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Stop using Costco frozen foods until you watch this video. Millions of families trust the freezer aisle at Costco, believing the products inside are safe, high-quality, and perfect for quick meals. But what many shoppers never notice are the ingredients hidden in small print on the back of those packages. Some popular frozen foods may contain high sodium levels, processed oils, preservatives, and additives that raise serious health concerns when consumed regularly.
In this video, we take a closer look at what’s really inside some of the most popular Costco frozen foods and why the ingredient lists matter more than the brand name on the front.
Stop using Costco frozen foods until you watch this video, because what you’re about to learn might completely change the way you shop in the freezer aisle. Watch until the end to see the full list and protect your family’s health.
In this video, we take a closer look at what’s really inside some of the most popular Costco frozen foods and why the ingredient lists matter more than the brand name on the front.
Stop using Costco frozen foods until you watch this video, because what you’re about to learn might completely change the way you shop in the freezer aisle. Watch until the end to see the full list and protect your family’s health.
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LearningTranscript
00:00Hello everyone! Stop using Costco frozen foods until you watch this video.
00:05Every day, millions of families walk through the freezer aisles at Costco,
00:09believing the products they're buying are safe, high quality, and carefully chosen for their
00:14families. The familiar Kirkland label feels like a guarantee of trust. But what if the foods sitting
00:21in those freezer cases contain ingredients most shoppers never notice? Hidden behind attractive
00:27packaging and bulk value could be additives, processed oils, and preservatives that raise
00:33serious questions about what we're actually putting on our dinner tables. Before your next
00:38Costco run, there's something important you need to see. Today, I'm going to reveal seven Costco
00:44frozen foods brands that are harmful to you and your family's health. 1. Kirkland Signature Chicken Bake
00:51There is a reason the Kirkland Signature Chicken Bake became iconic. Introduced at Costco food
00:58courts during the 1990s, it became one of the top-selling food court items on earth. Families
01:04returning from warehouse runs would stop for one before driving home. It felt like a reward. When
01:10the frozen version arrived in the retail section, available for home preparation, the loyalty
01:15transferred instantly. A single chicken bake delivers approximately 1,490 to 1,610 milligrams
01:24of sodium. The World Health Organization recommends no more than 2,000 milligrams of sodium per day.
01:31One item, one sitting, 75 to 80 percent of the daily limit gone before dinner. But the sodium is not
01:40the
01:40first line of concern. The oil components in the chicken bake contain TBHQ, tertiary butyl hydroquinone,
01:48a petroleum derivative preservative. Japan has banned TBHQ from its food supply. The National
01:55Institutes of Health reviewed the compound in 2021 and identified immune disruption as a concern at
02:02exposure levels achievable through regular consumption. The processed cheese in the filling
02:07contains sodium phosphates, emulsifying salts that accumulate across multiple dietary sources.
02:14The seasoning system contains autolyzed yeast extract, which delivers glutamate, the same functional
02:20compound as monosodium glutamate, without the three-letter disclosure. A family buying the multi-pack at
02:27Costco does not consume one chicken bake. They consume the additive profile of every ingredient in that product,
02:34six times, ten times, across weeks, at a cumulative exposure level that a standard retail package never creates.
02:432. Delimax Chicken and Cheese Taquitos, Kraft Heinz
02:47Delimax was founded in San Diego, California, as a regional Mexican brand. It is now owned by Kraft Heinz,
02:55the corporation formed by the 2015 merger engineered by 3G Capital and Berkshire Hathaway,
03:02the same entity behind Odorida frozen fries, Velveeta and Oscar Mayer. The frying oil in Delimax
03:10Taquitos contain two compounds. The first is TBHQ, the same petroleum preservative in the chicken bake above.
03:17The second is Dimethyl Polysilicone and Industrial Silicone. These two compounds together in a single
03:25frying oil system are the exact chemistry used inside the fryers at McDonald's. Delimax Taquitos do not just
03:33contain one of these compounds, they contain both. The FDA permits Dimethyl Polysilicone in frying
03:40oils at a maximum of 10 parts per million as an anti-foaming agent. Its presence is legal. Its presence
03:47in a product marketed as a snack, available at Costco in bags of 80 to 100 pieces, means that a
03:54family
03:54purchasing this product will consume TBHQ and industrial silicone not once, but dozens of times before a single
04:02bag is finished. Kraft Heinz took a $15.4 billion write-down in 2019, primarily on the Kraft and Oscar
04:11Mayer brands, acknowledging declining brand value in an era when consumers are demanding cleaner labels.
