THE value-store chain Family Dollar was fined US$41.7 million, the largest-ever financial criminal penalty in a food safety case, for distributing food, drugs, medical devices and cosmetics from a rat-infested warehouse, the Justice Department sad.

On Tuesday, Family Dollar pleaded guilty in federal court in Little Rock, Arkansas, to one misdemeanor count of holding products in unsanitary conditions, causing them to become adulterated.

The US$41.675 million penalty is estimated to be the value of the products that were tainted when stored in unsanitary conditions, according to the plea agreement.

The distribution centre in West Memphis, Arkansas, according to court documents, serviced 404 Family Dollar stores in six states: Alabama, Missouri, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas and Tennessee.

Family Dollar is a subsidiary of Dollar Tree, a rapidly growing retail giant that operates more than 16,000 stores across the United States and Canada.

Family Dollar temporarily closed stores in 2022 because of the infestation. The stores were closed for a few weeks but have all reopened, said Kristin Tetreault, a spokesperson for Dollar Tree.

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The rats had “established a presence” at the warehouse in July 2021, according to the plea agreement.

An employee filed a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

In 2022, inspectors from the Food and Drug Administration observed “live rodents, dead rodents in varying states of decay, rodent feces and urine, and evidence of gnawing, nesting, and rodent odors throughout the facility, in addition to dead birds and bird droppings,” according to the plea agreement in the case.

As many as 1,270 rodents were exterminated when the warehouse was fumigated in January 2022, federal officials said.

On Feb 18, 2022, the company voluntarily recalled all drugs, medical devices, cosmetics and human and animal food products sold since Jan 1, 2021, in the 404 stores that had been serviced by the infested warehouse, the Department of Justice said.

The plea agreement reached on Tuesday requires Family Dollar and Dollar Tree to meet “robust” corporate compliance and reporting requirements for the next three years.

Dollar Tree said in a statement that it had “significantly enhanced” its compliance and safety programs by hiring experienced personnel, providing safety trainings and satisfying a third-party audit. NYTIMES