Dead Bat Found In Packaged Fresh Express Salad Mix In Florida

After finding a dead bat inside a package of Fresh Express salad mix, two Floridians were recommended to undergo post-exposure rabies treatment, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Saturday.

While neither consumer has been found to have rabies and the likelihood of contraction from eating the salad is relatively low, the CDC has been sure to test and control the situation.

“Transmission of rabies by eating a rabid animal is extremely uncommon, and the virus does not survive very long outside of the infected animal,” the CDC said in a statement.

They have also been unable to confirm if the bat had rabies or not, due to the dead animals level of deterioration.

“Both people report being in good health and neither has any signs of rabies. CDC is not aware of any other reports of bat material found in packaged salads.”

Nonetheless, the lot of Fresh Express salad mix has been recalled. Having only been distributed to Walmart stores in the Southeastern region of the U.S., the product is fairly easy to recall.

“The salads were sold in a clear container with production code G089B19 and best-if-used-by date of APR 14, 2017 located on the front label,” the CDC statement continued.

The CDC suggested that if the recalled product has already been bought, that the consumer discard it immediately and seek a refund. Conversely, they also say that if a consumer has already eaten the product and not found any dead animal parts inside the packaging, they should not contact their health department, as they are not at risk.