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.