Walmart settlement overview:
- Who: The state of California, through the district attorneys of seven counties, reached a $16 million settlement with Walmart Inc.
- Why: Prosecutors alleged Walmart sold infant formula and over-the-counter drug products after their expiration or “use by” dates.
- Where: The Walmart settlement was reached in California state court.
Walmart has agreed to pay $16 million to resolve claims that it sold expired infant formula and over-the-counter drug products to California consumers.
The settlement was reached by Walmart and district attorneys from Alameda, Sonoma, Sacramento, San Bernardino, Solano, San Joaquin and Yolo counties. The prosecutors brought the consumer protection lawsuit on behalf of the people of California.
The Walmart settlement requires the retailer to comply with an injunction prohibiting it from selling or advertising infant formula after the “use by” date printed on the product label. Walmart is also prohibited from selling over-the-counter drug products after their expiration dates at its California locations.
The products covered by the settlement include various date-sensitive over-the-counter items, such as medications, cough syrup, sunscreen, cosmetics and other health and beauty products. The compliance requirements also cover infant formula subject to federal labeling requirements for a “use by” date.
Walmart must implement six-year compliance program
As part of the Walmart settlement, the company must establish an inventory-checking program at its Walmart and Neighborhood Market locations in California for six years.
Walmart also agreed to dedicate four associate hours each week at every location it owns in the state to check date-sensitive over-the-counter products and infant formula. Employees must identify expired products or those that are approaching their expiration or “use by” dates and remove them from store inventories.
The Walmart settlement also provides for payments to government authorities. The Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office will receive $2.2 million in civil penalties and $60,000 in cost recovery, Law360 reports. The total settlement amount is $16 million.
County officials credited Walmart with cooperating with the investigation and taking steps toward compliance before the settlement was reached. California prosecutors initially filed the lawsuit against Walmart on July 14, 2026. The final judgment and injunction were executed on Sept. 18.
The $16 million Walmart settlement resolves the prosecutors’ consumer protection claims, noting that the investigation found no evidence of consumers being physically harmed by the expired products.
Meanwhile, two Illinois consumers recently sued Walmart, alleging it collected voiceprints from customers who called local stores without providing the disclosures or obtaining the written consent required by the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act.
What do you think about claims Walmart sold expired products, including infant formula? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiffs are represented by the county district attorneys of Alameda, Sonoma, Sacramento, San Bernardino, Solano, San Joaquin and Yolo.
The Walmart expired product lawsuit is People of the State of California v. Walmart Inc., Case No. 26CV199003, in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Alameda.
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