processing. She explained that as per the U.S. industry standard, the dressed chicken is dumped in chlorinated water for treatment, and  "up to 12% of the weight" of the chicken can come from that chlorinated water.

"Every feel like your chicken is a bit stringy when raw? I am looking at you Costco! Yeah, that’s because the chlorine breaks down the muscle fibers," she said. She added that the practice is banned in Europe and she only learned about the treatment after buying air-chilled chicken from a local meat producer. "He was kind enough to educate me on how mass chicken processing works in America. I’m incredibly grateful that they source chicken that is air chilled so that I can know I’m putting quality food in my body," she said in the end.

Further in the caption of her posts on Instagram and TikTok, the creator shared that there is more than antibiotics in chicken to worry about. "Europe and Canada not only air chill but American chicken is BANNED because of our wet chill practice. We should demand MORE regulations on food safety, not less," she wrote.

According to The Grocer, chicken in America is treated with chlorine and antimicrobial rinses in order to remove harmful bacteria, such as salmonella and listeria. In the process, after the birds are slaughtered, the carcasses undergo a “final washing procedure” where chemicals are applied as a spray or wash on the processing line. According to the BBC, the practice was banned by the European Union (EU) in 1997 over food safety concerns, which stopped virtually all imports of US chicken meat. 

Several viewers agreed with the creator as they too learned about the treatment process recently. "This is how I learned about this too! I asked my farmer why his meat tastes so much better, why it lasts longer in my fridge, and why the other stuff has a weird texture. When he said there are chemicals in the chicken, I about died," @thehocketthome shared on Instagram. 

However, some claimed that Costco wasn't to blame as their Kirkland brand does not use chlorinated chicken. "From what I have been told, Costco does not use chlorine, and they have been using the air-chilled method for quite some time. You have to buy the chicken with the Kirkland label," @natural.simpleliving suggested. 

For more updates and videos follow @lei.unleashed on TikTok and Instagram.