Where Does Costco's Lettuce Come From?

When you're browsing the produce section at Costco and looking for salad greens, you've got a ton of options, including pre-packaged salad kits and clamshell containers of lettuce. If you've ever wondered exactly where the lettuce you buy at Costco comes from, there are a few different answers. Some of the lettuce sold at Costco is grown in Hawaii. Other types of lettuce, including that used in products from packaged salad brands (like Taylor Farms) sold at Costco come from a variety of places, including Florida, Georgia, and Mexico.

Knowing where your food comes from is smart, especially when it comes to food safety. If you want to know more about where your Costco packaged lettuce came from, take a look at the back of the bag to double-check (and be sure you're not making a common bagged salad-buying mistake, by the way). You might be able to find the country where the lettuce came from listed on the packaging; for example, it may say that it was sourced from Mexico and processed in the United States.

You can also check Costco's website for more information about sourcing, but the information is sometimes a bit vague. For example, when we checked out the product listing for organic romaine hearts on Costco's same-day delivery website, we simply found information that the product is "sourced from USA or Mexico."

If you're concerned about a food safety issue related to lettuce you bought at Costco (or at any other retailer), be sure to check the Food and Drug Administration's recalls, market withdrawals, and safety alerts website. While Costco will often contact customers about recalls via the email associated with their membership account, this is especially helpful if you need to know whether a specific product may be unsafe to eat (if you do have a recalled product, be sure to dispose of it safely). Checking with the FDA allows you to get the latest accurate information regarding potential safety issues regarding lettuce you bought at Costco — as well as any other products of concern.

One more involved way to help ease your food safety concerns about lettuce sold at Costco, or elsewhere, is to grow your own instead of buying it. There are quite a few different climate regions that can grow lettuce, so there's a good chance you'll be able to do so at some point during the year (even Martha Stewart highly recommends planting lettuce in your garden). Lettuce, like many of us, doesn't like temperatures that are too hot or too cold; those between 45 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit are ideal, while 60 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit is best. Of course, home-grown lettuce isn't immune to safety issues. You'll need to wash the lettuce from your garden and refrigerate it to ensure that it stays safe to eat for a week or two after harvest.