Urgent Cheese Recall: Dangerous Illness Outbreak Leads to Hospitalizations

In the United States, a recall has been issued for certain raw cheeses connected to an E.coli outbreak that has affected nine individuals and resulted in three hospitalizations.

Although health officials initially warned about these products on March 15, the manufacturer initially refuted these claims. Now, after nearly three weeks, the company has reluctantly initiated a recall, though it has not encompassed all products under suspicion.

RAW FARM, the company responsible, announced it is recalling some of its cheese products “under protest,” maintaining that it disputes the suggested link between its products and the E.coli cases. The company has not issued a recall for its raw milk, which is also suspected in the outbreak.

Interviews with seven affected individuals revealed that five had eaten RAW FARM cheese, and two had consumed its milk, highlighting a potential connection.

The recall specifically targets the brand’s cheddar cheese, available in block or shredded form. This includes their lightly salted and jalapeno cheddar varieties, sold in 8oz, 16oz, or 80oz packages.

In the release, the company said that ‘no other’ RAW FARM-brand products were being recalled at this time.

Sicknesses linked to the products have been reported in three states: California, Florida and Texas. The products were sold at Sprouts, alongside other grocery stores. Sprouts has already pulled the products from shelves.

Tests showed people sickened after consuming the products were infected with the E.coli strain O157:H7, which raises the risk of kidney problems. This is the strain that was also behind a major McDonald’s recall in 2024 that led to one death and 34 hospitalizations.

Of hospitalized patients, one has developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious kidney condition that can cause life-long complications. Over half of the patients sickened in the outbreak are under five years old.

RAW FARM has now issued a voluntary recall for seven of its cheeses (Stock image)

RAW FARM, which claims to be the nation’s largest producer of raw milk, is run by Mark McAfee, an advisor to Robert F Kennedy Jr’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement.

The products were made using raw milk, which is milk that has not been pasteurized, a process used since the 1900s where milk is heated to 161F (71.5C) for several seconds to kill any bacteria that may be present. 

The CDC warns that drinking or eating products made with raw milk raises the risk of consumers being exposed to germs, including E.coli, listeria and salmonella.

Children under five years old, people over 65, pregnant women and those with weakened immune systems are particularly at risk from the pathogens.

People are being advised not to consume the cheeses and to throw them out immediately or return them to sellers for a full refund.

In a previous update, anyone who had recently eaten the cheeses was urged to monitor themselves for symptoms, including a fever at 102F (39C), diarrhea that persists for more than three days and vomiting.

Consumers were also told to throw out the affected cheeses and to wash surfaces that they have come into contact with using hot soapy water or a dishwasher. 

No deaths have been reported, but officials are urging anyone who believes they were sickened by the cheese to come forward.

Shown above are the two products linked to the outbreak. These are the RAW FARM cheddar cheese block and the RAW FARM cheddar cheese simply shredded

The recalled cheese products include RAW FARM’s Lightly Salted Cheddar Block, sold in either 8oz, 16oz or 80oz sizes, its Lightly Salted Cheddar Shred, sold in 8oz, its Bag of Original Cheddar Shred, sold in 80oz, and its Jalapeno Cheddar Block, sold as 8oz or 16oz.

The cheeses have best before dates up to late September this year.

The FDA has published their batch and barcode numbers on its website.

The agency said: ‘At the request of the FDA, RAW FARM is issuing a Voluntary Recall of the batches of cheese below and any batches produced prior to these dates.’ 

After the alert over the cheeses was first published on March 15, the FDA ordered tests of products sold by RAW FARM.

None of these tests came back positive for E.coli, the agency and the manufacturer reported.

It is possible, however, that officials may have missed a batch that was contaminated.

Health officials say they have also conducted an inspection of the company’s premises. 

It was not clear how the E.coli may have entered the cheeses, but this can happen if a product is accidentally contaminated with the feces from an animal. 

In a statement released last week, a RAW FARM spokesman said: ‘It’s official. One-hundred percent of the results are negative. No positives at retail, from our sampling or the government sampling.

‘Stay tuned. I’m very thankful for our hardworking food safety team that’s been making sure that everything’s going great.

‘Great update, great week, 100 percent all negative.’