CVS To Pay $7.5M For Alleged Sales Of Expired Formula, Drugs In CA

CALIFORNIA — CVS was ordered to pay $7.5 million for selling over-the-counter drugs, infant formula, and baby food beyond the products' "use by" expiration dates, according to an announcement Thursday from Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin, whose office — along with 11 other California district attorneys — brought a civil law enforcement action against the health solutions company.

The judgment is part of a settlement agreement reached between the law enforcement agencies and CVS that was signed Wednesday by Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Timothy Volkmann.

In a civil complaint filed in Santa Cruz County Superior Court, it was alleged that, over a four-year period, CVS Pharmacy, Inc., Longs Drug Stores California, L.L.C., and Garfield Beach CVS, L.L.C., offered for sale and sold expired over-the-counter drugs, food items, infant formula and baby food.

CVS Health is the parent of the companies named in the complaint. CVS owns and operates over 800 retail stores across the state.

California retailers are prohibited from selling over-the-counter drugs past their expiration date. Similarly, it's illegal for retailers to sell infant formula and baby food after their “use by” dates, according to Hestrin's office.

There was no evidence that consumers were harmed by expired products sold via CVS Health companies, Hestrin's office reported.

Once notified by prosecutors, CVS was cooperative and conducted internal checks for expired products at all its California retail locations.

"CVS further invested time and resources to create a program for verification of expiration dates and re-trained store personnel regarding checking the dates," according to the DA's office.

As part of the settlement agreement, the company did not admit or deny any liability.

In a released statement, the company said, "CVS Pharmacy has a clear product removal policy in place to help ensure that items are pulled from shelves before reaching their expiration dates. Any unintentional deviations from this policy that are brought to our attention are quickly rectified. We’ve been working with District Attorneys in several California counties to ensure that expired products are not sold to customers. We are pleased to have come to an agreement in California and are making key enhancements and investments in technology, audits, and colleague education."

In addition to $6.5 million in civil penalties and investigative costs, CVS was ordered to pay an added $1 million in restitution to be dispersed to several charitable organizations serving California citizens across a wide swath of the state, according to Hestrin's office.

Along with the Riverside County DA’s office and Santa Cruz County DA’s office, the settlement was in conjunction with DA’s offices in Contra Costa, Fresno, Marin, Placer, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Joaquin, Shasta, Solano, and Yolo counties.