is Your Costco Rotisserie Chicken Green Sometimes? Here's What You Should Know (2024)

Costco's rotisserie chicken is arguably the most controversial piece of poultry in America. In the span of just one year, customers have claimed that the rotisserie chicken tastes like chemicals and causes gastrointestinal issues. And now, the Costco staple has found itself in the limelight for yet another unappetizing reason.

Last week, a user on Reddit posted a picture of a Costco rotisserie chicken and asked the question: "Rotisserie chicken? Why is the inside green?"

Sure enough, as you can see in the photo, the inside of the roasted chicken appears to have a yellowish-green color. Understandably, there was a bit of shock in the comments section.

"Oh my, I gagged. Not normal," one person wrote.

Thankfully, there were several users who pointed out that the green hue could be caused by a condition known as Green Muscle Disease, which is also referred to as Deep Pectoral Myopathy.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the disease occurs when large turkeys or chickens that are very active, flap their wings frequently, and end up damaging the blood supply to the deep pectoral. The lack of blood supply causes the muscle to turn green.

The USDA offered this reassurance to shoppers: "None of the stages of ischemic myopathy present a food safety hazard to the consumers."

Despite that statement from the USDA, some Costco customers are still a little skeptical of the green rotisserie chicken.

"There’s just no realistic way these days to find meat in a normal (or even a fancy natural type) grocery store that wasn’t produced under horrific and disgusting conditions with tons of animal abuse," one user wrote.

"Yeah those chickens are not normal. Seems like a great price but I avoid them," another person added.