Family Dollar Slammed With $41M Fine for Rodent-Infested Warehouse
Family Dollar will pay out $41.675 million in penalties to the “big cheese”—the federal government—after it admitted to allowing a Midwestern distribution center to become a mouse house.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Monday that the Dollar Tree subsidiary pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of causing FDA-regulated products to become adulterated while being held under insanitary conditions.
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Dollar Tree’s West Memphis, Ark., distribution center first received reports of mouse and pest issues after store deliveries in August 2020, according to the DOJ, which also stated the company admitted some of its employees knew its practices had compromised consumer safety by January 2021.
The rodent residence continued to ship product to 404 stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee until January 2022, when the results of a FDA inspection surfaced.
The inspection “revealed live rodents, dead and decaying rodents, rodent feces, urine and odors and evidence of gnawing and nesting throughout the facility,” according to a statement from the DOJ.
As a result, the company has been slapped with the largest-ever monetary criminal penalty that has come out of a food safety matter.
The company issued a recall on all human and animal food products, medical devices, cosmetics and drugs in February 2022. But when exterminators fumigated the facility, they found 1,270 rodents, the DOJ said.
Jonathan Ross, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, condemned Dollar Tree’s actions, as did the FDA and other government officials.
“Consumers trust that products purchased from retail stores such as Family Dollar are safe,” Ross said in a statement. “It is incomprehensible that Family Dollar knew about the rodent and pest issues at its distribution center in Arkansas but continued to ship products that were unsafe and insanitary. Knowingly selling these types of products not only places the public’s health at risk but erodes the trust consumers have in the products they purchase.”
Rick Dreiling, Dollar Tree‘s CEO and chairman, said he inherited the problems upon joining the company, but has since done everything in his power to move forward from the problem.
“Having reached full resolution with the DOJ, we are continuing to move forward on our business transformation, safety procedures and compliance initiatives,” Dreiling said in a statement. “When I joined Dollar Tree’s Board of Directors in March 2022, I was very disappointed to learn about these unacceptable issues at one of Family Dollar’s facilities. Since that time and even more directly when I assumed the role of CEO, we have worked diligently to help Family Dollar resolve this historical matter and significantly enhance our policies, procedures, and physical facilities to ensure it is not repeated.”
Dollar Tree noted in a release that its Arkansas distribution center, which it is currently rebuilding, will reopen and be fully operational by fall 2024. The company anticipates the new facility will create 300 jobs in the state.
In its other facilities, the company said it has added a safety, sanitation and compliance manager in an effort to address any issues and keep the facilities “squeak”-y clean.
