(KRON) — Save Mart Supermarkets, LLC, a California company that owns and operates 194 retail grocery stores around the state, including Save Mart, Lucky, Lucky California, FoodMaxx, and Maxx Value Food, is being fined $1.6 million for violating state health and safety laws, Sonoma County District Attorney Carl Rodriguez said on Thursday. According to prosecutors, the company did so by selling over-the-counter expired products beyond their “use-by” dates to customers.
The district attorneys of El Dorado, Marin, San Joaquin, Solano, Sonoma, and Yolo counties filed the case in Yolo County Superior Court.
Prosecutors said they found a “recurring failure” by the company to remove expired over-the-counter medications, baby food, and infant formula beyond their use-by dates since “at least 2018.” The company, however, cooperated with the investigation, prosecutors said.
Upon notice of the violation, Save Mart has since conducted internal checks for expired products at all of its California retail locations, prosecutors said. Save Mart also “invested time and resources” to retrain store personnel. Prosecutors said there was no evidence of the expired products resulting in harm to consumers.
DA Rodriguez stated, “Consumers expect that the products they purchase at supermarkets are not expired or beyond the “use by date” provided by the manufacturer of the product. We are proud to partner with other district attorneys around the state in bringing this important consumer protection action.”
Save Mart was ordered to pay $1,560,000 in civil penalties and costs as well as another $40,000 in restitution to a trust that funds future consumer-related prosecutions.
The District Attorney’s Office also encourages consumers to pay close attention to expiration dates when purchasing the types of items involved here.
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