Why Is Sam's Club Meat Returned So Often?

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Warehouse retailers offer their members convenience and savings on groceries and household items, but food quality isn't necessarily guaranteed. Take Sam's Club, for instance. While the chain is popular among its customers, some shoppers intentionally skip the meat aisle due to quality concerns. On Reddit, one member complained about their boneless ribs smelling so bad that they needed to be taken outside. Elsewhere on the internet, a poster on Facebook claimed their Sam's Club ground beef spoiled well before the use-by date. The shopper added that this was the second instance of meat from the store going bad before its time. Sam's Club has never publicly commented on criticism of its meat quality, but that hasn't stopped members from speculating. 

In the case of the noxious boneless ribs, a commenter highlighted the delivery process as a potential problem, stating, "We simply don't have enough cooler and freezer room, and we're so busy, so sometimes things sit outside of the fridge for way too long." The person also claimed to report these issues to their local health department but was not apprised of any follow-up actions. And on Facebook, the customer who received the prematurely spoiled meat claimed a store representative said spoilage was an ongoing issue and that meat came already labeled with use-by dates. There's no way to corroborate these statements, but they would explain why meat complaints are rampant at the store. 

Sam's Club memberships aren't for everyone, whether you don't have a need for bulk groceries or you're not overly impressed by the store's exclusive Member's Mark brand. Poor meat quality is another good reason to cancel your membership (or consider another warehouse retail club at the very least), especially when there's no clear-cut reason for the issue. When it comes to the Redditor's theory about meat and other perishable items lingering outside of cold storage for too long, a self-proclaimed employee on Reddit detected the same issue. "For probably the 3rd or 4th time now I've noticed cool and frozen stuff sitting in carts for 45-60+ minutes," the person said. "I talked to my lead and they say it's fine, but it feels off to let stuff sit for so long."

We checked the Sam's Club website for clarification on its delivery process, and the retailer states, "We'll keep your refrigerated and frozen items in a temperature-controlled area until delivered." Some commenters have also mentioned a 20-minute limit on how long perishable items can sit around, but there's no indication that it's official policy. The good news is that members can return spoiled and rotten items for a refund or replacement when issues arise. Sam's Club shoppers should also know the signs of meat gone bad, such as foul odors, slimy textures, and discoloration (though gray and brown meat can result from oxygen exposure as opposed to spoilage).