Family Dollar’s Rat Problem Cost the Company Millions
Family Dollar is renowned for providing essentials and staples at a more or less discounted price, much like any good discount retailer. This contains numerous frozen foods and shelf-stable consumables. If the results of recent inspections are any indicator, they aren't always on top of their health and safety game, unlike many good budget businesses.
When the FDA examined Family Dollar facilities in 2021, they found a horror movie with a rat theme that was almost apocalyptic. Cleaning up the mess, replacing lost inventory, and other costs totaled $34 million. That only applied to one warehouse. After a warehouse in Arkansas was fumigated in January 2022, 1100 rat carcasses were removed by exterminators.
The additional 2,300 were previously gathered by maintenance teams between March and September 2021. FDA authorities observed living ones scrounging around food shelves and nibbling their way into packages before they were transported to stores before giving up on counting the amount of droppings. They also discovered dead ones on conveyor belts.
Employees had stopped using the warehouse's break room and inventory control center because of the overwhelming rat pee odor that made it impossible for anyone to enter. Don't worry, though, investigators also discovered ant mounds and birds in the warehouse, so it wasn't just rats there. Because the products were judged unfit for sale to consumers, over 400 stores across the nation were forced to temporarily close.
