|
A sweeping investigation of two major pharmacy chains by the New York State Attorney General’s Office has found widespread problems with products, including milk, infant formula and over-the-counter medicines, sold past their expiration dates.
Among the hundreds of stores identified in the report as having sold expired products to undercover investigators are 12 in Dutchess County, including six Rite Aid outlets in Fishkill, Hopewell Junction, Hyde Park, the town and the city of Poughkeepsie; and another six CVS shops in Dover Plains, Fishkill, Hopewell Junction, the Town of Poughkeepsie, Red Hook and Rhinebeck. Regionally, an additional nine implicated stores were located in Ulster County.
And the losers are …
In Hopewell Junction, investigators visited the CVS at 417 Route 376 on March 29 and found seven expired products on the shelf. They included: one unit of CVS Tussin cough medicine with an expiration date of March 1, 2007; one unit of Children’s Tylenol with an expiration date of Aug. 1, 2007; one unit of CVS nasal decongestant with an expiration date of Feb. 1, 2007; one unit of CVS allergy pills with an expiration date of Feb. 1, 2008; three units of Enfamil baby formula, two of them with an expiration date of May 1, 2007 and one that expired on March 1 of the same year. They raided the nearby Rite Aid at 804 Route 82 in Hopewell on the same day, netting two expired items: a unit of Alka Seltzer nighttime remedy with an expiration date of Jan. 1, 2008; and one unit of Sudafed PE that had expired on the same date.
The CVS store at 2503 South Rd. in the Town of Poughkeepsie was nailed by investigators on March 26, when according to the report they found four instances of expired products on its shelves: one unit of CVS infant gas relief that had expired on Feb. 1, 2008; a unit of CVS sinus medication that had expired on Oct. 1, 2007; and two units of Sudafed PE that had also expired on Oct. 1, 2007.
Another CVS, at 184 Main Street in Fishkill, was also caught on March 26 with out-of-date products lingering on the shelves: according to the report there was a unit of CVS flu medication with an expiration date of Dec. 1, 2007; and three units of Enfamil that had expired on March 1, 2008.
Two units of outdated Vicks Cold Medicine that had expired on Jan. 27 of this year were found by investigators at the Rite Aid in Poughkeepsie at 129 South Rd. on March 31.
Seven other Dutchess outlets had one offending outdated product each. Investigators visiting the Fishkill Rite Aid at 738 Route 9 on May 12 found a unit of Rite Aid Mucus Relief DM that had languished on the shelf past its April 2008 expiration date. In the Hyde Park Rite Aid at 1 Crum Elbow Rd. on March 28, they found a unit of Enfamil stamped with a March 1, 2008 expiration date. In another Poughkeepsie Rite Aid at 238 Hooker Ave. on March 31, a unit of Rite Aid allergy medication was found that had expired way back on June 1, 2007. Also on March 28 at another Rite Aid at 40 Vassar Road, a unit of Similac baby formula was snagged that had an expiration date of Jan. 1, 2008.
In the county’s northern reaches, investigators on March 25 found an outdated unit of CVS infant gas relief medicine at the CVS store at 23 North Broadway in Red Hook. It had expired on Feb. 1 of this year. Down the road in Rhinebeck at the formerly controversial CVS at 48 East Market Street that had taken the place of a popular supermarket and had been the target of a failed petition campaign waged by 9-year-old Emma Alban in 2001 to keep the chain store out of town, more trouble was brewing on the same day as the Red Hook visitation. Sharp-eyed investigators somehow ferreted out a unit of Lamisil – a concoction used to treat infections caused by fungus that affect the fingernails or toenails – that had expired nearly a year before, on May 1, 2007.
Last but not least, way down east in Dover Plains, a search of the CVS at 516 Route 22 on March 29 turned up an offending unit of CVS infant gas relief that had passed its prime on Feb. 1 of his year.
A hefty percentage of stores have issues
According to a press release from State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s office, undercover investigators began the investigation into all major drug store chains in New York in March of this year. The probe yielded what the AG’s office described as “an egregious pattern” at the CVS and Rite Aid chains. According to the report, released on June 12, 142 CVS stores – 60 percent of the locations visited – had expired products on the shelf. Problems were also found at 112 Rite Aid stores; 43 percent of those checked by investigators.
Cuomo has put both drugstore chains on notice that he intends to pursue legal action to correct the problems and pursue fines against the companies under state law. In a press release, Cuomo blasted the corporations for “a shameful disregard for public health …” and vowed to continue the investigation.
“Families across New York State buy products from these establishments assuming they’re coming from a safe, reputable source,” said Cuomo. “However, when products pass their expiration dates they become ineffective and potentially unsafe, threatening to put our loved ones at risk. These companies allowed personal profit to get ahead of their customers’ health.”
Chuck Bell, programs director for the Consumers’ Union – the nonprofit company that publishes Consumer Reports – said he was surprised at the scope of the problem revealed in the AG’s report.
“This is the largest investigation of this type that we’re aware of and frankly we were shocked at how widespread the issue is. It seems to be a significant issue throughout the marketplace,” said Bell. “This is retailing 101. You don’t put your thumb on the scale and you don’t sell expired products.”
Rite Aid public relations director Cheryl Slavinsky blamed the problem on individual store managers failing to follow company policy.
“We have very strict policy and procedures to make sure expired products are not sold,” said Slavinsky. “For some reason they were not being followed.”
Slavinsky said that Cuomo’s report had prompted the company to check inventory at about 5,000 Rite Aid shops in 31 states. The company is also retraining managers and staff at all 697 New York locations on how to keep expired merchandise off the shelves. Slavinsky added that, contrary to Cuomo’s charge that the company had put profits ahead of safety, there was no financial incentive for keeping expired products on the market.
“We get credit for (expired) merchandise returned to the manufacturer; there’s no reason for us to keep expired products out there,” said Slavinsky. “This was absolutely not intentional.”
In an e-mail response Mike DeAngelis, director of public relations for CVS/pharmacy CVS Caremark Corporation, said that the company planned to meet with officials from Cuomo’s office this week to discuss the problems and was “working aggressively to ensure that our review and removal procedures are followed consistently in all of our stores.”
