New York State Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo announced last week that his office is taking legal action against some CVS and Rite Aid pharmacies after a statewide investigation into retail drug stores found the companies sold expired products such as milk, eggs, medication and baby formula, at stores across New York, including several in Nassau County.

In March, Cuomo's office began a statewide, undercover investigation of all major drug store chains in New York State. Investigators were directed to examine whether over-the-counter drugs, infant formula, eggs and milk were being sold past their expiration dates. Cuomo said the probe uncovered an egregious pattern at CVS and Rite Aid, which are among New York's two largest drug store chains.

To date, the attorney general's statewide investigation has uncovered that 142 CVS and 112 Rite Aid stores in over 41 counties sold expired products, reflecting 60 percent of the CVS stores visited and 43 percent of the Rite Aid stores visited. Undercover investigators were able to purchase more than 600 expired products, some of which were over a year old and others which were two years past their expiration dates, among all the locations visited.

Locally, investigators found expired Similac, eggs, milk, cold and flu medicine and Enfamil, on the shelves at the following Rite Aid stores: Albertson (Willis Avenue), Franklin Square (New Hyde Park Road) and New Hyde Park (Hillside Avenue).

Expired adult and children's store-brand and name-brand medications, baby formula and dairy products were found on the shelves at the following CVS stores: Baldwin (both Merrick Road and Grand Avenue), Elmont (Dutch Broadway), Floral Park (Jericho Turnpike), Franklin Square (Franklin Avenue), Freeport (Long Beach Avenue), Hempstead (Jerusalem Avenue), Massapequa (Broadway), Merrick (Johnson Avenue), Mineola (East Jericho Turnpike), North Bellmore (2660 Jerusalem Avenue and 2034 North Jerusalem), Rockville Centre (Sunrise Highway and Merrick Road), Valley Stream (East Merrick Road), Westbury (Post Avenue) and Williston Park (Hillside Avenue).

By selling expired products, the attorney general alleges that CVS not only persistently violated both state and federal laws but also the terms of a 2003 settlement agreement when they entered into an Assurance of Discontinuance and agreed to refrain from selling expired over-the-counter medications and to implement safeguards to prevent their sale.

"This persistent and flagrant defiance of the settlement calls into question CVS' desire to alter its conduct," wrote Deputy Attorney General for Economic Justice Michael Berlin in a June 12 letter to CVS' General Counsel and Secretary Zenon P. Lankowsky. "This office takes the disregard of its prior settlements very seriously and intends to seek a full range of penalties and sanctions in order to ensure that this time a genuine change in CVS' behavior occurs."

"My ongoing investigation has uncovered a shameful disregard for public health in these stores. Families across New York State buy products from these establishments assuming that they're coming from a safe, reputable source," said Cuomo. "However, when these 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. I am committed to protecting New York customers and we will continue to investigate this troubling practice.

– Victoria A. Caruso