The Food and Drug Administration has linked cheddar cheese made from raw (unpasteurized) milk to a multistate outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli. But the cheese’s maker, Raw Farm, is rejecting the regulator’s findings and refusing to voluntarily recall its cheese.
In an outbreak investigation notice, the FDA said seven cases have been identified in three states: California (five cases), Florida (one case), and Texas (one case). Of the seven cases, two required hospitalization. Four of the seven cases were in children age 3 or younger who are at higher risk of severe illness. No deaths have been reported.
The onset of the seven illnesses spanned September of last year to as recently as February 13. Genetic testing of the E. coli in each case found they were highly related and, thus, likely from a common source. Of the three cases that health officials have been able to fully interview about their potential exposures, all three said they had eaten Raw Farm-branded raw cheddar cheese.
With the data pointing to Raw Farm’s cheese being the common source, state partners are now collecting samples of the cheese for testing, but results are not yet available. In the meantime, the FDA said it has recommended Raw Farm voluntarily remove its raw cheese products from the market but said the company “has declined.”
In defiant social media posts, representatives for the company have strongly pushed back on the FDA’s findings and are adamantly refusing to recall its cheese. “We 100% disagree with the FDA’s false ‘possible link,’ and extreme allegations,” Raw Farm said in one social media post.
In a subsequent video posted to social media, a representative for the company said: “This is the official response from Raw Farm on the allegations by the FDA that we have E. coli in a multi-state outbreak: Absolutely no. We disagree.”
The company claims that it does its own testing on its products and has found no E. coli. Further, the company said it hasn’t received any reports from customers or retailers of any illnesses.
Raw Farm has been associated with over a dozen other outbreaks and many recalls in the last 20 years, according to Bill Marler, a personal injury lawyer specializing in food poisoning outbreaks who has kept a record of the company’s outbreaks. Those outbreaks have been caused by a range of pathogenic bacteria known to be risks in unpasteurized dairy products, including E. coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Listeria. A 2024 Salmonella outbreak connected to Raw Farm’s raw milk was linked to at least 171 illnesses.
Pasteurization is a simple process of briefly heating milk and other products to a temperature that can kill disease-causing germs. The FDA has highlighted studies finding that pasteurization does not negatively affect the nutritional value of milk. Still, advocates of raw milk continue to claim, without evidence, that raw dairy has benefits.
Raw Farm’s owner, Mark McAfee, is one of the most prominent raw milk advocates in the country and has counted anti-vaccine Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. among his customers. In late 2024, McAfee provided Ars Technica documents saying that he “has been asked by the RFK transition team to apply for the position of ‘FDA advisor on Raw Milk Policy and Standards Development.’” But last July, McAfee had soured on Kennedy’s role and apparent retreat from promoting raw milk, saying Kennedy “doesn’t have the guts” to loosen federal regulations on raw milk.