04:18The ingredient list of Delimax Taquitos has not changed.
04:233. Bibigo Chicken and Cilantro Wantons CJ Chilgiadon
04:28Bibigo is a brand of CJ Chilgiadon, headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. The company was spun off from
04:36Samsung Group in 1953 and now generates approximately $30 billion in annual revenue
04:43across its subsidiaries. In 2019, CJ Chilgiadon acquired Schwann Food Company, a major American
04:51frozen food producer, for approximately $1.84 billion. That acquisition gave CJ Chilgiadon
04:58control over Red Baron Pizza, Frechetta, and Tony's Pizza. Bibigo Mandu became the number one selling
05:07frozen dumpling brand in the United States in 2021. The Bibigo Chicken and Cilantro Wantons are
05:14consistently listed among Costco's top 10 best selling frozen items nationally. The ingredient panel
05:21includes caramel color in the sauce components, which carries a 4-methylamidazole concern.
05:26IARC, the International Agency for Cancer, has classified 4-MEI as a Group 2B possible carcinogen.
05:35The product also contains modified food starch, an industrial texture compound that can involve
05:41treatment with propylene oxide, acetic anhydride, or phosphorus oxychloride during production,
05:48with no disclosure of which specific modification was applied. Autolyzed yeast extract delivers glutamate
05:55through every serving. The listed serving size is 5 wontons. Most consumers eat 15 to 20. At 5 pieces,
06:03the sodium is 310 to 370 milligrams. 4. Ajinomoto Yakitori Chicken with Japanese-style fried rice.
06:14Ajinomoto was founded in Tokyo, Japan in 1909, one year after chemist Kikunai Ikeda isolated glutamic acid from
06:24kombu seaweed in 1908 and recognized it as the compound responsible for savory taste.
06:32Ajinomoto means essence of taste in Japanese. The company built its entire identity, its name,
06:40its founding purpose, its global expansion, on the commercial production of monosodium glutamate.
06:46Today, Ajinomoto produces approximately 33% of the world's MSG supply. Ajinomoto also manufactures
06:57a compound called Ajinomoto buildup film, which is used inside virtually every Intel processor ever made.
07:05The same corporation that supplies the world with MSG supplies the world's semiconductor industry with
07:13critical circuit board materials. The Ajinomoto Yakitori product at Costco contains MSG, explicitly listed.
07:22This is not hidden glutamate behind a yeast extract label. It is direct disclosure, because for Ajinomoto,
07:30concealment would be a form of corporate self-contradiction. The product also contains caramel color,
07:37modified food starch, and TBHQ in the fried rice oil components. Sodium delivery across the combined
07:45yakitori sauce, fried rice, and MSG seasoning reaches 960 to 1100 milligrams per labeled serving.
07:555. Kirkland Signature Frozen Lasagna The word premium appears in the product name.
08:02It is doing significant work. Kirkland Signature Premium Frozen Lasagna is one of the best-selling
08:10frozen entrees at Costco, purchased by families as a large-format dinner solution that feeds multiple
08:17people with minimal preparation. The Kirkland name implies a standard above what a generic manufacturer
08:24would produce. The premium designation implies a standard above what Kirkland typically produces.
08:31The ingredient list tells a different story than the premium label suggests. This lasagna contains
08:38sodium phosphates in both the meat and cheese, increasing the total phosphate load in one dish,
08:45something long-term research links to kidney and heart concerns. The tomato sauce includes caramel color,
08:53and is thickened with modified food starch, while the seasoning blend contains autolyzed yeast extract,
08:59a source of hidden glutamates. The pasta sheets are made from bleached enriched flour,
09:06and the cheese mixture relies on sodium citrate and sodium phosphate instead of traditional mozzarella and ricotta.
09:14Sodium ranges from 950 to 1100 milligrams per serving, often reaching 1200 to 1500 milligrams per typical plate.
