A Victorian shopper has revealed her horror at cutting open her supermarket hot chook - only to find it still raw in the middle.
The woman, from Whittlesea, Victoria, spoke of her disgust at the half-cooked BBQ chicken, which she bought from Costco in Epping.
‘As soon as I cut into it I said ‘oh my goodness, that’s disgusting’. I’ve worked in hospo (hospitality) and I’ve worked for Red Rooster and that’s a no-no,’ the shopper said, as reported in the Herald Sun.
Photos of the chicken show the middle of the chook to be raw, pink and slimy. Other shots posted - which attracted nearly 200 comments on social media - also show a gross, white mucus-like substance around the meat.
The woman was shocked to find the chicken raw inside.
Image: social media
Other images show a mucus-like substance.
Image: social media
This chicken appears to be undercooked.
Image: social media
However when she complained to staff at the bargain megastore, the shopper claims they unbelievably told her to ‘put it in the microwave’ before eventually refunding her.
This isn’t the first time that Costco has encountered complaints about their chickens being undercooked.
Said one social media user: ‘Bought one, came home, was pink, called up got a refund.’
‘Figured it was an error and bought another … pink.
‘Seen too many posts about undercooked chooks to try again.’
The Herald Sun reports that Costco ‘did not respond to questions’ about whether they’d received complaints about their chickens or had changed their cooking methods.
However a Costco assistant general merchandise manager did tell the paper that “a number of external and environmental factors that can cause meat to be pink yet still fully cooked and safe to eat”.
Amy SinclairAmy Sinclair is a contibutor for New Idea Food.