The Disturbing Costco Bagels Flaw Taking Over The Bakery

Bagel preferences differ from person to person. Some like to go big with an everything bagel piled high with bacon, eggs, and melty cheese, while others prefer to keep things lowkey with the simple combo of a plain bagel and butter. However, regardless of how you prefer to dress your ring of carb-y deliciousness in the morning (or afternoon or night), the one thing we're pretty sure nobody wants to have with their bagel is mold — yet that's exactly what some Costco shoppers have been finding when getting ready to dig into the breakfast staple.

Reddit user u/captnchunky brought the issue to the attention of their fellow Costco fans in a post on Tuesday, May 2 in which they asked, "Do your bagels get moldy extremely quickly?" The Redditor explained that they had just purchased two six-count sleeves of the baked good on the Thursday prior to their post. "Threw one pack in the freezer. The other I transferred to a Ziploc bag. It is now Tuesday and they have mold on them. Seems ridiculous," they said.

As it turns out, moldy bagels are a common experience among Costco shoppers. "Wow you're not alone, mine molds like crazy after a day or two," replied one Redditor, who was only one of a number of commenters that had found themselves in the same conundrum. Fortunately, several people seem to have also found a solution.

This isn't the first time that Reddit has been fed up with Costco's mold problem. In fact, one thread regarding the seemingly quick speed at which the Costco bakery's bagels go bad dates as far back as 2015. According to several commenters on u/captnchunky's Reddit post, as well as the blog Costco Food Database, the dilemma stems from the lack of artificial preservatives, a.k.a. chemicals added to food to help prevent spoilage. This tends to be the case in baked goods that are made fresh from a bakery, which can typically last for two to three days out on the counter.

Being that bagels from the Costco bakery are sold by the dozen, it can be a bit of a challenge to scarf down all 12 in just a few days, especially if you don't have many bagel eaters in your home. As a solution, a number of Redditors suggested freezing the bagels that won't be consumed immediately and storing the ones that will be eaten within a week from purchase in the fridge, where they can last for up to five days. Additionally, one Reddit user offered the pro-tip of slicing your bagels before locking them away in the icy tundra. "Then just toast them frozen and you're in the game," they quipped.