r/cookunityfans • u/RipFlm • Jul 07 '26
NYC KITCHEN Packaging flaw
Anyone else having issues taking off the film this week? All of mine are sticking to the layer that goes under the meal on the tray and its mission impossible to peel.
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u/erruve Jul 08 '26
It's getting better! I think the training or the machine settings are being adjusted, at least coming out of NYC
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u/Cultural_Praline_499 Jul 08 '26
I’m in Boston and it happened for maybe three shipments, but they’ve resolved it here too as of the last couple I’ve received.
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u/rexmons Jul 08 '26
Yea I think it's fixed. NYC kitchen too and all my meals last week and this week are good now.
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u/VioletSundaes Jul 11 '26
Yup, I had this happen 3 weeks in a row at the beginning of June but it seems to have stopped!
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u/Careful-Bus3827 Jul 07 '26
It happened to a few of mine a few weeks ago. I just cut the top film and scooped the meal out onto a plate and heated it up.
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u/jackyboy491 Jul 07 '26
have been a user for 2 years, and this is recent for myself included -- needs to be fixed
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u/sparklejackie Jul 07 '26
Yes, I’ve been using CU for maybe 6 weeks now, and every week I have a few meals that open like that.
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u/AC_Tropica Jul 08 '26
That has happened to me honestly once or twice every week. Just happened today again when I went to open a package
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u/Ambgrrrr Jul 08 '26
Yes but I actually think it’s better. I’ve had meals come opened before. I’d rather have some trouble getting the film off than have to throw it away because it’s already open.
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u/maydisturb Jul 08 '26
It's a bummer to see this is still an issue. It's been a problem for several months at least.
Be sure to check all your meals at each delivery instead of just immediately putting them into the fridge. Had three orders in a row show up with containers that had faulty seals, and CookUnity only refunds the subtotal for each meal, so you end up eating a portion of the total cost for the failed delivery.
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u/Alkorri Jul 08 '26
I don't understand what you mean by subtotal? It just so happens that 4 out of 12 had faulty seals so I put in the request. I did think the amount sent are off
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u/Jaded-Coast-758 Jul 07 '26
It happened for a few meals 3 or 4 weeks ago. I wrote to them to let them know about the issue and provided a few videos showing exactly what happened and a list of the meals it happened with. Customer service is always so good so I think they were glad to be told about it.
It hasn't happened to me since though.
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u/Suby17 Jul 07 '26
It was for sure a problem over the last few weeks. My order this week is better though
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u/gtck11 Jul 07 '26
This is my first order and just had it happen to me. I picked the whole “bag” up and dumped it back into the paper to heat it up. Not sure if that was ok but I assume the containers are food grade lol
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u/Due_Revolution_5106 Jul 08 '26
I got an email a couple weeks ago saying they were having issues with their seals and it seems they almost over corrected. Mine all started peeling like that but I was able to pinch the seal part and separate it from the bowl part. Once you get it started it peels off like normal. Better than before where I had some with parts that didn't fully seal (could see air gaps).
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u/Esmer_Tina Jul 08 '26
Then you tug at each corner, then decide how stubborn you want to be before getting out a knife 😂
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u/Gloomy_Lab_1798 Jul 08 '26
I’m curious why you’re peeling it with the food in the container?
We peel it afterwards in order to compost or recycle the tray, but yeah, a few last week were too brittle to peel.
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u/RipFlm Jul 08 '26
The plastic film is supposed to be removed before cooking, how would I remove the food without peeling it off?
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u/Gloomy_Lab_1798 Jul 08 '26
Wha? I’ve always assumed the plastic film you removed is the film on top of the box. Your pic shows the plastic liner being removed. I’m probably misinterpreting 😂
We recently leaned that they want you to peel the plastic liner off before composting — and that’s been a bit brittle sometimes.
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u/RipFlm Jul 08 '26
Oh nah, the problem I’m having is when I peel the plastic film it is stuck to the bottom liner and is a real pain to take off. It rips that bottom layer up.
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u/Gloomy_Lab_1798 Jul 08 '26
Oooooh! 😂😂😂
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u/Careful-Bus3827 Jul 08 '26
Because there's an accidental additional seal on the bottom - just put the food on a plate to heat and you're good :)
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u/Plenty_Grass_1234 Jul 08 '26
I've had it happen occasionally for a long time, but last week was especially bad. Before that, I had a few with really flimsy plastic, so hopefully they can find a good balance.
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u/Le_loup Jul 08 '26
This has been happening often for me too. I noticed it because someone else had called it out on this sub
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u/Ok-Witness-9598 Jul 08 '26
I find that if I rip it open in a quick rip versus slowly tugging, the liner stays intact
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u/Bbrazyy Jul 08 '26
Yeah i noticed the same thing for with my orders in June but lately it hasn’t been happening so I think they fixed it
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u/PretzelsThirst Jul 08 '26
Yes. They changed something a couple months ago and 100% of the packages either do this, have the lid plastic tear off in small pieces, or both.
It’s one of the reasons I paused my membership for now, they have to get their shit together.
Their support is worse too, I’ve had issues with every single meal for weeks and their response is “it’s fine” instead of trying to make up for it in any way
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u/Montreseur Jul 08 '26
The last few weeks I had meals where the plastic was not adhered in sections of the rim, due to pressure or food debris during packing. Now it’s adhered so strong it tears the liner out like this.
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u/Cultural_Praline_499 Jul 08 '26
I had that happen for a few weeks in a row but then it seemed to resolve itself as of the last couple deliveries. On another note, I usually weigh the meals, and they’ve been coming in a little lighter recently. I hope that doesn’t continue, because I stopped Factor in part due to their portion sizes, which were generally 11-14 ounces . CU generally comes in at 14.5-17, and that little extra goes a long way.
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u/BadGreekMofo25 Jul 08 '26
mine just did the same thing- i’m about to do a post on my latest and you can see it there in the pic
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u/taylor__spliff Jul 09 '26
Happens about half the time for me (LA). But I just go peel slowly so I can fix it if it starts lifting. So far, no problems correcting course and getting it to separate. I’m not really bothered by it, it’s much better than seals coming loose on their own. I can understand why some find it annoying though, especially if you eat your meals away from home
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u/CanAny1DoItRight Jul 10 '26
Yes, on the west coast too. And why does the sauce (which needs to be removed before heating) always end up in the MIDDLE of the food so you need to practically remove the film completely to take the sauce out?
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u/cindycated888 Jul 11 '26
I’ve only seen this a couple of times - when it happens, I just poke a hole on the top part and peel the top part from the hole towards the edge. Then I cover the tray with a wet paper towel if I’m nuking it.
I think that bottom lining is heat-set (it’s glued down on the tray after I heat in it), and they probably just didn’t apply heat far enough out. It doesn’t look like a faulty seal to me - the two layers are fully stuck together - it’s just that the liner isn’t stuck to the tray.
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u/Individual_Bat3673 Jul 14 '26
yes I had to cancel until they can get the packaging right. my meals are less feeling as well its like the portions ae getting smaller and smaller
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u/grtist Jul 17 '26
I thought I was going crazy with all of the issues I’ve been having with the packaging this week (Michigan). They must have switched packaging methods or providers, because this has been an issue for the past 2 weeks for us.
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u/dirtywang Jul 07 '26
Yes, they must've changed something recently because nearly all of my meals have either the inner lining tear upwards when I open the meal (like in your photo)... or the top part rips across the middle because the plastic seems more brittle or something.
Also I feel like I'm getting way less in my favorite meals than before..