The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has declared that an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections linked to raw milk cheese from RAW FARM LLC is over.
The outbreak sickened nine people across three states — California, Texas and Florida. Three of the patients were hospitalized and one of them developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) which can cause kidney failure, brain damage and death. The patients became ill from Sept. 1, 2025 through Feb. 20, 2026. More than half of the patients were younger than 5.
Of seven people interviewed who knew a brand, all seven reported consuming RAW FARM-brand raw milk dairy products. In 2026, five people reported consuming or being served RAW FARM-brand raw cheddar cheese. In 2025, two sick people reported consuming RAW FARM-brand raw milk.
The Food and Drug Administration first reported the outbreak on March 15 and requested RAW FARM LLC to recall its cheddar cheese products. The company refused to initiate a recall for three weeks, but finally did so after repeated requests from the FDA.
During the course of the outbreak investigation, the FDA and state agencies completed onsite inspections and collected samples from RAW FARM LLC’s farm and processing facilities.
FDA collected and analyzed 19 samples of RAW FARM brand raw cheddar cheese products. One sample of RAW FARM-brand cheddar cheese tested positive for E. coli O157:H7. The FDA performed further testing and analysis through whole genome sequencing (WGS), or DNA fingerprinting.
According to CDC, the strain of E. coli found in the cheese was related to sick people’s isolates from a different 2025 outbreak, that was not ongoing. CDC and states followed up to determine if there was any epidemiologic information that showed whether people in the 2025 outbreak consumed any RAW FARM-brand products.
The raw cheddar cheese that tested positive for E. coli in relation to the earlier outbreak in 2025 was not shipped to stores and was not available for sale. There are no additional FDA or state samples pending analysis at this time.
Members of Congress, consumer leaders raise questions
During a U.S. House subcommittee hearing, Ohio Democrat Greg Landsman raised concerns about Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s advocacy of the company.
“For some reason, the FDA did not require a recall on this company, they said it was up to the company if they wanted,” he said.
Executive Director of the Association of Food and Drug Officials, Steven Mandernach, said the agency should have used its power to issue a mandatory recall.
“It’s not very often used, but we have historically not seen them get a voluntary recall from a firm that they felt really needed to do it, so this is unusual,” he said.
Scott Faber with the Environmental Working Group told Brownfield Ag News that he’s also very concerned about the FDA’s inaction.
“Simply threatening to order a mandatory recall is usually enough,” he said. “It did not work in this case. And this is a tailor-made example of when the FDA should have used its recall power, so it is very troubling.”
United States Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-CT, pressed the issue directly with Kennedy during a recent appropriations hearing, saying the process was unprecedented.
“Usually the alert says ‘Consumers, retailers,’ it’s a quote, ‘Should not eat, sell or serve,’ or ‘Consumers should check their homes for recalled products and throw those products away,’” she said. “That wasn’t there. Quite frankly, I never have seen anything like this.”
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