Family Dollar issues voluntary recall of certain FDA-regulated products

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - Family Dollar stores across the Mid-South are shut down.

After multiple calls to Family Dollar’s headquarters Monday, we’re still not hearing about the next steps, but an employee said that they are the ones doing the cleaning inside and it may be several days before customers can shop at the stores again.

Most customers we spoke to said they had no idea that over 60 stores in Memphis were closed indefinitely after Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspectors found thousands of rodents inside the company’s distribution center in West Memphis, Arkansas.

One of the biggest concerns is the potential presence of salmonella. Some contaminated products include cosmetics, human food, medications, and medical devices.

There is concern that tainted products in the warehouse were shipped to local Family Dollar stores.

In a statement to Action News 5, Saturday, a Family Dollar spokesperson said, “We temporarily closed the affected stores in order to proficiently conduct the voluntary recall of certain FDA-regulated products.”

Late Monday evening, we saw activity inside the store presumably from employees working to get the store back open.

Meanwhile, Tennessee lawmakers are now calling on state agencies like the Tennessee Department of Health to launch independent investigations.

“That’s ridiculous. How could that go undetected all this time? That’s not a condition that sets up overnight,” said State Representative G.A. Hardaway.

Hardaway wants to know why other agencies didn’t discover the issue prior to the FDA.

However, Hardaway said Family Dollar stores do provide critical items, especially in food desserts or areas with no grocery stores.

For some customers, these stores are their only option.

Family Dollar did not say when it would reopen, but an employee said the target date to reopen is by the end of the week.

And just a reminder, some of the affected items should be thrown out. Other items, in unopened glass or metal cans, can be sanitized and used.

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