Costco shoppers may want to check their freezers after chicken sausage alert reveals pork inside

Costco customers may want to inspect any Jones Dairy Farm sausage they recently brought home. The brand might be taking the "Pork. The Other White Meat." ad slogan a bit too seriously.

According to a June 1 alert, some packages marketed as chicken sausage could contain pork instead, an error that could affect people who avoid pork for allergy, religious, or ethical reasons.

What happened?

As The Healthy reported, a production packing error affected certain Jones Dairy Farm Chicken Sausage Links sold by Costco.

Costco said the impacted packages carry a use-by date of "04 29 27" and were sold between May 1 and May 28, 2026. In the retailer's notice, the company said that "a small amount of pork links were introduced while packing the referenced chicken links."

Costco's alert identifies the item with product code P-263A. Jones Dairy Farm does not appear to have posted a separate notice on its website, and the Costco message does not indicate whether the issue only involves Costco inventory or includes similar products sold through other retailers, The Healthy noted.

Why does it matter?

In the recall, the company described the mix-up as "not a food safety concern," but that assessment may not account for every consumer's situation.

Pork that is not declared on the label could create a serious problem for someone with a pork allergy. 

The issue also matters to shoppers who avoid pork for religious observance or personal dietary choices, since many people depend on product labels to guide what they bring into their homes.

The situation further illuminates that food labeling and wide-scale production are far from 100% reliable. Consumers can look at numerous incidents where weak oversight or insufficient safety protocols led to contamination and recalls.

Labeling itself can come under fire when companies use misleading terms. This case apparently featured an unintentional mix-up, but experts argue that in other cases, companies are intentionally confusing customers with terms such as "natural." 

What can I do?

Anyone who purchased Jones Dairy Farm Chicken Sausage Links at Costco should look for code P-263A and the use-by date "04 29 27" on the package.

Households that do not eat pork should avoid consuming the product if those details match. In that case, Costco says members can bring it back to their local warehouse for a full refund.

It may also be worth checking similar products in the freezer or refrigerator, especially if the packaging was discarded. If there is any uncertainty about what is in the box or bag, the safest move is to set it aside and contact Costco customer service or the manufacturer before serving it.

In the notice, Jones Dairy Farm also apologized "for any inconvenience this may have caused."

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