A user on TikTok has sparked discussion after claiming that they purchased an undercooked rotisserie chicken from Costco.
In a video with over 141,000 views as of Saturday morning, TikTok user @ala112_ shows a rotisserie chicken that she claims to have purchased from Costco. The inside of the chicken has several shades of pink.
“Thank you costco for the medium rare chicken,” she writes in the text overlaying the video. In the caption, she adds, “Favorite shade of salmonella.”
@ala112_ favourite shade of salmonella xx #fyp #costco ♬ Red Ruby Da Sleeze – Nicki Minaj
However, commenters weren’t too sure that the chicken was actually undercooked.
“That’s fully cooked lol,” a user wrote. “You must eat dry chicken.”
“Uhhh, that’s actally very cooked. The pink actually indicates that the chicken was very fresh before cooking,” added another. “It’s rotisserie, that’s how it looks lol.”
“That chicken is cooked,” stated a third. “You can see the striations in the meat. You cant see the fibers in raw chicken.”
In response, the TikToker insisted that the chicken was undercooked across several comments.
While the video may not show the whole story, it appears that this rotisserie chicken is fully cooked. In a piece for The Kitchn, author Emma Christensen explains why some parts of a cooked chicken may appear pink even after the chicken has been fully cooked.
According to the USDA, “Even fully cooked poultry can sometimes show a pinkish tinge in the meat and juices. This is particularly true of young chickens whose bones and skin are still very permeable,” Christensen says. “Pigment in the bone marrow can color the surrounding tissue and make the bones themselves look very dark. Hemoglobin in the muscles can likewise react with air during cooking to give the meat a pinkish color even after cooking. The chicken’s feed and whether it’s been frozen can also affect the final color.”
The true way to test whether a chicken is fully done cooking is by checking it with a thermometer. Thankfully, Costco regularly checks its rotisserie chickens to ensure they’re reached the correct temperature.
When a similar concern went viral last year, Costco NZ responded by noting that “Costco has stringent food safety procedures in place to ensure that cooked chicken is safe for consumption…Gas direct fire ovens are used to cook chickens and cooked to an internal temperature of 84C [183F] or above before it can be removed from the oven.” This is above the recognized ‘safe’ internal temperature of 74C [165F].
However, if one is truly concerned that their rotisserie chicken is undercooked, some internet users claim that one can return the chicken for a full refund thanks to the company’s generous return policy.
The Daily Dot reached out to Costco via media contact form and @ala112_ via TikTok comment.
