Sheesh! The retailer Family Dollar announced a recall after it was discovered that more than 1,000 rodents were inside a Family Dollar distribution facility located in Arkansas.
The company’s voluntary recall is said for affected items purchased from hundreds of stores in the South.
A consumer complaint prompted officials to look into the West Memphis, Arkansas, facility last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration started.
Inspectors said they discovered both live rodents and dead rodents that were in “various states of decay,” as well as rodent feces, dead birds, and bird droppings, NBC News reported.
Officials said that the facility was fumigated, and more than 1,100 dead rodents were recovered.
“No one should be subjected to products stored in the kind of unacceptable conditions that we found in this Family Dollar distribution facility,” Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs Judith McMeekin said.
The FDA is now working with the chain store to start a voluntary recall of the affected products, including human and pet food, dietary supplements, cosmetics, medical devices, and over-the-counter medications bought in January or February.
The recall will affect Family Dollar stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee.
Family Dollar also listed the 404 stores that possibly sold products that were contaminated at the facility, adding that it “is not aware of any consumer complaints or reports of illness related to this recall.”
The FDA did inform that food in non-permeable packaging “may be suitable for use if thoroughly cleaned.” However, officials said that items such as all drugs, medical devices, cosmetics, and dietary supplements should be thrown away.
“Family Dollar is notifying its affected stores by letter asking them to check their stock immediately and to quarantine and discontinue the sale of any affected product,” the company said. “Customers that may have bought affected product may return such product to the Family Dollar store where they were purchased without receipt.”
