Costco Customers Are Noticing Something Wrong About New Shrimp Ceviche Tray

The poet Charles Simic once wrote, "We don't even take time / To come up for air. / We keep our mouths full and busy / Eating bread and cheese [...] She grins at me / And stirs the shrimp on the stove. [...] 'I'm crazy about her shrimp!' / I shout to the gods above" (via Poemist). It's an all-time love poem — and praise, alas, that shoppers are not extending to Costco's latest seafood offering. Foodies are not, it seems, crazy about these shrimp.

A TikTok posted by fan account @costcohotfinds on May 3 reveals a new product release. "Costco has shrimp ceviche!" says a voiceover. "This container was just under a pound and a half, and was filled with shrimp, red onion, red, yellow, and orange bell pepper. It was garnished with lime juice, cilantro, and salt and pepper. It was refreshing and perfect with [tortilla] chips." The package is stuffed with lime wedges and whole, cooked shrimps — and cooked shrimp does not constitute a ceviche. Still, "ceviche" is the name by which Costco has elected to call this premade dish, which runs for $10.99 per pound.

Foodies have taken to the comments section of the TikTok to sound off their hot takes. "That is not shrimp ceviche, that is shrimp salad," writes one commenter. Another echoes, "[T]hat's not ceviche. It's boiled shrimp with pico." Multiple comments point out that bell peppers also do not have a place in traditional ceviche.

Classic ceviche is made from raw fish or shellfish, acidic citrus juice, diced chiles, herbs, onions and other veggies, that are all mixed together and chilled. The natural acids in the citrus juice break down the proteins in the raw seafood, mimicking the textural change that happens when it's cooked over heat. While regional variations might use different types of seafood, this is ceviche's fundamental formula, and it's a far cry from Costco's new offering.

Costco's decision to cook the shrimp could ostensibly be a proactive exercise in minimizing food safety liability. However, the acidic citrus juice marinade in traditional ceviche effectively denatures the raw shrimp, destroying bacteria. Still, a light pre-cook might be necessary to extend Costco's pre-made, packaged "ceviche" for a longer tenure in the seafood bar before being sold. If so, foodies say, ditch the title and rename this dish something more accurate, like "cold shrimp salad."

Last month, Costco shoppers were frustrated by the bakery's newest cookies, an obvious victim of "shrinkflation." This recent seafood flop could further threaten customer trust in the brand, whose reputation seems most securely spiked-down by the everlasting certainty of the $1.50 food court hot dog combo in this brave new world, where even ceviche is not ceviche. Still craving seafood? Hit the freezer aisle; we much prefer the frozen Kirkland Wild Argentine Red Shrimp to this ceviche wannabe.