By Jonathan Stempel

Feb 13 (Reuters) - Costco COST.O is facing a new lawsuit over its rotisserie chicken, after an animal rights nonprofit claimed that the retailer's chicken processing plant in Nebraska suffers from salmonella contamination.

The proposed class action lawsuit filed on Thursday cited a December study by Farm Forward that criticized safety conditions at Costco's Lincoln Premium Poultry plant, which opened in 2019 and can process more than 100 million chickens a year.

According to the complaint, the Fremont, Nebraska plant "consistently" fails U.S. Department of Agriculture safety standards, with more than 9.8% of whole chickens and 15.4% of chicken parts testing positive for salmonella contamination.

Costco charges $4.99 for its Kirkland Signature rotisserie chicken, which has long been viewed as a loss-leader to attract shoppers into the Issaquah, Washington-based company's warehouse stores.

Rotisserie chicken sales topped 157 million worldwide in 2025, Costco said at its annual meeting last month.

"Costco’s failure to control salmonella in its chicken supply is not a harmless technicality—it poses a real danger to consumers and violates their trust," the complaint said.

Neither Costco nor the Lincoln plant immediately responded to requests for comment on Friday. Lincoln is not a defendant.

In her complaint in Seattle federal court, the plaintiff Lisa Taylor, of Affton, Missouri, said she routinely bought one or two rotisserie chickens a month at Costco warehouses in the St. Louis area, and believes she overpaid because Costco didn't disclose the contamination risk.

She is seeking compensatory and triple damages for shoppers who bought Kirkland Signature rotisserie chicken and raw chicken parts since January 1, 2019, saying Costco violated Washington consumer protection laws and an implied promise that its chickens are safe to eat.

The case followed another proposed class action filed last month in San Diego federal court, which said Costco falsely advertised its rotisserie chicken as having no preservatives even though they contained carrageenan and sodium phosphate.

Founded in 2007, Farm Forward said its mission is to "end factory farming by changing farming, changing policy and changing the stories we tell about animal agriculture."

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

((jon.stempel@thomsonreuters.com ; +1 646 223 6317; Reuters Messaging: jon.stempel.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net /))