More people have been sickened and hospitalized with E.coli in an outbreak linked to eating cheese made with raw milk.
The CDC revealed the new illnesses Thursday, bringing the total to nine, including three who have been hospitalized, and one who has developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious condition that can cause kidney failure.
Of the seven patients interviewed, all said they had consumed RAW FARM-branded products. Five reported consuming raw cheddar cheese, sold either in a block or shredded, and two reported consuming raw milk.
Over half of the illnesses have been recorded in children under five years old.
The two new infections were recorded in California, taking the state’s total to seven patients, while one each was reported in Florida and Texas. Patients were sickened between September 2025 and February 2026.
Tests showed the individuals were infected with the E.coli strain O157:H7, which raises the risk of kidney problems. The same strain was also behind a major McDonald’s recall in 2024 that led to one death and 34 hospitalizations.
Investigators have urged RAW FARM to recall the affected cheese products, but the company has refused the request and said its products are safe to eat.
RAW FARM, which says it is 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.
In a statement, a spokesman said that the business ‘100 percent disagreed’ with health officials. In an update also released Thursday, it said all tests for E.coli in its products had been returned negative.
Consumers are being warned to throw out the affected cheeses and to wash surfaces that they have come into contact with using hot soapy water or a dishwasher.
Two more people have been sickened in an outbreak linked to raw milk and cheese sold by RAW FARM (stock image)
Anyone who has recently eaten the cheeses is being urged to monitor for symptoms, including a fever at 102F (39C), diarrhea that persists for more than three days and vomiting.
No deaths have been reported so far, but officials are urging anyone who believes they were sickened by the cheese to come forward.
Of the two additional illnesses reported in California, one took place in 2025, officials at the CDC said.
Overall, patients in the outbreak are aged between one and 28 years old, with an average age of two years. Sixty-seven percent are male and 83 percent are from a white ethnic background.
Officials are warning people not to consume RAW FARM Raw Cheddar cheese and RAW FARM Raw Cheddar Simply Shredded.
The cheeses were sold at Sprouts Farmers Market and H-E-B, health officials said, but may also have been available at other stores.
The FDA, partnering with the CDC, said Thursday that it had launched an onsite inspection of RAW FARM’s, based in California. The agency said it is also partnering with state agencies to test the company’s cheese for the presence of E. coli.
Products made with raw milk have not been pasteurized, when a food is heated to 161F (71.5C) for several seconds. The process has been used since the 1900s to kill any dangerous pathogens or bacteria.
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 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.
It is not clear how the cheeses may have become contaminated, but it could be from exposure to feces from cows being accidentally mixed into milk products.
In a statement released Thursday, 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.’
A 100 percent negative result does not rule out the product as the source of the outbreak, however. Officials and workers may simply have failed to test the specific batch that was contaminated.
A spokeswoman for RAW FARM told Daily Mail in a statement last week, before the latest update: ‘There is NO recalled product with any “bad” dates of product.
‘The FDA has no actual product evidence and no actual proof to their claim that connects ill people to our products or brand besides the fact that over a course of several months a small group of people across the nation all ate the same product (the product is still unknown) but happened to list our brand to their doctor as a product they loved to consume.’
She added: ‘There is NO ACTUAL LINK to our brand or products to associate our products to any outbreak.
‘All our tests and the government’s tests are NEGATIVE for E.Coli, and all of the other harmful bacteria we test for each milking.
‘You are safe to consume ALL of our amazing products.’
