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(which led to the charges) were so close together, there simply was not enough time to react,” Mr. Mazango said.
Efforts to obtain comment from the state Department of Agriculture were unsuccessful Monday. The date of the next state inspection of the store here is unknown.
Mr. Mazango said Food Lion hired an independent exterminator to inspect the Front Royal facility. They perform weekly examinations of the store for any evidence of rodents. “They go over the store with a fine-tooth comb,” he said, and “absolutely no evidence of any rodents” has been found for two weeks. The most recent inspection was performed last week just as the news of the state charges became public.
The Food Lion spokesman said the company has fought the rodent problem in several ways. Besides bringing Mr. Armbrister in, they have located the source of rodent entry and closed it. They have stepped up patrol of shelves and storage areas by Food Lion personnel and have taken other precautions, including placement of all stored items on wooden pallets.
Mr. Mazango said, “There has never been any danger to customers” and denied that mice-gnawed food had been sold, as had been reported elsewhere. “Personnel removed any such food before it was sold,” he said, noting that Food Lion was not charged with selling gnawed food. Also, he denied any evidence of rats inside the store, but said the problem with mice had been corrected.
Food Lion has hired a lawyer and expects to contest the charges in court but Mr. Mazango declined further comment.
But the Food Lion spokesman said he checked with Mr. Armbrister Monday afternoon and that the manager had not noticed any drop in weekend sales.
90.7%