On February 26, attorneys for Family Dollar, LLC, entered a guilty plea in a Federal Court in Little Rock, Arkansas, where the company is headquartered.
Misdemeanor charges against the company included the use of an unsanitary warehouse to store food, medicine, medical devices, cosmetics, and other FDA-regulated consumer products. According to a U.S. Department of Justice press release, the company will be required to show ongoing compliance with health and safety regulations in addition to the monetary fines.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Jerome T. Kearney presided. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton and U.S. Attorney Jonathan D. Ross prosecuted on behalf of the state of Arkansas.
In the plea, Family Dollar, LLC, admitted to continued shipping from its central warehouse to over 400 stores located in Alabama, Missouri, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee despite reports from receiving stores of rodents or rodent damage in goods.
READ MORE: Army vet warns Americans are stockpiling for food disaster
Reports began in 2020. However, the company did not fumigate until 2022, following an FDA investigation that cited rodents, dead and decaying rodents, waste products, and evidence of contamination. The company then issued a recall of all medical products, cosmetics, and food products sold from 2021.
Following the plea, Family Dollar CEO, who took the position in March 2022, pledged change to consumers. “Having reached full resolution with the DOJ, we are continuing to move forward on our business transformation, safety procedures, and compliance initiatives,” Dollar Tree Chairman and CEO Rick Dreiling said in a statement regarding the case.
“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.”
