DELAND, Fla. – The state has ordered a DeLand Family Dollar store to stop selling food after inspectors found rats inside food that was on the shelves.
Kevi White said she is worried about the potato chips she purchased from the store.
"It scares me now that I know I've ate there and there's been rats in the food," she said.
The State Department of Agriculture is banning the Family Dollar at 915 S. Spring Garden Ave. from selling all consumable foods after an inspector found rodent droppings and chewed potato chips and saw a rat run across the floor while he was investigating a complaint last week.
"How do you get away with something like that? How does it go unnoticed? It doesn't make sense," said Monica Cortes, a shopper.
According to state records, last year the store was ordered to stop selling food three different times and failed two safety inspections. It was given the green light to sell food again when it passed inspection in November.
"Had I known, I wouldn't have -- even just buying cat food -- I probably wouldn't have continued to shop at this store," said Belinda Loboda of DeLand.
Local 6 reached out to the Family Dollar district manager and the corporate offices to see what's being done to fix the rat problem, but as of Monday night had not received a response.