Page 12 - IAV Digital Magazine #428

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Woman Says Pricey Vitamin Bottle From Shoppers Drug Mart Was Filled With Dried Pasta
A health-con- scious mom and daughter say they purchased an expensive vitamin product at a Toronto Shoppers Drug Mart, only
to find the bottle filled with dry penne pasta.
Anna Bauer-Ross says she bought the bottle of Greens+ cap- sules on Tuesday from the Shoppers at Spadina Road and Dupont Street for a total of $50.81.
When her daugh- ter got home and opened the bot- tle, which was sealed, it was filled with pasta.
“She thought it was a joke,” she recalled.
Bauer-Ross headed back to the Shoppers the next day with her receipt and says the manager offered a full refund, or exchange. She accepted an
exchange under the condition that she could open the bottle in the store. When she did, she says it was also filled with pasta.
The flummoxed store manager then snatched a third bottle off the shelf and popped the cap, only to find more dried penne. A fourth bottle yielded a similar result.
Bauer-Ross received a full refund, but still wants answers.
“It’s strange, very strange,” she added. “Something you don’t think is going to happen under a sealed bottle from a rep- utable chain of stores.”
In a statement, the company that makes Greens+, Genuine Health, said the vitamin bottles were tam- pered with after leaving their warehouse.
“We are aware of a few isolated incidents at Shoppers Drug Mart stores in the GTA where our product has been replaced with dry pasta and returned for store refunds,” the company said.
“We have con- firmed that the substitution is happening after the product has been packed, sealed and shipped from our
facilities, and believe a local consumer is doing this for free product. We have no evidence that would suggest there is any risk to product safety or public health. We are working closely with Shoppers to find the culprit.”
Shoppers Drug Mart, which is owned by Loblaw Companies Limited, acknowl- edges the tam- pering and is
launching an investigation.
“We are aware of a few isolated incidents where vitamins have been replaced with pasta in a specific product line at certain Shoppers Drug Mart stores within the Greater Toronto Area,” the company said.
“We do not believe that there is any risk to our customers’ safety. We will be con-
ducting a full investigation.”
For now, the product will remain on shelves.
“We believe this is very isolated, with only a few reported inci- dences, and as a result we don’t believe there is cause to remove the product from shelf at this time,” Shoppers said.
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