(Bloomberg) -- The Food and Drug Administration issued a warning against potential contamination of products sold at Family Dollar stores following a rodent infestation at a distribution facility.

Products sold at the chain owned by Dollar Tree Inc. in six states from Jan. 1 2021 could have potentially been contaminated after an FDA inspection uncovered unsanitary conditions such as dead rodents and birds at a West Memphis, Arkansas distribution facility, according to a statement Friday. The FDA is working with the company to initiate a voluntary recall of affected products that range from food items to cosmetics and over-the-counter medication. 

More than 1,100 dead rodents were recovered after the facility was fumigated in January 2022, while internal records indicated a further 2,300 were collected between end-March and mid-September, the FDA said. Rodent contamination may cause salmonella and infectious diseases, they added. The affected stores are located in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee.

“Families rely on stores like Family Dollar for products such as food and medicine. They deserve products that are safe,” FDA Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs Judith McMeekin said in the statement. “No one should be subjected to products stored in the kind of unacceptable conditions that we found in this Family Dollar distribution facility.”

Family Dollar was acquired for almost $9 billion by Dollar Tree in 2015. On Friday, the parent company announced Executive Chairman Bob Sasser was retiring, fanning speculation the retailer is nearing an agreement with activist investor Mantle Ridge.

Read more about Sasser’s exit. 

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.