A former employee records video of rodents at a Family Dollar distribution facility.
The Justice Department announced Monday that Family Dollar Stores LLC pleaded guilty to storing consumer products in a “rodent-infested warehouse.”
The Justice Department released a statement Monday saying the company had pleaded guilty to storing food, drugs, medical devices and cosmetics in unsanitary conditions related to a rodent infestation at the company's distribution center in West Memphis, Arkansas , stand.
The company has also agreed to pay $41.675 million, which the Justice Department says is the largest fine ever in a food safety case.
On Monday, criminal information was unsealed in federal court charging Family Dollar with a misdemeanor count of contaminating FDA-regulated products while maintaining them in unsanitary conditions.
FAMILY DOLLAR RECALLS MULTIPLE PRODUCTS AFTER A RODENT INFESTATION WAS DETECTED AT THE DISTRIBUTION FACILITY
Family Dollar Stores LLC pleaded guilty today to storing food, drugs, medical devices and cosmetics in unsanitary conditions in connection with a rodent infestation at the company's distribution center in West Memphis, Arkansas. (Fox News)
“When consumers go to the store, they have a right to expect that the food and medicines on the shelves are clean and uncontaminated,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer. “When companies violate this trust and the laws protecting consumers, the public can rest assured: the Department of Justice will hold these companies accountable.”
The settlement agreement also requires Family Dollar and Dollar Tree to meet strict corporate compliance and reporting requirements for the next three years.
“Consumers trust that products purchased at retail stores like Family Dollar are safe,” said U.S. Attorney Jonathan D. Ross for the Eastern District of Arkansas. “It is incomprehensible that Family Dollar knew about the rodent and pest problems at its distribution center in Arkansas but continued to ship products that were unsafe and unsanitary.”
Ross went on to say that knowingly selling these types of products not only endangers the public's health, but also ruins consumers' trust in the products they purchase.
FAMILY DOLLAR FACILITY IN ARKANSAS WILL BE PERMANENTLY CLOSED DUE TO RODENT INfestation
A criminal complaint unsealed today in federal court in Little Rock, Arkansas, charged Family Dollar with a misdemeanor count of adulterating FDA-regulated products while maintaining them in unsanitary conditions. (Fox News)
“Products shipped and sold must be safe for consumers, and the safety of Arkansans and others is extremely important to this office. Let me be clear: If you do business in Arkansas and allow the shipping or sale of unsafe and unsanitary products, you will be held accountable,” Ross said.
The company pleaded guilty and admitted that its Arkansas distribution center supplied FDA-regulated products to more than 400 Family Dollar stores in Alabama, Missouri, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas and Tennessee.
According to the consent agreement, the company first received reports of mice and pest issues in store deliveries in August 2020. By the end of 2020, certain stores reported receiving rodents and rodent-damaged products from warehouse. The company admitted that as of at least January 2021, some of its employees knew that the unsanitary conditions caused the FDA-regulated products stored in the warehouse to become contaminated and violate the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA).
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According to the consent agreement, the company continued to supply FDA-regulated products from the warehouse until January 2022, when an FDA inspection discovered live rodents, dead and decaying rodents, rodent feces, urine and odors, and signs of rodents (Fox News). )
“U.S. consumers rely on the FDA to ensure their food is safe and wholesome,” said Special Agent in Charge Charles L. Grinstead of the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA-OCI) Kansas City Field Office . “When companies put themselves above the law and distribute food that has been stored in extremely unsanitary conditions, endangering public health, we will ensure they are brought to justice.”
According to the consent agreement, the company continued to ship FDA-regulated products from the warehouse until January 2022, when an FDA inspection discovered live rodents, dead and decaying rodents, rodent feces, urine and odors, and evidence of nesting throughout the facility.
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After the inspection, fumigation of the warehouse resulted in the eradication of 1,270 rodents, according to the consent form.
On February 18, 2022, the DOJ reported that the company had voluntarily recalled all medications, medical devices, cosmetics, and human and animal foods sold since January 1, 2021, in the 404 stores served by the warehouse.