Costco Fans Are Unimpressed With This Reindeer Sausage. Here's Why

Despite it only being August, "reindeer" is kind of trending right now (well, reindeer sausage anyway). A huge staple of Alaskan fare (via USA Today's 10Best), reindeer sausage has since become a meal favorite across the country and the globe, whether grilled up and served on its own or as a complement to a dish (via Hunt Alaska Magazine).

True to its name, reindeer sausage is a type of sausage made using reindeer meat, often gamey in flavor and typically seasonal (via Bon Appetit). It's not so rare that it's a delicacy, but not so common that you'll find it in the middle of your local store's meat counter.

You will, however, find it at Costco (get those membership cards ready), but the Reddit community feels some type of way about that (okay — maybe don't get the cards out just yet). In a recent post on the Reddit thread r/Costco, one user shared a photo of the reindeer sausage sold at the warehouse store and it left a bad taste in the internet's mouth.

Reddit user u/chasinthedra posted a seemingly harmless photo showing a package of "Alaskan Sausage Links" from Costco, featuring a cartoon reindeer and the phrase "with reindeer meat added" on the label. The caption reads, "Reindeer sausage from Juneau, AK" (via Reddit).

A quick glance at this photo of Costco's Alaskan Sausage Links with Reindeer Meat might have folks wondering what the big deal is, but when you take a closer look at the ingredients list, you quickly realize the main ingredient is not, in fact, reindeer meat.

If you don't know, the ingredients list of any packaged food lists everything contained in that product, starting with the heaviest (most) ingredient and descending to the least (via The New York Times). For example, a jar of your favorite peanut butter likely starts its ingredient list with "roasted peanuts," or something similar (it should, anyway).

So back to this supposed reindeer sausage: the ingredient list actually starts with pork, then beef, then a few other ingredients, with reindeer meat coming in a hot sixth on the list. That means that there's a very small amount of reindeer meat in these links — aka, we're feeling false advertising vibes.

Reddit user u/sparklingredcardinal said what everyone who looks at this photo is thinking: "This is ridiculous. So there's less reindeer meat compared to the 2% soy protein?" Yes, that's right. The amount of reindeer meat included in this "reindeer sausage" is less than 2%. So, let this be a friendly reminder to always check your ingredient lists before purchasing food products — not everything is what it seems.