Expiration dates: who is checking?

Rite Aid and CVS drug stores, accused of selling expired food, medicine and baby formula, are being threatened with a lawsuit by New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

     Undercover investigators bought expired products at more than 250 of the two companies' stores across the state.

     Eight Rite Aid and 15 CVS stores in Western New York were among those Cuomo's investigators nailed. Some of the expired products Ñ which included infant drugs and formula Ñ were on the shelves more than a year past their expiration date, which experts said can render them ineffective or harmful.

     How often do you check expiration dates, and on which items? Do you ever come across expired products? How important is this investigation to consumer safety?

-- Samantha Maziarz Christmann

Comments

[Troy Cumbo]

Ask the U.S. Army when its smallpox vaccines expired. Drug expiration dates are required by the government due to their classification as a food product. The date itself has little to nothing to do with its effectiveness or safety.

I would not put a great deal of stock in this "expert" testimony unless it were known that the "experts" weren't merely industry representatives trying to maintain sales.

All in all, it is likely unimportant to public safety, but useful for maintaining a public feeling of safety.

[Ron]

Seems strange that people have become so lazy that they can't look at the expiration date. It's an old concept called "buyer beware". There are expiration dates on most everything and it's up to the purchaser to check them.

[Lisa]

I've bought lots of expired food items at Tops! I had to return expired baby formula, only to find all the other soy formulas with it were expired on the shelf. I brought a bag of prunes to work, which had expired two years before! Check everything.

[Geoff]

I think the local supermarkets should be held to the same standard as the drug stores. Especially when they want to be known as a one stop outlet! Formula, food, medicine! These stores should face the consequences!
Please, I dare everyone to check your local grocery store!

[I Love Broken Gold]

Geoff- well said. Wegman's employees apparently are too busy putting $600 patio sets together and creatively displaying organic socks (yes, they stock them) instead of checking expiration dates. I know Wegman's was not mentioned in the article, but grocery stores attempting to be a one stop shop is an absurdity. Rite-Aid and CVS - shameful, especially the infant formula and OTC medicines.

[Arlene]

I bought 6 jars of babyfood in May 2000 from CVS only to find when I got home that they had expired dates...immediately upon returning them to the store, and asking to speak to the manager, he had the gall to make me produce a dated receipt of my purchase!! He then went to the babyfood shelf with a container and removed at least one dozen other expired jars. I then contacted CVS' corporate office, they apologized for the "mistake"..I have not shopped at CVS since!

[Tina]

I've had the same problem at 2 seperate Walgreens! I bought expired baby formula at the stores on 2 seperate occasions and when I went to return them I was asked for my receipt and one of the store managers actually said I should be more careful and read the expiration date before I buy! It's every retailer, they dont care about anything except the dollar in your pocket.

[Agree with Geoff]

Yes you should check your local stores also. I dont know why they limited this to just CVS and Rite Aid. I have been in the largest retail Wal-Mart and have found the same items expired. I grabbed a pack of nuts that expired last year and all in the box were the same,I think they should have checked all stores not just drug stores.

[Agree with Geoff]

Yes you should check your local stores also. I dont know why they limited this to just CVS and Rite Aid. I have been in the largest retail Wal-Mart and have found the same items expired. I grabbed a pack of nuts that expired last year and all in the box were the same,I think they should have checked all stores not just drug stores.

[thomas]

NY to sue CVS, Rite Aid over expired product sales
"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. "
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
"To date, the probe uncovered 142 CVS stores and 112 Rite Aids in more than 41 counties that sold expired products, officials said. That represented 60 percent of the CVS stores and 43 percent of Rite Aid stores visited by undercover investigators."

"Caremark Pharmacy Services, one of the nation's leading pharmacy benefit management (PBM) companies, provides comprehensive prescription benefit management services to over 2,000 health plans, including corporations, managed care organizations, insurance companies, unions and government entities.
With net revenue of approximately $37 billion (including approximately $5.8 billion of retail copayments) in 2006, they are also one of the largest PBMs. Caremark operates a national retail pharmacy network with over 60,000 participating pharmacies, as well as 11 mail service pharmacies."

CVS is a corporation with approx 6,200 stores across the country.
"Expect CVS, the largest U.S. drugstore chain, to get bigger -- in size and profits."

$500 per violation. That'll teach them!