Two Floridians got the surprise of their lives when they uncovered bat remains in a container of sealed salad greens.
The New York Times reports the bat was a Brazilian free-tailed variety, a species regularly found in the southern parts of the US. Numbering in the millions, they can be a common nighttime sighting, but their aversion to humans means finding one in a grocery store is particularly odd.
The bat's remains had decomposed inside of the produce
Sources say this particular bat was found, badly decomposed, in a carton of "Organic Marketside Spring Mix." The maker of the salad, Fresh Express, recalled all of the containers that had been issued previously, citing "extraneous animal matter" in one of the boxes as the reason.
Records indicate that particular type of salad was only distributed to Walmart stores in the Southeast region of the US, and Walmart immediately pulled all of the remaining Organic Marketside stock from its shelves.
The chances of discovering a bat in produce are incredibly slim
In a statement, the Chiquita Brands subsidiary indicated the errant bat parts were "an isolated incident," and went on to express complete confidence in the company's washing and filtration processes. Food safety experts agree that the likelihood of finding a bat in lettuce greens is extraordinarily rare and that one probably won't be found again for a very long time. Vermin more typically found in produce usually includes mice and rats, and, according to sources, these are generally planted in the product while it is being processed in retail stores.
In trying to explain how this bat ended up in a Florida Walmart, food safety expert Brian Kellerman proposed that it may have flown into a factory during the production process and skipped detection by the primarily automated equipment. Such a scenario isn't likely to happen again.
Both affected customers seem to be in good health
Reports indicate health officials are evaluating the two people who consumed portions of the tainted produce, but as of now, neither appears to be experiencing any adverse effects.
Bats, along with other vermin, are known to carry diseases that can be particularly deadly to humans- including Lyssavirus, or rabies.
Experts say it isn't likely that either of the two actually contracted the disease, as the virus doesn't survive for very long outside of its host- but the simple fact that the creature was inside for a number of days might have contaminated the lettuce in other ways.
Reports indicate that the time the bat was found, along with the exact region of Florida it came from is unclear.
