Rat infestation may have contaminated goods sold at Family Dollar, Arkansas suit says

The rodent infestation at a Family Dollar distribution center was so bad that one Arkansas employee said you could walk past all 61 aisles and expect to see critters in every single one, according to a lawsuit filed by the state.

“You are going to see them from one to sixty-one,” he said, according to the lawsuit. “They are running around. They are on the floor, and they are in boxes.”

In one example, the worker shared a video of himself trying to feed a rat a potato chip. Sharing that video online in January got him fired, he says.

That same month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration began investigating the West Memphis center and found live rodents, dead rats and rodent poop throughout the facility, according to the lawsuit. A mouse carcass was found on a pallet of scalloped potatoes, rodent pellets were found on packages of chocolate Jell-O and many rats were seen climbing through a pallet of potato chips in cardboard cases.

In the lawsuit filed April 28, Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge alleges that this “massive rodent infestation” lasted for years — and that the company continued to sell “potentially harmful or contaminated products” in Arkansas and five other states in the region.

“In many rural communities in Arkansas, families rely on discount stores like Family Dollar for essential products such as food, medicine or pet food,” Rutledge said in a news release. “Family Dollar has had knowledge of this dangerous and massive rodent infestation for over two years, yet they continued to sell and profit from potentially contaminated goods. Consumers lost money and could have lost their lives.”

Family Dollar did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News on April 28.

A month-long inspection report from the FDA in early 2022 says Family Dollar knew of the infestation since at least January 2020. Officials said they know this because of Family Dollar’s own documentation of said infestation.

More than a year later, from late March to mid September 2021, inspectors say the company documented over 2,300 rodent captures in traps and bait boxes placed by a pest control company.

But the infestation continued.

When a fire drill was completed on Oct. 26, 2021, “dozens of rats could be seen running around the facility due to the loud and sustained sound of the fire alarm,” according to the report.

Also that month, employees stopped using the break room and inventory control center because of the “foul” stench and odor coming from the rodents, according to the report.

And in January 2022, the company hired a new pest control company, and more than 1,100 dead rats were “harvested,” inspectors said.

In addition to the federal inspection, the Arkansas Department of Health has documentation of several 2021 inspections at the West Memphis distribution center, according to the lawsuit.

“Inspectors reported seeing significant rodent activity where human food and pet food were stored,” officials said. “The inspectors noted that members of Family Dollar management stated that they were aware of the rodent issues. On April 2, 2021, ADH inspectors reported that effective measures were not being taken to stop the rodent infestation.”

Arkansas officials believe the infestation may have harmed or contaminated human foods, animal foods, cosmetics, medical devices and over-the-counter medications.

On Feb. 18, Family Dollar issued a voluntary recall on affected products and temporarily closed 404 stores — 85 in Arkansas — “so that recalled products could be removed from the shelves,” according to the lawsuit. About $34 million worth of product was removed from stores.

In the recall notice, Family Dollar said “there are numerous hazards associated with rodents including the potential presence of Salmonella,” adding that consuming affected products could lead to illness.

“During this time, Family Dollar made significant profits, while knowingly exposing Arkansas consumers to potentially hazardous or contaminated products by allowing and failing to prevent long-lasting and massive rodent infestations and other unsanitary conditions at its West Memphis Distribution Center,” the lawsuit states. “Likewise, many Family Dollar stores throughout the country have been forced to close due to rodent infestations in the recent past.”

“Together, these facts demonstrate a much larger and troubling pattern of willful and intentional neglect and deceptive and unconscionable business practices by Family Dollar that compromise the health, safety, and well-being of Arkansas consumers,” the lawsuit continued.

Rutledge believes Family Dollar sold “tens of millions of dollars of hazardous and contaminated products to Arkansas citizens,” according to the news release.

Arkansas is seeking up to $10,000 for each violation of the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and asks the court to suspend or revoke Family Dollar’s authorization to do business in the state.

This story was originally published April 28, 2022 at 6:51 PM with the headline "Rat infestation may have contaminated goods sold at Family Dollar, Arkansas suit says."