FDA Links Raw Farm Cheddar Cheese to Multistate E. Coli Outbreak

Seven people across California, Texas, and Florida have been sickened in an E. coli outbreak that federal and state health officials linked to raw Cheddar cheese produced by Raw Farm LLC, a Fresno-based dairy that has refused to pull its products from store shelves despite public health advisories from three agencies.

More than half of the seven ill patients were children aged 3 or younger, and two people required hospitalization, according to the Associated Press. Five of the cases were in California, with one each in Texas and Florida. Illness onset dates spanned from September 2025 through mid-February 2026.

The FDA identified Raw Farm's raw Cheddar as "the likely source" of the outbreak, citing epidemiologic evidence, and recommended the company voluntarily remove its raw cheese products from sale. The CDC urged consumers to "consider not eating" the products. The California Department of Public Health went further, advising consumers and businesses "not to eat, serve, or sell raw cheddar cheese manufactured and distributed by Fresno-based company 'RAW FARM'" made at the company's facility on Jameson Avenue. The products under scrutiny are Raw Farm's block and shredded Cheddar varieties from that location.

Raw Farm owner Mark McAfee declined to recall the products, disputing the FDA's characterization of the evidence. "They have found no pathogens in any of our products," McAfee said. He also disputed the FDA's assertion that the cases were genetically linked and called the agency's announcement premature. The FDA acknowledged in its own investigation notes that no Raw Farm products have tested positive for E. coli during the outbreak period, though it said epidemiologic evidence still points to the dairy as the likely source and that the investigation is ongoing.

Three of the seven ill people told state and local public health investigators they had eaten Cheddar cheese made by Raw Farm LLC. The FDA said it is working to confirm the source and determine whether any additional products are connected to the illnesses.

Raw Farm has a reported history of recalls, and the dairy is reportedly a favorite of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., adding a politically charged dimension to an already contentious public health standoff. With the company holding firm and no mandatory recall in place, state and federal health officials are urging anyone who has purchased Raw Farm block or shredded Cheddar to discard it. Additional information is available on the FDA's and CDC's websites.