The 10 Unhealthiest Kirkland Products, Ranked

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Kirkland Signature products run the gamut all the way from batteries, golf clubs, and other household items to some popular favorite food items from fresh to frozen. Kirkland's collection of sodas, baked goods, vegetables, and much more has changed over the years, but it has always been one of Costco's private labels. 

Because the brand is so recognized by bulk shoppers, it has almost become synonymous with the big box store and one of the most lucrative private labels out there. This careful marketing strategy was one that was carefully orchestrated back in 1995 and was meant to make great brands more affordable. Ultimately, this kept the prices low but the quality high. However, that doesn't mean every food item with a black, red, and white label is top tier.

In fact, Kirkland Signature has a few food items that are far from the healthiest options on the shelf. Everything from extremely high amounts of sodium to food dyes and harmful preservatives can be found on the ingredient labels of some of these well-known products. 

Although Kirkland Signature has quite a few organic options and natural products to choose from, you should always be careful about reading the ingredients and nutrition facts if you want to make an educated choice. Unhealthy ingredients are often buried in the label or even marketed as something harmless. Kirkland Signature has some great options for healthy eating, but you might want to avoid some of the unhealthier products when stocking up. 

Bacon crumbles are often found at salad bars to add a bit of crunch and a little flavor to your meals. They also taste great on top of a baked potato or sprinkled over corn chowder. The tiny pieces of cooked bacon might not seem any more unhealthy than regular bacon, but the sodium nitrate preservative and high levels of salt in small portion sizes are quite concerning. 

This particular brand of bacon bits does not contain any food coloring, but the sodium nitrates listed on the ingredient label are an ingredient that keeps cured meat vibrant and red. Without the addition, those bacon crumbles would become unsightly and unappetizing on the shelf. Sodium nitrate isn't harmful to people at first and even exists naturally in some vegetables; however, slowly, over time, as it sits on the shelf in your pantry or in a store, it breaks down and becomes a dangerous chemical that has been linked to cancer. 

The chemical is so unhealthy that the USDA actually made it mandatory to warn customers about the hazards on the label. The bacon crumbles are an easy way to add some excitement to a boring salad, but they are low in protein and high in sodium. If you really want that added salty crunch, consider cooking up a few pieces of fresh bacon or finding a nitrate-free alternative.

Buttery and satisfying croissants are loaded with simple carbohydrates and fat, which makes it an empty treat that provides no real nutritional value. The high amounts of sodium, the one tiny gram of fiber, and thirty grams of carbohydrates make this a heavy, unsatisfying addition to your day. 

These croissants might add some extra flare to your morning routine or prove a tasty midnight snack, but there are eleven grams of saturated fat, which can lead to inflammation in the body and leave you feeling tired or sluggish rather than energized. 

Additionally, .5 grams of trans fat can be found in one serving of these croissants. Trans fats are even more unhealthy than saturated fats, and the Food and Drug Administration has actually taken serious steps to remove them from most processed foods in the United States. Other countries have banned them altogether. Although there is only a small amount of trans fat in these croissants, a little can add up over time and lead to big health problems. 

Even small amounts of trans fat have been tied to heart disease and could also greatly increase your risk of diabetes. Even more so, trans fat has been known to damage the vessels throughout your body and potentially lead to cancer and other diseases. If these Kirkland croissants are a regular on your menu, you might want to opt for a healthier alternative or cut back to reduce your trans fat intake.

Frozen meals tend to get a bad reputation. Although some companies are making strides toward healthier options, Kirkland Signature's frozen pizza is a sad stereotype of too much sodium and only one measly gram of fiber, which places it among some of the unhealthiest options of Kirkland Signature products.

Despite the many checkmarks on the front of the box vowing that there are no preservatives or hydrogenated oils and that the cheese is real, just one-fourth of this pizza accounts for twenty-nine percent of your recommended daily sodium intake. 

The average adult should consume less than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day. This means if you have two serving sizes or any other sodium with your pizza, such as dipping sauce, garlic bread, or other salty side dishes, you could be consuming almost all of your allocated sodium in just one meal.

Too much sodium is bad for your health because it basically makes your body thirsty. The sodium calls the water in your body into your bloodstream to balance out the salt. This, in turn, spikes your blood pressure, which can overwork your heart and negatively affect all the organs in your body. 

Who needs a snack that's going to hurt your body rather than give it energy and nourish it? Skip this frozen meal and opt for something a little less salty. If you are going for this option, you might want to add something with potassium to combat the resulting high blood pressure.

Kirkland Signature European Cookies contain fifteen types of chocolatey, buttery, soft, and crunchy cookies that seem perfect for the holiday season or any other type of celebration when you don't feel like baking but want to offer a little something for everyone. Unfortunately, these cookies might taste delicious, but when it comes to your health, they are very low on nutritional value.

In fact, this assortment is loaded with sugar, with thirteen grams in four cookies. It's recommended that the average adult only consume about 24 grams of sugar in a whole day, so these cookies are about half of your daily intake. Sugar is quickly followed by vegetable shortening on the ingredients list, which is another name for vegetable oil that has been solidified. Also buried in the list of ingredient is natural flavors.

However, one of the most concerning ingredients is the ammonium bicarbonate, which is considered an extremely hazardous substance that is found in fire extinguishers. This substance is toxic when breathed in, but it's still listed as an ingredients in many food products. Contact with ammonium bicarbonate can cause skin and eye irritation and serious breathing troubles. Unfortunately, it is quite commonly found in baking powders and in these particular cookies.

Kirkland Signature Jelly Bellys provide next to no nutritional value. They're made mainly from sugar, but they also contain harmful dyes such as Red 40, which has been linked to cancer and other side effects. This makes them among the unhealthiest of Kirkland Signature products. Red 40 is an entirely unnatural ingredient and is made from crude oil, commonly known as petroleum. Let's not forget that petroleum is a fossil fuel that is used to make gasoline and other fuels.

This product has a lot of the same notes as other items on the list. The first and most prevalent ingredients are sugar and corn syrup. It also contains natural flavors and artificial flavors, and they're not even last on the list. But most importantly, these jelly beans contain ten different types of food coloring and dyes to give them that rainbow appearance. 

Red no. 3, red dye 40, and yellow no. 5. have all been linked to hyperactive behavior and more, especially in children. It's often recommended to remove these dyes from children's diets to help with hyperactivity and inattention. It's best to avoid this product.