Costco Thread 2023

What was the other brand? Any idea if that brand is a “Costco-exclusive” here, or do other companies sell it too?

Kirkland is the private label of costco, so tbh only costco sells that. Said that, I saw a few times kirkland napkins sold at family mart or toilet rolls at 7-11

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Thanks. I do know that, but I took the below …

… to mean that, while the frozen mixed berries were Kirkland (i.e. Costco) berries, the blueberries were NOT Kirkland. But maybe I’m missing something.

Oh wait, now I’m even more confused. So there was hepatitis A in the Kirkland frozen mixed berries. No confirmed spread from that. But there’s hepatitis A in a person who ate frozen blueberries “from an online supermarket”. And there are frozen blueberries, no brand indicated but imported by Costco, so maybe the same brand maybe not, that carry hepatitis A.

Meanwhile I’ve got frozen mixed Costco berries in the freezer bought who knows how long ago, bag long gone because I move the berries into plastic containers. I guess I should throw them away.

Costco called me today to inform me i I bought that berry mix in March, and that i could return it and get a refund.
I said we already finished eating it, she said im still entitled to the refund.

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Hmm, maybe I should have answered one of those random calls from unknown numbers I got earlier in the week! Too many damn hang-ups or scammers (?) … I almost never answer unknown calls anymore.

I would have bought this bag about a year ago - I haven’t been going through many frozen berries lately.

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i also got a text message from them saying the same, and the lady that called me knew im a foreigner and spoke good English .
even with tainted foods they are a class act.

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Ah good, so the berries I’ve got are probably of such an ancient vintage that I’m fine.

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They might just be going in alphabetical order. They called me a few days ago.

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Call them and ask to check date of purchase and whether you’re entitled to a refund…and a blood test.

It is mentioned in the article the guy just came back from Mexico. Plus the frozen berries.

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That’s not an offer you get every day!

The guy who got infected (recently visited Mexico) ate frozen blueberries imported from the U.S. and bought online. No mention of the company, but they say it’s not Costco/Kirkland. They’re probably protecting it because it’s a local company. Costco is the only company they mention by name. :unamused:

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Ive always been impressed with Costco’s customer service. Im not sure if its because they can’t “沒辦法” things like everyone else here or if they’re actually top notch. Even Cathay was pretty impressive for helping me out when they had the co-branded card. It would explain why Taiwanese want them to be shed in a bad light as @icon said. Don’t wanna be better than them, try to destroy them!

Reasonable prices and return policies. Once I bought nut butter and I got home to find the unopened (and impossible to open!) jar leaking oil everywhere. Another time, the second of the 2 half gallons of milk I bought wasn’t sealed properly, I learned upon opening it. With the milk they were like “but where’s the other container” and I was “I already drank it all and threw it away”. And they said “next time bring both” and gave me the refund for both half gallons, no further questions, hassles, etc. With the nut butter there was even a degree of sympathy on the face of the customer service agent. You just dont get that kind of consistent support in other shops around Taiwan. Costco corporate probably mandates it.

Really? That narrows the source of “where did you get this from” down to “literally anywhere or thing”

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I got the same message this morning too:

親愛的會員您好:
根據好市多系統紀錄,您曾於今年3/2至4/11期間購買#1010598科克蘭冷凍三種綜合莓(有效日期2023/09/19),若您持有該批號商品,請立即停止食用。為維護您的身體健康,請攜帶商品及會員卡至賣場辦理退貨(沒有商品者可憑購買紀錄)。若您有食用該商品,請自主健康檢測60天,如有不適症狀,請儘速就醫並主動告知醫師飲食史。有進一步問題,請於9:30am~9:30pm電洽客服中心,市話請直播449-9909(手機撥打請加02),詳細公告請至台灣好市多官網 www.costco.com.tw

Google translation:

Hello dear member:
According to the system records of Costco, you have purchased #1010598 Kirkland Frozen Three Mixed Raspberries (valid date: 2023/09/19) from 3/2 to 4/11 this year. If you have this batch of products, please stop immediately edible. In order to protect your health, please bring the product and membership card to the store for return (if you don’t have the product, you can use the purchase record). If you have eaten this product, please take a self-health examination for 60 days. If you have any symptoms, please seek medical treatment as soon as possible and inform the doctor of your dietary history. If you have further questions, please call the customer service center from 9:30am to 9:30pm. Please dial 449-9909 (add 02 for mobile calls). For detailed announcements, please visit the official website of Taiwan Costco www.costco.com.tw

I’m guessing I’ll just leave it, personally. I doubt this is the first time I’ve been exposed to something like this since living in Asia. Only difference is that I know about it this time.

Like I said before, I don’t remember experiencing any symptoms a couple of months back when I was eating the berries, and I also did a coincidental blood test 3 weeks ago where my liver enzymes and WBC count were all normal, so it’s probably fine. I suspect it would have shown up then if I’d caught anything, and AFAIK there’s no specific treatment for hepatitis A anyway. :man_shrugging:

I might ask if Costco are paying for blood tests next time I go in (need to collect the refund anyway). I’m guessing I won’t be the first person to ask them to do this, so I presume they have a policy/answer by now…

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They call me for the blueberry so is not only the mix berry

For sure, or could it be a language issue? I buy the blueberries pretty much every time I go and haven’t been contacted over those yet…

I can do without the berry mix, but the frozen blueberries are essential!

They call my wife, we never bought the mix. And I always buy the blueberries too.

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Damn. I think I still have 90% of a pack in the freezer, so it looks like I’ll have to ration them. It’s not a smoothie without those hepatitisberries!

On the other hand, I wouldn’t mind getting a double or triple refund, so I’ll ask when I go in later today. That would be quite a jackpot!

If you keep the hepatitis, no refund!

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I decided to get an antibody test anyway, actually. I was seeing a doctor a few minutes after that last post and he’s pretty friendly, so I mentioned it to him to ask whether it would have shown up on the previous blood tests and he said probably yeah, but I could get the antibody test if I wanted. So I figured why not, especially since it was free. :man_shrugging:

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So I got refunded a total of NT$1517 for one bag of the three-berry mix and two bags of blueberries. Jackpot! :partying_face:

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