Raw Farm Raw Milk Cheddar Cheese Linked to an E. Coli Outbreak

After first refusing to do so, the company has now recalled several varieties of the cheese

Catherine Roberts, Consumer Reports Senior Health & Food Reporter.

By Catherine Roberts
Senior Health & Food Reporter

Updated April 6, 2026

Both block and shredded raw milk cheddar cheese are included in the FDA's notice about possible E. coli contamination.

Source: FDA

Update, April 6: Raw Farm announced a voluntary recall of several batches of its raw milk cheddar cheese. However, the company says it did so “under protest” and that it disagrees with the evidence linking its products to the ongoing E. coli outbreak. No Raw Farm products have tested positive for pathogens.

The recalled products are listed below. If you have purchased any of these products, don’t eat them. Return them to the store where you bought them for a full refund.

Original flavor raw cheddar cheese sold in 8- and 16-ounce blocks, with expiration dates on or before August 23, 2026
Jalapeño flavor raw cheddar cheese sold in 8- and 16-ounce blocks, with expiration dates on or before September 24, 2026
Original flavor shredded raw cheddar cheese sold in 8-ounce bags, with expiration dates on or before May 13, 2026
Bulk original flavor raw cheddar cheese sold in 80-ounce blocks, with expiration dates on or before August 11, 2026
Bulk shredded original flavor raw cheddar cheese sold in 80-ounce bags, with expiration dates on or before May 6, 2026

Update, March 27: The Food and Drug Administration has linked two additional cases of E. coli infection to this outbreak, bringing the total to nine. As of today, over the course of the outbreak, three people have been hospitalized, and one has developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious complication of E. coli infection that can cause kidney failure.

Since the initial report, public health officials have interviewed more of the people who became ill. Eight of the nine have been interviewed, and seven of them reported consuming Raw Farm dairy products. The FDA says it has initiated an on-site inspection at Raw Farm’s facility.

In an interview about the FDA’s update, Raw Farm’s president Aaron McAfee said that testing by state public health officials in California and Texas found no E. coli contamination in Raw Farm products. Raw Farm continues to decline to issue a voluntary recall, and McAfee says he doesn’t yet have enough information from the FDA to do so. “The minute I feel that we can somehow take an action that will help with public safety, I’ll take it,” he told CR.

The Food and Drug Administration has issued a notice to consumers about raw milk cheddar cheese products made by Raw Farm, which may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.

Raw Farm Raw Cheddar, sold in block and shredded forms, has been linked to an outbreak of illnesses, with seven cases reported so far. About half of the illnesses are in children 3 years old or younger. Two people were hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported.

The FDA linked these seven cases of E. coli illness because the bacteria were all closely genetically related, which means the infections likely share a common source. Public health officials have interviewed three of the people affected, and all reported eating Raw Farm raw cheddar cheese.

According to the FDA announcement, the agency recommended that Raw Farm voluntarily recall its raw cheddar cheese products, but the company declined to do so.

If a company refuses to recall an adulterated product, the FDA can issue a mandatory recall, but it’s rare for the agency to do so, says James E. Rogers, PhD, director of product and food safety research and testing at Consumer Reports.

In a statement, Raw Farm disputed the FDA’s findings and said, in part, “We do not release any products unless we know that they are pathogen-free. The FDA and CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] have taken premature, unwarranted, and unfounded action against Raw Farm.”

Raw Farm Raw Cheddar is sold at many Sprouts Farmers Market and H-E-B locations across the country, as well as at natural and health food stores in a number of states, according to information on the company’s website.

The CDC has long warned against drinking raw milk because without pasteurization, milk can be contaminated with dangerous germs, including E. coli bacteria. Raw milk cheese is somewhat different. The aging process that many cheeses undergo can destroy many bacteria, so the FDA requires that any cheese made from raw milk be aged at least 60 days. On its website, Raw Farm says all its raw milk cheeses are aged 60 days or more.

Still, according to Rogers, while the aging process may reduce risks associated with raw milk cheese, it doesn’t eliminate them completely. “In this case, assuming that the manufacturer aged for 60 days, E. coli bacteria may have still emerged and possibly made people sick,” he says.

The FDA stopped short of advising consumers not to eat these products, noting to CR that its investigation is ongoing and that it is “providing information to consumers and retailers so they are aware of this outbreak before deciding to eat Raw Farm brand raw cheddar cheeses or serve it to children.”

But CR’s experts say consumers shouldn’t eat these products. Rogers advises anyone who has recently purchased Raw Farm cheddar cheese to throw it out and not purchase it again until more information becomes available or the outbreak has ended. “Consumers could also clean and sanitize any surfaces that this product came into contact with,” he says.

E. coli causes symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach cramps. While most people recover in about a week, the illness can also become more severe, causing fever and dehydration when they can’t keep anything down. Children under 5, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems are more susceptible to severe infections.

The strain of E. coli, O157:H7, involved in this outbreak is a particularly dangerous one, known as a Shiga toxin-producing E. coli. These kinds of strains can cause hemolytic uremic syndrome, which causes blood clots to form throughout the body, damaging the kidneys and other organs, and can lead to kidney failure and death.

This is not the first time Raw Farm products have been linked to an E. coli outbreak. In February of 2024, the FDA and the CDC investigated an outbreak of E. coli associated with the company’s raw milk cheddar cheese. The company initially issued a voluntary recall of the affected products on Feb. 16 but withdrew the recall 10 days later. The company claimed at the time that testing did not find E. coli in its products.

One missing piece of information in the current situation is the testing of Raw Farm’s cheddar cheese to determine whether E. coli is present on the products, though such testing is underway, according to the FDA.

“I still would not wait for those lab results to guide me on whether or not to throw the product away,” Rogers says. “For now, it’s safest for consumers to opt out of eating any Raw Farm cheddar cheese.”

Catherine Roberts

Catherine Roberts is a health and science journalist at Consumer Reports. She has been at CR since 2016, covering infectious diseases, bugs and bug sprays, consumer medical devices like hearing aids and blood pressure monitors, health privacy, and more. As a civilian, her passions include bike rides, horror films and fiction, and research rabbit holes. Follow her on X: @catharob.