The Costco Foods You Should Never Have in Your Kitchen

There is so much appeal when it comes to shopping at Costco. The biggest plus, by far, is that you can buy so many things in bulk, especially food. But is that always such a good thing? The truth is, many foods go bad much faster than we think. And the next thing you know, your refrigerator and pantry are full of rancid food because you bought more than you could consume in time. 

Jerky 

If you do an online search, you’ll see that there are many outlets for buying jerky in bulk. So stocking up at Costco is a good idea, right? Quite the contrary. Eat This, Not That! tells us that an opened pack of jerky really needs to be eaten within three days and then stored in the refrigerator. Even then, that jerky only lasts a couple weeks. (Not ideal for a bulk buy.) 

Nuts 

This may comes as a surprise, but the giant quantities of Kirkland nuts aren’t a smart buy. (Yes, even in spite of their mass popularity.) Eat This, Not That! explains that, unless you plan to put mountains of nuts in air-tight containers in the freezer, the oils in them are going to make them age quicker than you think. So unless you’re hosting a huge Super Bowl party, you’re better off buying a smaller amount. 

Bulk condiments 

Big vats of ketchup and mustard may sound like a great buy, especially if you have little ones running around the house that put them on everything. But as it turns out, these popular condiments have a much shorter shelf life than you think. Even though an opened container of ketchup is technically good for about nine months, it’s still slowly going bad in your refrigerator. And if you have a big container of it? That’s just wasteful. 

Processed snacks 

Sure, buying your favorite sweet and salty snacks in bulk sounds like a good idea. But buyers beware — this can actually lead you to eat more. Especially if you spend long work hours sitting at a desk, or in your home office. “Plop a supersized bag of trail mix on your desk, and you’ll keep sticking your hand in whether or not you’re hungry,” Brian Wansink, Ph.D tells Shape.com. 

Cereal 

Big boxes of cereal are already tempting to buy, and the bulk cereal from Costco is shoppers’ kryptonite. But like with processed snacks, buying cereal in bulk just makes you eat more of it. If you’re buying it for your kids, they may not eat it as fast or decide in the middle of the batch that they don’t like it anymore. (Come on, all kids do it.) Then, you’re left with stale cereal, and a waste of money. 

Produce 

For starters, everyone should have fresh produce in their diet. You just have to get it from a good source. And Costco is definitely not a destination for good fruits and vegetables. The produce there is pumped with preservatives to make its shelf life longer. Plus, this subpar produce is actually more expensive than it is at gorcery stores, according to research done by Lifehacker. 

Bacon 

Many outlets praise buying this sinful meat in bulk from Costco. But unless you’re feeding a ton of people at once, even freezing your Kirkland bacon isn’t a good idea. You’re not likely to eat all of it before it goes bad, so you will be tempted to eat more of it so it doesn’t outlast its shelf life. Plus, bacon in general isn’t good for your health, so having a ton of it around isn’t good for you. 

Flour 

Yes, buying flour in bulk sounds like a great idea. You can bake with it, add it to stews, whatever floats your boat. But having too much refined flour in your diet adds fat to your midsection, and can lead to health ailments such as obesity, heart disease and diabetes. Flour also attracts moisture over long periods of time and goes rancid. 

Coffee 

Caffeine addicts may love the idea of buying coffee in bulk. But even though buying coffee at Costco seems cost-efficient, you aren’t like to drink it all before it its three month freshness date rolls around. (No, not even the biggest caffeine zombie can put down that much Costco coffee on time.) 

Cooking oil 

Just like with condiments, cooking oil slowly goes bad before the expiration date printed on its bottle. Whether its olive oil, coconut oil, or canola oil, you’ll inevitably end up cooking with a product that going bad. Livestrongtells us that consuming rancid oil over period of time can damage arteries and act as caner-causing carcinogens. 

Anything new to you 

That’s great if you want to try a new food. But buying it in bulk from a place like Costco is never a good idea. In addition to potentially being a waste of money — what if you end up strongly disliking it? — but you could so be encouraging yourself to overeat something that will cause you to gain a ton of weight. Do your waistline a favor and save sampling new foods for your grocery store run. 

Baby formula 

Stocking up on Kirkland formula before a baby comes may sound like a great idea. But what if the baby had an allergic reaction to something in the formula? You end up not just having a sick baby in need of care, but a kitchen full of formula that will likely go bad and go to waste. 

Spices 

Spices have a surprisingly long shelf life. But even if you cook everyday, buying them in bulk is not advised. Even a well-sealed bottle of spices goes stale faster than you think, leaving you cooking and seasoning with old ingredients. Old spices may not spoil in a way that makes you sick, but there isn’t any upside to eating a spice that is past its prime. 

Baking soda 

Like with flour, baking soda starts to lose its freshness much faster than its label lets on. Baking soda attracts moisture, and may become rancid and lose its effectiveness. Plus baking soda attracts odors, which can affect how they make your food taste if you still use it.

  

Whole grains 

There is such thing as having too much of a good thing. Like nuts, whole grains contain oil that make them age rapidly — even though they appear to be a dry food product. Whole grains, and any other food on this list containing oils, should be bought somewhere other than Costco.