New York state officials filed a lawsuit against CVS Caremark Corp. over the sale of expired products at its stores.  An investigation last year revealed that CVS, the nation’s second-largest drug store chain, had sold expired products in 60 percent of its New York stores.   Bloomberg also reported that the state announced that Rite Aid Corp. had agreed to pay as much as $1.3 million to settle similar allegations.  As part of its settlement, Rite Aid agreed to conduct weekly inspections of its New York stores to ensure expired over-the-counter drugs, infant formula, milk and eggs aren’t offered for sale, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said today in a statement. Rite Aid will immediately pay a $1 million civil penalty and as much as $300,000 more if it fails to comply with the agreement during the next three years.  “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 the 12/04/2008 article by Karen Freifeld of Bloomberg.
The lesson to be learned is to ALWAYS check the expiration dates, especially with medications.  Doug Landau would also recommend that during the winter holidays, that you and your family go on a “treasure hunt” through your medicine cabinets.  Throw away those that have expired so that you or your loved ones do not become sick from a remedy that is no longer safe or effective.