Former employee captures video of rodents at a Family Dollar distribution facility.
The Arkansas Attorney General filed a lawsuit against Family Dollar after finding the “presence of rodents and rodent activity” at its distribution facility in West Memphis, Arkansas.
Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge alleges in the lawsuit filed Thursday that the company had known about the rodent infestation “for years” but continued to allow unsafe products to be sold in Arkansas and other states.
Rutledge said in a press release that Family Dollar had a “complete disregard for public safety,” putting the public at risk, and allegedly forced “hundreds of employees to work in unsafe conditions” at the company’s distribution center in West Memphis, Arkansas.
The FDA WARNS ABOUT DOLLAR FAMILY PRODUCTS WHICH CAN POTENTIALLY BE CONTAMINATED BY RAT POCKING AND DEAD BIRDS
FILE (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File/AP Newsroom)
“In many rural Arkansas communities, families rely on discount retailers like Family Dollar for essential items like groceries, medicines or pet food,” Attorney General Rutledge said. “Family Dollar has been aware of this dangerous and massive rodent infestation for over two years but continues to sell and profit from potentially contaminated merchandise. Consumers have lost money and could have lost their lives.”
In the lawsuit, Rutledge alleges the company engaged in “reckless, willful, willful, deceptive and unscrupulous marketing practices” while selling potentially dangerous products to consumers.
Rutledge is suing the company under the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
FAMILY DOLLAR RECALLS SEVERAL PRODUCTS AFTER ROD INFESTIONS DETECTED AT THE DISTRIBUTION FACILITY
Rats found at Family Dollar (Robert Bradford/Fox News)
The lawsuit comes after the Food and Drug Administration conducted an investigation at the company’s West Memphis distribution center that found “live rodents, dead rodents in various states of decomposition, rodent feces and urine, evidence of gnawing, nesting and rodent odors throughout the facility observed dead birds and bird droppings, and products stored in conditions that did not protect against contamination.”
The FDA said more than 1,100 dead rodents were also removed from the facility, adding that the facility had a “history of infestation.”
Rats found at Family Dollar (Robert Bradford/Fox News)
“Following a fumigation at the facility in January 2022, more than 1,100 dead rodents were recovered from the facility,” the press release said. “In addition, a review of the company’s internal records also revealed the collection of more than 2,300 rodents between March 29 and September 17, 2021, demonstrating a history of infestation.”
The FDA on February 18 issued a “several product warning” purchased at Family Dollar stores in six states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee.
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Rats found at Family Dollar (Robert Bradford/Fox News)
In response, Family Dollar initiated a “voluntary product recall of certain products at the retail level” and said it was “not aware of any consumer complaints or medical reports related to this recall.”
FOX Business reached out to Family Dollar.
Daniella Genovesse and Andrew Mark Miller of FOX Business contributed to this report