Costco's Chicken Tortilla Soup Gets Recalled For Not Really Being Gluten-Free

When you have a food allergy or sensitivity, shopping for groceries that won't wreck havoc on your body can prove to be a rather arduous task. To make it easier, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires all products that contain major allergens, such as milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, and soybeans, to have a label clearly stating which allergens are present. In addition to being a store that offers options for those with food allergies or dietary restrictions, Costco takes things one step further by labeling products free from common allergens — such as gluten or dairy — as gluten-free or dairy-free.

While Costco's Kirkland Signature chicken tortilla soup has long been marketed as a gluten-free product — in an announcement made on September 9 — Kettle Cuisine, the food manufacturer responsible for Costco's Kirkland Signature chicken tortilla soup, issued a recall on the soup citing concerns that the products labeled with the lot number 1394066 and a Use By date of 11/23/23 actually contained gluten after all.

Kettle Cuisine reports that, despite Costco Kirkland Signature chicken tortilla soup's gluten-free label, products purchased after July 28 may have been contaminated with gluten. As such, people with a gluten allergy or sensitivity should steer clear. Consuming gluten with a gluten intolerance can lead to unsavory health implications such as bloating, abdominal pain, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea or constipation, and brain fog (per Cleveland Clinic).

While Costco is celebrated by people with food allergies for its inclusivity, this is not the first time in recent months that a product listed as gluten-free was discovered to contain the allergen. In July, Gluten Free Watchdog issued a warning on Facebook suggesting that Amylu's cheddar and beer chicken meatballs, which can be purchased at Costco, were labeled as gluten-free but clearly listed IPA beer (which contains gluten) on the ingredient list.

Customers with a gluten sensitivity who purchased Kirkland Signature chicken tortilla soup from Costco with the lot number 1394066 and a Use By date of 11/23/23 are urged to discard the soup, or otherwise return it at Costco for a full refund.