Mouse-infested warehouse lands Family Dollar Stores with record $41M fine
Mouse-infested warehouse lands Family Dollar Stores with record $41M fine
An investigation found “live rodents, dead and decaying rodents, rodent feces, urine and odors,” at a warehouse in Arkansas.
An investigation found “live rodents, dead and decaying rodents, rodent feces, urine and odors,” at a warehouse in Arkansas.
Family Dollar Stores was this week ordered to pay $41.6 million for using a rodent-infested warehouse to distribute food, cosmetics and medical devices to more than 400 stores across the South.
The largest criminal penalty of its kind comes after a U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigation found "live rodents, dead and decaying rodents, rodent feces, urine, and odors, and evidence of gnawing and nesting," at the company's distribution center in West Memphis, Arkansas, the Justice Department said in a statement.
I think it was John Oliver that did a story on them.
It's a total shit show, but for some people in food deserts it's their only accessible option.
Yes it was. And their whole philosophy is to cut as many costs as possible, even when it makes zero sense. Such as not keeping a warehouse pest-free.
As John Oliver showed, they also tend to have one employee per shift per store, which makes things almost impossible to manage.
Mostly because towns allow them in and they create the food dessert. Here's another video essay about them
Let them eat Flakes
this is why you don't buy food at Family Dollar.
There are a disproportionate amount of people out there that cannot afford to buy food from anywhere else. And it’s probably going to get worse as grocery prices continue to rise.
John Oliver did a good piece that showed how, in some cases, people are paying more at a "dollar" store than they would elsewhere. Per-unit prices are higher because they shrink the product size to keep the price low, which triggers a psychological response in people who think they're getting a deal, when in fact they're getting scammed. The real problem is that because of that psychological bias, people have flocked to "dollar" stores in rural areas to such an extent that their old school grocer has long since gone out of business. I own farmland in one of these food deserts, and if you don't shop at the "dollar" store, you buy groceries at a gas station or travel 25+ minutes to get to the next town. In those areas, there simply isn't food anywhere else, which is so incredibly sad.
When was the last time you looked at the prices of food at Family Dollar? They aren't a dollar store. They are more expensive than most grocery stores.
That is simply not true. The prices are higher in Family Dollar and people are shopping there for the most part because they think it's convenient and they are getting a deal. Also if you throw in the younger generation (or in some cases just plain lazier but older people), they would rather buy the frozen and unhealthy crap at Family Dollar than cook something for less than 1/3 the cost.
Food deserts typically have more family dollars/dollar general type stores. Folks that live in these areas oftentimes have no other choice, because a dollar general that doesn't have to worry about fresh fruit and veggies spoilage can operate at lower costs than a grocery, and will price them out.
There's a small small town I pass through somewhat regularly that only has a dollar tree, a gas station, and two restaurants (one of which just burned down). The drive to an actual grocery store is non-trivial. It's real thing.
Yup, that 0.39% fine should really teach them a lesson.
The department said the fine was the largest ever in a food safety case in the United States. As part of a plea agreement, both Family Dollar Stores and Dollar Tree must meet " robust" corporate reporting guidelines for the next three years.
Three years? Good God, make it ten. That is disgusting and dangerous. Three years is not enough time for a company to be making mistakes that large.
All that free protein, and people are complaining?!?!