Costco Members Are Up in Arms Over This Bakery Item

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Love Costco? Read on to see why you may want to avoid one specific bakery product it sells. 

Whether you use them for your own breakfast, school lunches, or dinner on the go, bagels are a great base for cream cheese, butter, and sandwich meats alike. And if you prefer to not rack up a giant credit card tab in the course of buying fresh bagels, then you may want to get your bagels from Costco.

Costco prides itself on its fresh bakery items that it makes available at low prices. In the New York metro area, a 12-pack of Kirkland Signature Plain Bagels costs $9.35 for same-day delivery. Now, it’s worth noting that same-day delivery items are commonly marked up, so the cost of these bagels in a Costco store is apt to be lower. Plus, your local Costco might have them for a lower price if you live in a less expensive part of the country.

But if you’re going to buy Costco bagels, you may want to proceed with caution. That’s because Costco customers recently began to raise some quality issues with this particular item.

Nobody wants moldy bagels

Freshly baked goods are apt to have a more limited shelf life than those that are packaged and mass produced. Products that fall into the latter category are commonly loaded with preservatives and other ingredients that are designed to help them last.

Costco’s bagels are made fresh, and they’re also not necessarily made to last for a week or longer. But some Costco customers are reporting that they’re only getting a few days out of their bagels before mold starts to appear.

In fact, a Reddit thread recently featured a Costco customer who was unhappy that their bagels molded just a few days after bringing them home, despite storing them in a plastic bag. Other Costco members chimed in to say that their bagels, too, got moldy after a day or two.

Some Costco members were quick to respond that the early presence of mold could be considered a good thing, since it means those bagels are really fresh and free of preservatives. But still, nobody wants to spend money on a larger quantity of bagels only to have to throw half of them away.

Should you buy your bagels at Costco?

Fresh bagels can be much tastier than packaged or frozen ones. But if you buy a bulk pack at Costco and end up tossing half of it out due to mold, then you’re not saving money — you’re wasting money. So if you only eat, say, one fresh bagel every two days or so, you may be better off heading to your local bagel store and buying one on the spot when the mood strikes you.

In fact, this rule should really apply to any freshly made item you purchase at Costco. Buying prepared food in bulk makes financial sense when you’ll get to use all of it. If that’s not the case, then you’re generally better off skipping the Costco purchase in question.

Meanwhile, if you really love your Costco bagels, you can always consider freezing some if you can’t consume your haul within a couple of days. That way, you’ll have extra bagels on hand in a pinch, and you won’t end up throwing your money away.

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The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.Maurie Backman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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