Family Dollar ordered to pay over $40m for rodent-infested Arkansas warehouse

Company pleads guilty to using distribution center where FDA discovered decaying rodents, rodent feces, urine, and odors'

Family Dollar Stores has been ordered to pay $41.675m - the largest criminal penalty in a food safety case - after getting caught using a rodent-infested warehouse to distribute food, cosmetic and medical device products to more than 400 stores in the US.

After conducting an investigation, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) discovered live rodents, dead and decaying rodents, rodent feces, urine, and odors, and evidence of gnawing and nesting", according to a statement released by the US Department of Justice.