Are Some Stores Carrying Expired Items?

HOUSTON - As consumers strive to save money, especially on medications, we may be inadvertently endangering our families.

A crucial health reminder to all of us was highlighted in a downtown demonstration, Wednesday, targeting a pharmaceutical chain.

Community leaders and activists took to the streets of Houston to protest the sale of expired products by CVS Pharmacy in Houston, and around the nation.

The organizers said their surveyors found expired medications in 31 of 34 CVS stores they shopped in Greater Houston in just the past few weeks.

"What we found," spokesman Garret O'Conner announced, " was medications that were up to two years old, sitting on store shelves...baby formula, over a year old, sitting on shelves."

Baylor College of Medicine Pediatrician Sara Rizzi says expired infant formula may not contain the vitamins your baby needs, and it can even be dangerous.

"Expired formula can accumulate moisture and have problems with spoilage and mold, so it can be dangerous."

As for expired medications, she says, "the biggest harm is that they may not be effective." Those who take aspirin daily to ward off heart attacks, for example, may not get the vital protection they think they're getting.

In a written response to the accusations, a CVS spokesman said:

"We have a clear product removal policy in place at all of our stores to help ensure that items are removed from our shelves before they reach their expiration date. While no process this labor-intensive is immune from error ….we strive to achieve 100 percent compliance and move quickly to rectify any unintentional deviation from our policies and procedures."

CVS is no the only store that's been caught selling expired products. It's happened all over, especially at discount stores.

As Americans strive to save money in a tight economy, experts warn, we could be endangering ourselves and our loved ones, if we're not careful.

When we check the price of a product, we need to check the expiration date, as well. Saving money shouldn't come at a cost to your family's health.