A raw cheese producer has declined to issue a recall of two of its products after the Food and Drug Administration linked the cheeses to a multistate outbreak of a dangerous strain of E. coli.
The FDA said Sunday that Raw Farm’s raw cheddar cheese has been linked to seven cases of E. coli O157:H7 infections, a strain of the bacteria that can cause serious kidney problems and lead to hospitalization or death.
Four of the seven cases are in children ages 3 or younger. Two patients have been hospitalized; no cases of kidney failure or deaths have been reported.
The cases span Sept. 1 to Feb. 13 and have been detected in California, Florida and Texas. Three of the patients interviewed by health officials reported eating Raw Farm-brand raw cheddar. The other cases have been linked to the outbreak through genetic sequencing of the bacteria, which suggests that the illness came from the same source.
The two Raw Farm-brand products linked to the outbreak are:
All sizes of the original block “Raw Cheddar”
All sizes of the original shredded “Raw Cheddar”
The FDA can mandate food recalls but generally prefers that companies do so voluntarily.
Raw Farm disputed the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s findings.
“We disagree 100% with the allegations made by the FDA and CDC,” the company wrote, in part, in a statement. “All our milk is tested prior to making cheese and our finished cheese is tested prior to release. We have no customer complaints at this time.”
The California-based company is owned by Mark McAfee, a raw milk advocate and one of the country’s leading raw milk producers. In 2024, the company’s raw milk was tied to dozens of salmonella cases. NBC News reported last year that McAfee had expected to advise Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on ways to support raw milk but that plans did not come to fruition.
Prior to his appointment as health secretary, Kennedy was a vocal proponent of raw milk.
The FDA is partnering with state agencies to test the company’s two raw cheddar products for E. coli.
The CDC recommends that people not eat any of the affected products. Consumers should also wash items and surfaces that have come in contact with the raw cheeses using hot soapy water, the CDC says.
Raw milk cheese is made from dairy that hasn’t been pasteurized, a process that heats it enough to destroy bacteria.
The CDC warns that drinking or eating products made with raw milk can expose people to a variety of germs, including E. coli, listeria and salmonella.
Children under age 5, people over age 65, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems are at higher risk for serious illness from raw dairy, according to the CDC.
In February, health officials in New Mexico said a newborn baby died from a listeria infection that likely spread from the baby’s mother, who drank raw milk while pregnant. And last August, Florida health officials said that 21 people developed campylobacter and E. coli infections after consuming raw milk. Six of those infections were in kids under age 10. There’s no indication that Raw Farm-brand products were linked to those illnesses.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
