Grocery chain must stop selling expired drugs in California as part of $3.5M settlement
Albertsons, including its affiliated stores Safeway, Vons and Pavilions in California, was ordered by a San Joaquin County judge to stop offering expired drug products for sale at stores across the state.
While selling expired food products is not illegal in California, retailers in the state are prohibited from selling any over-the-counter drug past its expiration date, according to the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office.
Civil complaint filed against Albertsons
Albertsons owns and operates 579 stores across California, including 243 Safeways in northern and central parts of the state and 124 Albertsons, 184 Vons and 28 Pavilions in the south.
A civil complaint was filed in San Joaquin County Superior Court alleging the company offered expired over-the-counter drug products for sale over the past four years, the district attorney’s office said in a news release. The stores carry products including pain relievers, sunscreen and cold medicine.
“The public should be able to trust that what they buy at any California store will not be expired before they bring it home,” Yolo District Attorney Jeff W. Reisig said in a statement.
Albertsons removes expired products from shelves
The Yolo County District Attorney’s Office, working closely with the San Joaquin and San Bernardino district attorney’s offices, settled the lawsuit against Albertsons and their affiliated stores, according to the release.
After an investigation, the attorney’s office said Albertsons was notified of the violations and “was cooperative.” It was not determined that consumers were harmed by any expired over-the-counter drugs that might’ve been sold.
The company checked all of its locations for expired drug products and made date verification a priority, including re-training employees, the release said.
Without admitting or denying liability, Albertsons agreed to not sell any more expired drugs or have them on their shelves, bound by a court order. According to the attorney’s office, the company was ordered to pay $3.3 million in civil penalties and investigative costs, and $200,000 in restitution.
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