(Aug. 20) -- Food meant for inmates in the South was being eaten by rodents, federal officials say. Using a court order, U.S. marshals seized more than 1,500 cases of food worth $859,000 from a warehouse in Athens, Ga.
Last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Georgia Department of Agriculture examined Mid-States Services' warehouse. Officials said they found 14 live rodents and seven dead ones, plus gnaw holes on food containers, and rodent droppings and nests.
During the searches, health officials put a withhold-from-sale order on food in the warehouse, including Ramen noodles, pastries and crackers, authorities said.
"The reason we went to the federal court to get the seizure order was because they didn't fully comply with our request to destroy the food," FDA spokesman Ira Allen told AOL News today.
Allen didn't identify which jails and prisons were supposed to receive the food.
Calls to the company today by AOL News were not immediately returned.
Food Seized From Rodent-Infested Ga. Warehouse
Updated: 6 hours 37 minutes ago
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fda, rodents, infestation, food seized, athens georgia, athens ga, food and drug administration