Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday that pharmacy chain Rite Aid has settled with the state for up to $1.3 million after an investigation that exposed sales of expired products in area stores.
As part of its agreement with the Attorney General's office, Rite Aid has agreed to immediately pay a civil penalty of $1 million and an additional penalty of up to $300,000 if it fails to comply with the terms of the agreement over the next three years.
The agreement is the result of the attorney general's statewide undercover investigation earlier this year of all major drug store chains in New York state.
The investigation uncovered sales of expired products, such as over-the-counter drugs, baby formula, milk and eggs, in at least 122 Rite Aid stores and 148 CVS stores in 41 New York counties. Among the stores found to be in violation of selling expired products were the Rite Aid stores located at 400 Chestnut St. and 5626 State Route 7 in Oneonta, 119 W. Main St. in Hancock and 82 N. Broad St. in Norwich. The CVS store in Cooperstown was not listed as a violator.
Cuomo announced the findings of the investigation in June and issued a public health advisory at that time. Subsequent inspections by his office at Rite Aid and CVS stores revealed that both stores were continuing to sell expired products.
``In today's difficult economic times, consumers should not be spending their hard-earned money on expired products that may be harmful to themselves or their children,'' Cuomo said in a media release.
Cuomo said Rite Aid has demonstrated its commitment to addressing the health risks posed by expired products and to ensuring that consumers pay for and receive quality products.
According to the agreement, Rite Aid will refrain from selling expired products, institute protocols to ensure that expired products are not stocked on Rite Aid shelves and begin training to assist employees in identifying and removing expired products. Rite Aid will also conduct weekly inspections of its New York stores to ensure that expired over-the-counter drugs, infant formula, milk and eggs are not offered for sale.
For a period of three years, its New York stores will undergo internal compliance checks for expired products. Any store that fails a compliance check will be subject to a $2,500 fine.
Ashley Flowers, spokeswoman at Rite Aid's office in Harrisburg Pa., said it has always been Rite Aid's policy not to sell expired products, so the company is taking the agreement seriously. She said Rite Aid has been cooperating fully with the attorney general's office since it was first notified of the problems, company policies have been reinforced, store associates have been trained and a system of checks have been put in place.
The attorney general's legal action against the retail pharmacy CVS continues because of its ``unwillingness to properly address the problems found at its New York store,'' according to a media release sent by the Department of Law. The release said investigators were able to purchase expired medicines and baby formula from CVS as recently as Wednesday.
The attorney general's lawsuit against CVS charges the company with repeated violations of state, federal and local New York laws by selling expired goods as far back as 2006. By selling expired over-the-counter drugs, CVS violated a 2003 agreement in which it had agreed to institute procedures and employee training to prevent sale of expired medication.
