Fresh Express recalled from Walmart stores in the United States all its salad products with the Organic Marketside Spring Mix brand as a precautionary measure. The recall was made after consumers reported they found parts of a dead bat in one of the salads. The recalled salad brand is packaged in a five-ounce clear container with a best-used date April 14, 2017, found on the product's front label, and comes with the production code G089B19 and UPC code 6 8113132897 5.
The recalled Fresh Express salads were distributed to Walmart stores located in Florida and other stores in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, according to Forbes. Customers who bought the salad can return it to the Walmart store where it was purchased. They can also call the Fresh Express Consumer Response Center at 800-242-5472 for any question about the product.
"Two people in Florida reported eating some of the salad before the bat was found. The bat was sent to the CDC rabies lab for laboratory testing because bats in the United States sometimes have been found to have this disease," the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. "The deteriorated condition of the bat did not allow for CDC to definitively rule out whether this bat had rabies."
CDC urged the consumers who ate the contaminated salad made by Fresh Express to take rabies prophylaxis to ensure they do not get infected, as per NPR. People who consumed any salad that belonged to the recalled batch, but without any traces of animal material, need not worry about their safety. The Center assured them there is no need to contact the health department.
Fresh Express, a subsidiary of Chiquita Brands, L.L.C., grows its salad in Canada and the United States. Prior to the incident, the company website assures its customers that since their vegetables are grown in these areas, then there is no need to be concerned about bat infections common in other countries. The company produces around 40 million pounds of salad every month.
