If there is one thing that seems to be true in this world it is that things just keep getting more and more expensive. A cup of coffee used to be a nickel. Now it's 7 dollars for a venti. What even is a venti? It isn't as if pay is going up at the same speed while rent and common goods skyrocket in price.
People can look to government assistance or living more frugally, but even that gets difficult. There are only a few places that people with low income can turn to make sure they have a good quality of life. One such place is the Dollar Tree - a store where nearly everything costs only a dollar.
While there are many amazing things at the Dollar Tree, there are some things you just shouldn't skimp on. One of those things is medication. Medication can be very tricky, so it's best to pay top dollar. Too bad that's not always an option for people, so they end up buying from the Dollar Tree, which we'll learn is a bad idea.
Note that this story does not pertain to all Dollar Trees. It pertains to a specific Dollar Tree in Chesapeake, so if you're outside of that area, no worries! Now, for the real story. The Food and Drug Administration released a statement on Thursday that a Dollar Tree in CHesapeake has been getting its Assured brand drugs from a manufacturer overseas that have made "serious violations of federal law." The Dollar Tree has an independent testing company, but a lot of good that does since they say they can't guarantee the quality of the drugs sold in their stores.
The Chesapeake store is one of 15,100 Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores that are across the country and in Canada. The FDA had inspected the Dollar Tree's headquarters at the beginning of the year, prompting this discovery.
The FDA had warned the company that one of its outsourced drugmakers had been put on an alert list for importers. They had notified the CEO of Dollar Tree, but even after that the Dollar Tree had continued to import from that supplier. Dollar Tree had said they would stop, but they continued anyway. That means there is a big discrepancy between what the CEO had said and what they had actually done to rectify the situation.
According to the FDA, the drug making companies failed to test raw materials, and neglected to test their finished products for any incorrect pathogens. These products came from Shanghai Weierya Daily Chemicals Factory and Hangzhou Zhongbo Industrial Company. The FDA noted that the Dollar Tree has been known for working with companies with violations.
The Dollar Tree sells a brand called Assured brand that comes from these suppliers. One of the mis an acne treatment pad. According to Randy Guilar, the company spokesperson, there is no issue because the company is only selling topical products from these suppliers, not ingestible products. "We are committed to our customers' safety and have very robust and rigorous testing programs in place to ensure our third-party manufacturers' products are safe. We plan to meet with the FDA in the near future and expect that our plans will satisfy their requirements in all regards."
The FDA responded, saying, "Americans expect and deserve drugs that are safe, effective and that meet our standards for quality. The importation and distribution of drugs and other products from manufacturers that violate federal law is unacceptable. In this case, Dollar Tree has the ultimate responsibility to ensure that it does not sell potentially unsafe drugs and other FDA-regulated products to Americans."
