If you shop for groceries at this retailer, chances are your food may have been contaminated by rats. Consumers have often criticized this chain for being dirty and disorganized, but many would never imagine that their food would be sitting next to dozens of dead mice.
Family Dollar is now paying a multimillion dollar fine for the absolutely disgusting conditions of its warehouses. The company was recently hit with a record $41.7 million fine for ignoring product safety standards after it sold thousands of items that had been stored with live, dead and decaying vermin, according to health officials.
The Justice Department actually described the penalty as “the largest-ever monetary criminal penalty in a food safety case”.
Hundreds of products have been discarded, while others have been recalled, which resulted in painful financial losses for the company.
Rodent infestations, product recalls, and mass store closings have only accelerated the decay of this discount chain this year. But experts say these are just symptoms of a much bigger problem.