Students in an upstate New York high school got something unexpected with their cafeteria salad dressing -- preserved sheep's brain.

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Officials at Vestal High School near Binghamton say someone stole the brain matter from a classroom where it was being used in an anatomy class and placed it in the dressing as a prank, the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin reported Friday. They say there is little risk of anyone getting sick because the material found in the dressing carried no infectious disease and did not have enough preservative to cause problems.

Parents received letters after Wednesday's incident advising them to consult family doctors if their children might have used the dressing.

Investigators say that the brain must have been dumped in the dressing at least two hours before it was discovered. It sank to the bottom of the container, and students ladling out dressing did not notice it immediately.

Student John Clark gave the newspaper a brief summary of the situation -- "It's gross."