In a concerning development, two Americans have been hospitalized, and a total of seven have fallen ill after consuming cheese crafted from raw milk.

The FDA and CDC announced on Sunday that these individuals were affected by E.coli, a bacterium notorious for causing kidney complications, hospital admissions, and even fatalities. Alarmingly, four of the victims are under the age of three.

Those impacted had eaten raw cheddar cheese under the RAW FARM brand, available in both block and shredded forms at Sprout’s grocery outlets.

Health officials reported that five of the cases occurred in California, with one each in Florida and Texas. The illnesses were contracted between September 2025 and February 2026.

Laboratory tests revealed the strain responsible is E.coli O157:H7, known for its potential to cause kidney issues. This particular strain was also implicated in a significant McDonald’s recall in 2024, which resulted in one fatality and 34 hospitalizations.

Investigators have called on RAW FARM to withdraw the implicated cheese products from the market, but the company has thus far resisted complying with these recommendations.

The business, the nation’s largest producer of raw milk that is run by Mark McAfee, an advisor to Robert F Kennedy Jr’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, said in a statement it ‘100 percent disagreed’ with health officials and that all its products were tested for bacteria, including E. coli, prior to sale.

Consumers are being warned to throw out the affected cheeses and to wash surfaces that the cheeses have touched using hot soapy water or a dishwasher.

The FDA and CDC are warning people not to consume block or shredded cheddar cheese made by RAW FARM and sold at Sprout’s grocery stores

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 or vomiting.

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

To date, officials have interviewed three of the seven patients, with each reporting that they consumed the RAW FARM-branded cheddar cheeses.

They are now working to interview the four other patients.

The FDA said it was also partnering with state agencies to test the company’s cheese for the presence of E. coli.

It is not clear how the cheese may have become contaminated, but in previous cases, this has been linked to feces from cows being mixed into milk. 

Products made with raw milk have not been pasteurized, heated to 161F (71.5C) for several seconds. The process has been used since the 1900s to kill any dangerous pathogens or bacteria.

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

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

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

In a statement, released in an eight-minute video, a spokesman for RAW FARM said: ‘We disagree 100 percent with the allegations made by the FDA and CDC.

‘All our milk is tested prior to making cheese and our finished cheese is tested prior to release. We have no customer complaints at this time.’

In 2024, its raw milk products were also tied to a salmonella outbreak that sickened 165 people nationwide.

RFK Jr has been a vocal advocate of raw milk throughout his career.

According to reports, he said he drank raw milk while growing up. As an adult, he first started to drink raw milk around 2021.

His advocacy group, Make America Healthy Again, is also regularly linked to individuals touting raw milk for alleged health benefits.