Connecticut to take CVS to court

Hartford (WTNH) - The State of Connecticut is suing the CVS drug store chain after inspectors found expired products being sold in nearly half of the company stores in Connecticut.

In the court summons, the state alleges that CVS peddled potentially tainted food, and ineffective medicines to Connecticut consumers.

A CVS store in Rocky Hill is one of twenty in Connecticut where state investigators say they have found expired items being sold off the shelves. The items include over the counter medicines like cold and allergy drugs plus baby formula, antacids, and dairy products like milk, eggs and yogurt.

"That's awful, they should really make sure that they take them to court and do everything they should," Pistritto said.

"Well I'm surprised and I'm really shocked and I think they definitely should be fined," Coleman said.

Holding some of the alleged expired products in hand, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal announced he was taking the huge Rhode Island based chain to court seeking hefty fines because the investigation found that the practice was even worse than a year ago when a similar investigation found the same problem.

And the stuff wasn't just out of date by a few days either.

"They were out of date by almost, or more than half a year when they were sold," Blumenthal said.

A spokeswoman for the chain told us, "We became aware of these allegations this morning. The health and safety of our customers is our top priority and CVS has a clear product removal policy...any unintentional deviations from this policy that are brought to the company's attention are quickly rectified for customers."

CVS could potentially face millions in fines because of all the expired products state inspectors say they found.

The advice to consumers, even though they may sometimes be hard to read, check those expiration dates.

"Definitely, I have two kids, I buy baby food and everything over there," Pistritto said.

"Double check my expiration dates from now on," Coleman said. "I never thought to do that."

The CVS stores involved are across the state, from Old Saybrook to Winsted.

List of stores in violation:

Date of Violation, Store Address, Store Town:
8/7/2008, 358 West Main St., Avon
8/14/2008, 1875 Boston Ave., Bridgeport
8/6/2008, 303 White St., Danbury
8/14/2008, 839 E. Main Street, Meriden
8/14/2008, 817 Bank St., New London
8/14/2008, 519 Boston Post Rd., Old Saybrook
8/14/2008, 279 Boston Post Rd., Orange
8/6/2008, 467 Main St., Ridgefield
8/6/2008, 1650 Watertown Ave., Waterbury
8/6/2008, 397 Post Rd. East, Westport
6/9/2009, 358 West Main St., Avon
6/16/2009, 208 Berlin Turnpike, Berlin
5/27/2009, 1875 Boston Ave., Bridgeport
5/27/2009, 2610 E. Main St., Bridgeport
8/21/2009, 905 S. Main St., Cheshire
6/17/2009, 303 White St., Danbury
7/10/2009, 542 Providence Rd., Danielson
5/27/2009, 1998 Black Rock Turnpike, Fairfield
7/20/2009, 1055 Farmington Ave., Kensington
6/10/2009, 839 E. Main St., Meriden
7/10/2009, 817 Bank St., New London
6/16/2009, 1099 New Britain Ave., Newington
7/17/2009, 519 Boston Post Rd., Old Saybrook
6/17/2009, 467 Main St., Ridgefield
8/21/2009, 323 Cromwell Ave., Rocky Hill
6/10/2009, 526 Meriden Rd., Waterbury
8/22/2009, 131 Boston Post Rd., Waterford
6/17/2009, 397 Post Rd. East, Westport
6/17/2009, 93 Old Ridgefield Rd., Wilton
6/9/2009, 47 Main St., Winsted