Recalled children's medicine found on the shelves at some Massachusetts CVS stores
BROOKLINE - Recalled children's pain medicine was found by WBZ crews on the shelves of multiple CVS stores in Massachusetts.
At the Brookline CVS on Harvard Ave., we found KinderMed Infants' Pain & Fever medicine on the shelf, right where it should not be.
The medicine's maker, KinderFarms, announced almost three weeks ago it was voluntarily recalling its pain and fever meds for both infants and kids amid concern it contained unstable acetaminophen that could cause youngsters to get sick and throw up.
The FDA told consumers who'd bought it to return it for a full refund, while directing stores to pull unsold stock from the shelf.
But clearly that didn't happen. In fact, we found it at several CVS stores from Leominster to Brookline, where workers expressed some surprise when we explained that some of the child meds on their shelves had been recalled, and they quickly called their district manager.
Some salvation in this for CVS comes when you try to buy the product. It wouldn't ring up at self-checkout or at the register, where a clerk said she didn't know what the problem was, but it might be on a recall list.
So, because the barcode won't scan, no parent can buy it. But does CVS protocol not mandate that recalled items be taken off the shelf right away?
CVS corporate stressed that a systemwide "do not sell flag" had prevented trouble here and pledged it would instruct stores once again to pull any "inadvertent product."
In fairness, some CVS stores we checked appeared to have pulled the product already and it's important to note that KinderFarms has not received any reports of serious illness from kids using the meds. But you might still find it on the shelf.