{"id":586721,"date":"2026-04-05T08:50:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T08:50:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/586721\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T08:50:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T08:50:09","slug":"millions-of-eyedrops-sold-at-major-pharmacies-and-stores-voluntarily-recalled","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/586721\/","title":{"rendered":"Millions of eyedrops sold at major pharmacies and stores voluntarily recalled"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than 3 million bottles of eye drops sold at CVS, HEB, Kroger, Meijer, Walgreens and other stores nationwide have been voluntarily recalled due to a “lack of assurance of sterility,” according to a notice<\/a> from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.<\/p>\n

The recalled eye drops were produced by KC Pharmaceuticals Inc., a private label maker, and were sold under multiple brand names, including Best Choice, CVS, Discount Drug Mart, Gericare, Kroger and Walgreens.<\/p>\n

\"STOCK<\/p>\n

STOCK PHOTO\/Getty Images – PHOTO: Stock photo of a woman applying eye drops to her eye.<\/p>\n

The drops were initially recalled on March 3, according to the FDA.<\/p>\n

On March 31, the FDA assigned the recall a Class II designation, defined<\/a> by the agency as a recall in which use of the affected product may cause “temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.”<\/p>\n

Voluntary recall issued for eye drops sold nationwide<\/a><\/p>\n

The recall impacts 3,111,072 bottles of eye drops with the following labels:<\/p>\n

182,424 bottles of Sterile Eye Drops AC (tetrahydrozoline HCl 0.05%, zinc sulfate 0.25%), 0.5-ounce (15-milliliter) bottles<\/p>\n

303,216 bottles of Eye Drops Advanced Relief (dextran 70 0.1%, polyethylene glycol 400 1% and tetrahydrozoline HCl 0.05%), 0.5-ounce (15-milliliter) bottles, sterile<\/p>\n

1,023,096 bottles of Dry Eye Relief Eye Drops (glycerin 0.2%, hypromellose 0.2% and polyethylene glycol 400 1%), 0.5-ounce (15-milliliter) bottles<\/p>\n

245,184 bottles of Ultra Lubricating Eye Drops (polyethylene 400 0.4%, propylene glycol 0.3%), sterile, 0.5-ounce (15-milliliter) bottles<\/p>\n

378,144 bottles of Sterile Eye Drops Original Formula (tetrahydrozoline HCl 0.05%), 0.5-ounce (15-milliliter) bottles<\/p>\n

315,144 bottles of Sterile Eye Drops Redness Lubricant (glycerin 0.25% and naphazoline HCl 0.012%), 0.5-ounce (15-milliliter) bottles<\/p>\n

74,016 bottles of Sterile Eye Drops Soothing Tears (polyethylene glycol 400 0.4% and propylene glycol 0.3%), 0.5-ounce (15-milliliter) bottles<\/p>\n

589,848 bottles of Artificial Tears Sterile Lubricant Eye Drops (polyvinyl alcohol 0.5%, povidone 0.6%), 0.5-ounce (15-milliliter) bottles<\/p>\n

A full list of recalled eye drops and their brand names, lot numbers, UPC codes and expiration dates can be found on the FDA website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

CVS shared several recall notices on its website for GeriCare Artificial Tears Lubricant Eye Drops<\/a>, CVS Lubricant Eye Drops Redness Reliever<\/a>, CVS Lubricant Eye Drops Dry Eye, and two-packs of CVS Lubricant Eye Drops Redness Reliever, citing potential microbial contamination.<\/p>\n

In a statement to ABC News on Friday, a CVS spokesperson said the four products were “discontinued nearly a year ago,” and that the company was “fully cooperating” with the manufacturer recall.<\/p>\n

Systane eye drops recalled due to fungal contamination: FDA<\/a><\/p>\n

“We’re committed to ensuring the products we offer are safe, work as intended, comply with regulations, and satisfy customers’ needs,” the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

Customers who purchased the products may return it to any CVS Pharmacy for a refund, they added.<\/p>\n

ABC News has reached out to KC Pharmaceuticals Inc. for comment.<\/p>\n

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include new comments from a CVS spokesperson.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than 3 million bottles of eye drops sold at CVS, HEB, Kroger, Meijer, Walgreens and other stores…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":586722,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[64,63,112546,137,500,287030,287029,287028,287027,287031],"class_list":{"0":"post-586721","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-eye-drops","11":"tag-health","12":"tag-healthcare","13":"tag-kc-pharmaceuticals-inc","14":"tag-lubricant-eye-drops","15":"tag-polyethylene-glycol-400","16":"tag-recalled-eye-drops","17":"tag-sterile-eye-drops"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=586721"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586721\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/586722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=586721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=586721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=586721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}