09:246. Kirkland Signature Frozen Burritos At approximately $1 to $1.5 per burrito,
09:34the Kirkland Signature Frozen Burrito is positioned as extraordinary value. The large-format bag is
09:41particularly popular with cost-constrained families and students, the households with the fewest alternatives,
09:47and the highest consumption frequency. The tortilla fat system contains TBHQ. The processed cheese filling
09:56contains sodium phosphates. The seasoning blend contains autolyzed yeast extract, a source of hidden
10:03glutamates. The tortilla is made from bleached enriched flour, and the cheese mixture relies on sodium citrate and
10:11sodium phosphate instead of traditional mozzarella and ricotta. Sodium ranges from 950 to 1100 milligrams per serving,
10:21often reaching 1200 to 1500 milligrams per typical plate.
10:267. Don Lee Farms Organic Veggie Burgers Don Lee Farms is a California-based company that pivoted from
10:34livestock operations to plant-based and organic frozen food, becoming one of the largest suppliers of plant-based frozen
10:42patties in the United States. Their organic veggie burger at Costco carries USDA-Certified Organic
10:50Certification, a genuine certification meaningful for the agricultural ingredients it covers. What it does
10:57not cover is the binding system. Without methyl cellulose, a plant protein patty falls apart when cooked. The compound,
11:05produced by treating cellulose from wood pulp with methyl chloride, has the unusual thermal property of solidifying
11:13when heated and dissolving when cooled. This makes it irreplaceable as a structural agent in plant-based burgers.
11:21Dow Chemical Company manufactures it commercially under the brand name Methacel.
11:26The FDA classifies it as generally recognized as safe. It is also sold by Procter & Gamble under the name
11:34Citricell, a laxative. The food application and the pharmaceutical application use the identical compound.
11:41The product also contains carrageenan. In 2016, the USDA National Organic Standards Board voted 10-3 to
11:51recommend removing carrageenan from the list of substances permitted in organic processed foods.
11:57The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service overrode that recommendation.
12:03Safe Choice 1, Kirkland Signature Organic Berries. The ingredient list reads Organic Strawberries,
12:10Organic Blueberries, Organic Raspberries, Organic Blackberries.
12:144 items. No preservatives. No caramel color. No modified starch. No TBHQ. No yeast extract.
12:24Freezing is the preservation method. No industrial chemistry required.
12:29A 2017 study published in the Journal of Food Composition and Analysis found that frozen blueberries
12:36contained higher anthocyanin content than fresh blueberries stored for five days under refrigeration.
12:44Freezing at peak ripeness preserves the polyphenolic compounds that enzymatic degradation erodes in fresh produce.
12:52Safe Choice 2, Kirkland Signature Organic Edamame. One ingredient, organic edamame, nothing else.
13:01Soy protein achieves a protein digestibility corrected amino acid score of 1.0, the maximum possible rating,
13:10equivalent to whey protein and egg white. 94% of United States soybeans are GMO Roundup Ready,
13:18engineered to survive glyphosate application. A 2014 study in food chemistry found significant
13:26glyphosate residues in Roundup Ready soybeans absent in organic varieties. Kirkland's USDA organic
13:33certification prohibits both GMO soy and glyphosate, the most complete protection
13:39available in a soybean product. Safe Choice 3, Kirkland Signature frozen wild-caught sockeye salmon.
13:48One ingredient, wild-caught sockeye salmon. The Bristol Bay fishery in Alaska produces
13:54approximately 50% of the world's sockeye salmon. The 2023 run produced approximately 73.5 million fish,
14:03the largest on record, demonstrating the exceptional biological health of a fishery managed continuously by
14:11the Alaska Department of Fish and Game since statehood in 1959. The fishery carries Marine Stewardship
14:18Council certification. A 2004 study in science led by researcher Ronald Heitz of Indiana University found
14:27farmed Atlantic salmon contained PCB levels approximately 10 times higher than wild pacific salmon. The
14:35differential reflecting persistent organic pollutants concentrated through industrial fish meal diets.
14:41The freezer aisle at Costco hasn't changed. The bags look the same, the prices feel familiar, and the trusted
14:49labels still line the shelves. Yet behind those freezer doors are products that range from clean,
14:55simple ingredients to heavily processed foods loaded with additives. Next time you shop,
15:01take a moment to check what's really inside. If this video helped you see things differently,
15:07make sure to like, share, and subscribe for more eye-opening food insights.
15:11make sure to like, share, and subscribe to our channel for more information on our channel.
15:12For more information, visit www.fema.gov.au
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