Save Mart Supermarkets, a limited-liability company that owns and operates grocery stores in California and Nevada, has agreed to pay a $1.6 million fine for violating state health and safety laws by selling products beyond their expiration dates.
The company was sued by a coalition of the state’s district attorneys from El Dorado, Marin, San Joaquin, Solano, Sonoma, and Yolo counties, who filed the case in Yolo County Superior Court.
“Consumers expect that products they purchase at supermarkets are not expired, or beyond the “use by date” provided by the manufacturer of the product,” said Sonoma County District Attorney Carla Rodriguez in a statement May 31. “We are proud to partner with other District Attorneys around the state in bringing this important protection action.”
As part of the settlement, Save Mart did not admit or deny liability and agreed to discontinue selling expired over-the-counter drugs, infant formula, and baby food past the “use by” date.
The company was also ordered to pay more than $1.5 million in civil penalties and costs, and $40,000 into a trust that funds future consumer-related prosecutions.
The district attorneys involved in the lawsuit claim a joint investigation found the company allegedly failed to remove from its shelves expired over-the-counter medications, baby food, and infant formula since at least 2018.
The company cooperated with the investigation, according to the Sonoma County district attorney’s office.
After being put on notice of the violations, Save Mart was cooperative and conducted internal checks for expired items in all of their California retail locations, Ms. Rodriguez reported.
The company also invested time and resources to prioritize the verification of expiration dates and retrained store staff.
“There was no evidence discovered by the [prosecutors] as part of the investigation that the sale of any expired or past the ‘use by’ day products resulted in harm to consumers,” the Sonoma County District Attorney’s office said in a press release.
Based in Modesto, Calif., the company owns and operates more than 194 stores under the names Save Mart, Lucky, and FoodMaxx brands in Northern and Central California and northern Nevada.
In a statement Monday, a Save Mart spokeswoman said the company has implemented a review process to monitor for expiration dates.
“The safety, freshness, and quality of the products we sell is of the utmost importance at The Save Mart Companies,“ Spokeswoman Jennifer Shelton told The Epoch Times. ”Ensuring our over-the-counter and other regulated products are properly stocked, rotated, and code dated is a critical component to ensure consumer confidence when shopping at our stores.”
The Save Mart Companies has implemented a rigorous review process to continually monitor expiration dates for these government regulated code-dated products, she explained.
“As soon as we became aware of the issue, we acted immediately, audited all TSMC stores to remove expired items and cooperated fully with the investigation,” she said. “We appreciate the opportunity to come to a resolution and refine and improve our processes.”
