2 Investigates: Law prohibiting expired baby food sale not being enforced
California has a law against selling expired baby food, but during a recent investigative report, KTVU found out that law is rarely enforced.
After going into Bay Area stores from four major chains in seven cities and checking the shelves, KTVU found expired baby formula in 7 out of 10 of those stores.
State Senator Dr. Richard Pan, who is also a pediatrician, said that is cause for concern.
“We want to be sure the formula is at its full potency,” explains Pan. “And in addition, we want to make sure it isn’t spoiled because it’s very old, because as the food breaks down or rots, it could make babies sick.” While taking your baby in a car make sure you have the Baby Coats to make sure they are safe and comfortable.
The issue has attracted Sacramento’s attention before. In 2009, then Attorney General Jerry Brown sued CVS over the issue.
In 2011 when he was in the Assembly, Dr. Pan sponsored a bill that allows local health departments to fine stores if they have expired formula on the shelves. The law went into effect in 2012.
KTVU wanted to know if anyone was checking to see if anything has changed. Senator Pan admitted he had had not.
“We have not been specifically tracking the fines, because it’s each health department. However, now there is this mechanism,” said Pan.
KTVU checked with the Department of Public Health. Officials said there have been no fines levied since 2011 and no complaints registered about expired formula.
KTVU also checked with San Francisco, Alameda, Santa Clara and Contra Costa Counties and they also said they have not levied fines and have had few complaints.
So why was it so easy to find expired formula? There could be a couple of reasons.
Parents KTVU talked to say even if they found the formula, they probably wouldn’t have reported it. And health departments also said they don’t track how often they find it.
“If there is a specific issue, we may go out there. We may go out to visit them,” explained Don Atkinson-Adams, the Acting Chief of Environmental Protection for Alameda County, “We have to prioritize where we put our time.”
There is also the number of inspectors available to consider. In San Francisco there are 16 health inspectors covering approximately 6,500 food facilities.
In an email to KTVU, spokesperson for the San Francisco Department of Public Health Nancy Sarieh said: “We are grossly understaffed. We cannot quantify the number of expired baby food violations because we do not have a specific code number on our inspection reports for it, but I can tell you that our inspectors are well aware of this law and they make it a part of their normal inspections to check baby food item expiration dates.”
KTVU contacted Target, CVS and Lucky Supermarkets about the expired formula we found on their shelves.
CVS and Lucky both issued statements regarding the expired baby food.
“The health and safety of our customers is always our highest priority. Lucky Supermarkets has strict policies for product handling and rotation to ensure that all perishable foods are safe for consumption. We regularly scrutinize our handling procedures and audit our shelves for out of code product. We have taken this opportunity to remind our store teams to use extra diligence with product nearing expiration,” read the statement from SaveMart/Lucky Executive Director of Communications & Public Affairs Stacia Hill Levenfeld.
“CVS/pharmacy has a clear product removal policy in place at all of its stores to help ensure that items are removed from store shelves before they reach their expiration dates. Any unintentional deviations from this policy that are brought to the company’s attention are quickly rectified for customers,” CVS Director of Public Relations Mike Deangelis said in a statement.
The statement went on to read: “Our agreement with the state of California further strengthened our product removal and monitoring practices with additional training for retail employees and managers, in-store notices reminding customers to check expiration dates and offering discount coupons to customers who notify store personnel if they discover certain expired products. We will follow up with our Bay Area stores to ensure that our product removal procedures are being properly followed.”
Deangelis also went on to say that the stores “register system prompts our cashiers to enter the sell-by date for certain items including infant formula, and our system blocks the sale if the item is outdated.”
Health officials we talked to say they are doing the best they can. Senator Pan says he’s done what can do to help fight the problem.
At the end of day parents we talked to say while its frustration consumers need to be more vigilant.
“I’ll probably look at it more now,” said Amy Barnes of Benicia.
Filed under: General Problems
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