Coronavirus: Reports surface Costco is temporarily suspending free samples

Going from station to station to sample food at Costco has been a big part of the warehouse store’s image. What better way to spend a Saturday afternoon than tasting some of the food and snacks the store is offering for sale?

That tradition could become a thing of the past because of the coronavirus, according to several reports.

According to USA Today, Costco is suspending free samples over safety concerns. The newspaper reported it was not immediately clear if the store had pulled samples from all U.S. stores or just in select areas. There was no indication when the suspension would end, USA Today reported.

Concerns were originally raised in a Reddit post Thursday.

“Eating samples from the same tray and then we put the food in our mouths and lick our fingers/wipe our mouths and go on to the next sample tray. .. Everyone is at Costco right now... This is how stuff travels fast,” one shopper wrote on Reddit.

Club Demonstration Services, which provides in-store marketing events for Costco, declined to comment Friday and referred calls to Costco. Costco did not respond to a request for comment.

However, a representative for CDS France told Business Insider they were aware that demonstrations in the United States had been pulled and were awaiting instruction in their own country. CDS Spain confirmed they were still passing out samples, according to the website.

A representative for CDS China, where Costco has one store, said the store is no longer allowed to hand out samples, Business Insider reported.

Cox Media Group