The FDA has linked Raw Farm's unpasteurized cheddar cheese to a multistate E. coli O157:H7 outbreak spanning California, Florida, and Texas. Seven confirmed cases, two hospitalizations, and four victims aged 3 or younger. Raw Farm is refusing a voluntary recall, publicly stating it '100% disagrees' with the agency's findings.
The outbreak window runs from September 2025 through February 13, 2026. Genetic testing confirms the strains across all seven cases are highly related, pointing to a single common source. Of the three fully interviewed patients, all three reported eating Raw Farm-branded raw cheddar. That is not a partial correlation. That is 100 percent.
The standoff between a federal regulator and a producer who controls its own narrative is the story worth reading in full. What enforcement tools the FDA holds when a company refuses voluntary recall, and why raw milk products remain legally sold despite recurring outbreak links, are the questions the original reporting digs into.
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