Costco Shopper Opens Jar of Olives She Bought The Same Day — Calls Them 'Hazardous' After Tasting One

Olives are a perfect table snack and often come stuffed with garlic, cheese, or lemon. The delicious little fruits are often pickled in jars and can last up to 18 months in the brine after opening. A Costco shopper's late-night craving for a “salty” snack went disappointingly wrong when she opened up a fresh jar of olives. Isabella D (@maisonisabella) went viral for posting a clip of her experience with olives she purchased from the retail store. Unscrewing the cap, she was taken aback by a pungent smell emanating from the jar.

Following a moment of doubt, Isabella decided to go ahead and taste one. Her first attempt was a failure as she spat it out after the olives’ acidity reportedly burnt her tongue. Disturbed by the awful taste, she asked, “Can olives go bad?” The shopper claimed she “just” got the olive jar from Costco that night and could not figure out how it could be spoiled already. “It tasted very, like, acidic,” Isabella tried to explain. Worried about a possible infection by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum that thrives in contaminated food, particularly fermented or improperly canned foods. Toxins released by the bacteria cause a rare but serious disease called botulism, resulting in paralysis and severe respiratory failure. 

Persistent in her resolve, the curious Isabella did a retest of the olives to confirm her suspicions. She quickly popped in a jalapeno-stuffed olive into her mouth and instantly regretted it–again. “Is that normal? It’s literally burning my tongue!” she quipped. Her third and final try was another disaster in disguise that urged her to close the lid after all. A disheartened look washed over her face while she confirmed she was “okay.” Later, Isabella revealed that the olive jar had an expiration date of August 2026, yet it was inedible and contaminated. She called it “hazardous.” She demanded an explanation from Costco Wholesale in the caption while an overlay text on the snippet stated, “Am I gonna get botulism?” The clip received 101,000 hearts, but the comments were turned off. 

However, in a follow-up post, the Costco shopper disclosed the fate of her Costco olive jar. Replying to a comment that asked her to “stop eating” the olives, Isabella walked out of her apartment with the jar in hand. Eventually, she tossed it into the garbage chute. “Gone but never forgotten,” she mused. People shared their thoughts in the comments. “My olives (all kinds) have been going bad lately! When I was a kid in the ‘80s, they’d last years in the fridge, opened,” wrote @loddie999 while @kayhuda could not understand why the shopper did not ask for a full refund. 

Replying to her query, the creator said, “Honestly, I couldn’t stand looking at it anymore– my car’s in the shop, so this was the only option.” Most people were concerned about her dumping the jar instead of returning it to the place of purchase to get her money back. Meanwhile, @tayloryoungty had a different concern. “Why wouldn’t you dump the contents separately? That garbage is gonna have broken glass and reek now.” Isabella explained that the jar was “entirely” molded and would stink her apartment up if she tried to separate the wet waste from the recyclable. “Also, chute allows glass,” she added. 

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