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NY to sue CVS, Rite Aid over expired product sales

By Bill BerkrotThu Jun 12, 3:31 PM ET

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said on Thursday that he was taking legal action against the CVS and Rite Aid drug store chains for selling expired over-the-counter medicines and food products.

The expired products included milk, eggs, baby formula. a wide range of cold medicines and decongestants for adults and children, allergy treatments and other over-the-counter medicines.

"Frankly, I'm a little shocked at the scope of what we found," Chuck Bell, programs director of Consumers Union, said at a news conference.

Some of the medicines purchased by undercover investigators were more then two years past their expiration dates, officials said. Expired medicines can lose potency and be rendered ineffective, while old baby formula can lose important nutrients.

Cuomo said the two chains have been sent five-day notice letters informing them of the intent to begin litigation against them. Selling expired products violates a host of federal, state and local laws, he said.

The continuing statewide investigation of major drug store chains began in March, and CVS, a unit of CVS Caremark Corp, and Rite Aid Corp were found to be the worst offenders.

To date, the probe has uncovered 142 CVS stores and 112 Rite Aids stores in more than 41 New York counties that sold expired products, officials said. That represented 60 percent of the CVS stores and 43 percent of the Rite Aid stores visited by undercover investigators.

The investigators were able to purchase more than 600 expired products.
Cuomo said he did not know whether the pattern of selling expired drugs and food by the two chains was a matter of mismanagement or malicious intent, but either way it was illegal.

"They are aware as of today of our findings," Cuomo said.

A Rite Aid spokeswoman said the company has told all its stores, particularly those mentioned in Cuomo's letter, to make sure they have no expired products on their shelves, and the company plans to retrain store staff on its policies.

"We take the allegations in the attorney general's letter very seriously. Our policies have always been not to have outdated products on our shelves," said Cheryl Slavinsky, director of public relations for Rite Aid.

CVS was not immediately available to comment.

Consumer advocates taking part in the news conference urged other U.S. states to follow Cuomo's lead and urged people to check the expiration dates on all over-the-counter medicines and perishable food products before they purchase them.

The lawsuits will seek penalties and a halt to the practice of selling expired products. Among the penalties for which the companies may be liable, state law calls for $500 per violation, officials said.

(Reporting by Bill Berkrot; Additional reporting by Emily Chasan; editing by Gerald E. McCormick and John Wallace)

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