The Arkansas Attorney General’s Office announced Thursday that it will sue the “Family Dollar” chain after an inspection found rat infestation months before managers officially posted a product recall notice.
“Family Dollar has been aware of this massive and dangerous rodent infestation for more than two years, and yet they continued to sell and obtain income from potentially contaminated items,” prosecutor Leslie Rutledge said in written statements.
The lawsuit alleges that Family Dollar knew about the problem at the West Memphis distribution center for years, but allowed the unsafe products to be sold to thousands of people in Arkansas and five other states.
“Their total disregard for safety threatened Arkansas consumers and forced hundreds of employees to work in unsafe conditions at the West Memphis Distribution Center,” he said. the prosecutor.
Rutledge seeks restitution for civil damages and penalties under the “Arkansas Deceptive Trade Act”. The official argued that many residents of rural Arkansas depend on discount stores such as Family Dollar for essentials.
“Customers lost money and could have lost their lives,” Rutledge pointed out.
On February 18, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that more than 1,000 rodents were found inside the distribution center.
The chain issued a recall notice of products that impacted a few 400 stores, including 85 in Arkansas. An inspection report in March indicates that the facility violated the Code 11.35(c) after significant activity of rodents was detected in the aisles of the store where food for humans and pets was located.