Introduction
Welcome to Eat This Not That, where we provide you with the latest news on food safety and nutrition. Recently, customers have been noticing some strange sprouts in their Costco food. In this article, we’ll discuss what these sprouts are, why they’re appearing, and what you should do if you find them in your food. We’ll also provide some tips on how to avoid them in the future. So, if you’re concerned about the safety of your food, read on to find out more!
This Costco Food Is Showing “Weird” Sprouts, Customers Say — Eat This Not That
Costco shoppers have recently been noticing something strange about one of their food items. Customers have been reporting that the Kirkland Signature Organic Brown Eggs have been showing “weird” sprouts on the shells.
The sprouts have been described as “white, fuzzy, and slimy,” and have been appearing on the eggs in the store’s refrigerated section. Customers have been posting photos of the eggs on social media, and many are concerned about the safety of the eggs.
The sprouts are actually a type of fungus called Mucor circinelloides, which is a common contaminant of eggs. The fungus is harmless to humans, but it can cause the eggs to spoil faster.
Costco has responded to the reports, saying that the eggs are safe to eat and that the sprouts are not a health risk. They also said that the eggs are tested regularly for safety and quality.
However, if you’re concerned about the eggs, it’s best to avoid them. There are plenty of other options at Costco, such as organic free-range eggs, which are a healthier and safer choice.
There are Costco members who have said they feel like some of the warehouse chain’s produce can be a little sketchy sometimes. This weekend, one discovered an eerie case in point when they got home and sliced in, only to find a rather surreal scientific process occurring inside.
On Saturday, Costco Reddit community member u/Cool-Change1234 shared an image, and a rather apropos question, about a purchase they’d reportedly made at Costco: “Tomatoes were sprouted inside…is it okay to eat?”
Good question, for which fellow users had some thoughts. “Wait a bit more and you can skip the lettuce,” joked u/Yalado, while u/QMDi exclaimed: “Halloween tomatoes! They’re ALIIIIVE!”
U/Mountainman1980 offered, “I’ve eaten tomatoes like this, but I picked out the stems with a fork.”
No word on whether u/Mountainman1980 experienced any kind of reaction. However, it’s worth highlighting what another commenter, u/mrbsacamano, shared: “Tomatoes are in the nightshade family, so the leaves, stems and roots are poisonous. I would chuck them, or just plant the whole thing and you’ll have tomatoes next year.
Edit: not to alarm you if you’ve eaten it already, they’re mildly poisonous, so a bit wont be terrible, but might upset your stomach. “
Another user shared the biological term for this phenomenon that they’d found after a quick online search. “Have never seen this. Just googled, and there’s even a name for this phenomenon. Vivipary.”
Indeed, a 2014 post on the University of Connecticut‘s blog explains that vivipary occurs “when the hormone controlling the seed dormancy is exhausted or runs out, letting the seed grow in the moist environment inside the fruit.” The post continues: “This warm, moist environment is perfect for germinating seed to grow. If the tomato were left uncut in the warm conditions, the new plant sprout would eventually poke through skin of the now decomposing tomato.”
Carol Quish, the horticulturist and program assistant at UConn’s College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources who penned the blog post suggests that from that point, independent tomato plants may grow and that “The tomatoes off of the plant are entirely edible and quite possibly delicious.”
On whether the actual sprouts inside the tomato are safe to eat when vivipary appears to have taken place, master gardener Laura Simpson noted last year in Northern California’s Press Enterprise: “Although it looks kind of creepy (remember the movie Alien?), the tomato is safe to eat.”
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Editor’s note: Technical choices in user comments were kept to preserve the original quotation.