Why Some Costco Shoppers Routinely Return These Brands Of A Mexican Staple

Costco stores are famous for great prices on bulk groceries, many of which also happen to be customer favorites. And yet, the store sees its fair share of returns just like any retail establishment, and surprisingly, customers are constantly returning tortillas. But why return this staple food?

Specifically, some customers appear to keep returning Tortilla Fresca brand uncooked flour tortillas and Las Fortunitas organic tortillas. What about them makes customers want to bring these tortillas back so often? Apparently, buyers of both have had issues with the product going moldy quickly, with some reportedly going bad within only a week. "I threw half of mine away, missing that their shelf life was shorter than I thought," wrote one Redditor. Both products either lack preservatives or at least don't have as much as other brands, a likely cause for why they are said to grow mold so easily without proper storage, and sometimes even with it. "I've never seen mold grow in the freezer, claimed one shopper, referring to mold spotted on their frozen pack of Tortilla Fresca tortillas.

However, these tortillas, especially Tortilla Fresca, are widely loved when they're not serving as the base for a high school science project. Happier customers say they're delicious and suited to a wide variety of dishes and can serve as stand-ins for empanadas, naan, and even ersatz homemade Pop-Tarts (or, shall we say, pop-torts?). They might just be among some of the better groceries you can buy at Costco, so long as you handle them correctly.

If you don't know how to keep your tortillas fresh, you may doom yourself to waiting in the return line at Costco like so many unfortunate shoppers before you. To keep your tortillas (especially the uncooked ones) from going moldy, start by buying the ones with the expiration date as far out as you can find and carefully examining the contents. Not paying attention to expiration dates is a big Costco shopping mistake, no matter what you're buying.

It's also important to use your tortillas quickly. As of this writing, Tortilla Fresca and Las Fortunitas either don't have preservatives or have less than average, so the clock is ticking once you bring them home. Don't buy them unless you have a plan to use the tortillas fairly quickly, so cook them in recipes like our chicken and green chile quesadillas as soon as you can.

Finally, store your tortillas properly. If you're not going to be eating them within the next day or two, you're better off keeping them in the freezer than the fridge. While mold can still grow on food in the freezer, it's a much slower process and less likely to happen than in a refrigerator (especially if you take care to wrap them tightly). This may represent an extra step, but it's worth it to ensure you don't have to make a Costco return any time soon.