Family Dollar issues recall for various products after FDA inspection reveals rodent infestation at Arkansas facility

By Aya Elamroussi, CNN

The US Food and Drug Administration on Friday issued an alert that various products purchased within the last year from Family Dollar Stores across six states may be contaminated and unsafe to use.

Items ranging from dietary supplements and medication to cosmetics and pet foods may have been exposed to insanitary conditions at Family Dollar’s distribution facility in West Memphis, Arkansas, federal officials said in a news release. An FDA inspection found that a rodent infestation could have potentially contaminated the products.

Family Dollar on Friday issued a voluntary recall of particular items that were sold after January 1, 2021, at hundreds of stores throughout Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee, according to a news release.

The company said it’s not aware of consumer complaints or reports of illnesses related to the recall.

“Family Dollar is notifying its affected stores by letter asking them to check their stock immediately and to quarantine and discontinue the sale of any affected product. Customers that may have bought affected product may return such product to the Family Dollar store where they were purchased without receipt,” the company said.

Rodents are associated with Salmonella, an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in certain people, according to the company’s news release.

In a statement to CNN, a spokesperson for Family Dollar said Saturday that it temporarily closed the affected stores to effectively conduct the voluntary recall.

“We take situations like this very seriously and are committed to providing safe and quality products to our customers. We have been fully cooperating with all regulatory agencies in the resolution of this matter and are in the process of remediating the issue,” according to spokesperson Kayleigh Campbell.

Judith McMeekin, associate commissioner for regulatory affairs at the FDA, said families who rely on Family Dollar stores deserve safe products.

“No one should be subjected to products stored in the kind of unacceptable conditions that we found in this Family Dollar distribution facility. These conditions appear to be violations of federal law that could put families’ health at risk.”

The FDA advises people to throw away all drugs, medical devices, cosmetics and dietary supplements, regardless of packaging. However, food packaged in undamaged glass or all-metal cans may be safe for use after being cleaned and sanitized properly.

The recall doesn’t apply to products shipped directly to stores by the distributor or manufacturer, including all frozen and refrigerated items, Family Dollar said.

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CNN’s Katherine Dillinger contributed to this report.