The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has clarified that the E. coli strain detected in RAW FARM-brand Cheddar Cheese is not the same as the one involved in an ongoing outbreak investigation. This distinction was made clear following the FDA’s announcement on Thursday.
On Thursday, the FDA disclosed that a sample from RAW FARM-brand Cheddar Cheese had tested positive for E. coli. This discovery was part of the agency’s broader investigation into a series of illnesses linked to the company’s products.
However, subsequent testing revealed that the E. coli strain from the cheese sample differs from the strain associated with the current outbreak. Instead, the FDA noted, it matches the strain from a separate outbreak that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had investigated back in 2025. Efforts are now underway by the CDC and state health officials to determine if individuals affected in that 2025 outbreak had consumed RAW FARM-brand products.
The FDA disclosed that it had collected and analyzed a total of 19 samples from RAW FARM-brand cheddar cheese products as part of their investigation.
In the preceding month, the FDA had announced its probe into an E. coli outbreak linked to raw cheese products from the California-based RAW FARM company. In response, the company has consistently contested the FDA’s allegations, asserting that their products are not responsible for the outbreak.
Last month, the FDA announced it was investigating an E. coli outbreak linked to the California-based company’s raw cheese products. The company has repeatedly pushed back publicly on the FDA’s claims that its products were to blame.
Earlier this month, RAW FARM did issue a voluntary recall of select shredded and block cheeses at the request of the FDA. The company said at the time it was doing so “under protest” as “a path forward.”
“While RAW FARM reserves its rights and disputes being the cause of this outbreak, in the interest of public health and safety, RAW FARM issues this Voluntary Recall,” the company added on April 7.
Mark McAfee, owner of Raw Farm, previously told the Associated Press he refused to recall the products because investigators had not definitively linked them to any illnesses.
The current multistate E. coli outbreak has sickened nine people, with three hospitalized and one person developing hemolytic uremic syndrome, a condition that can lead to kidney failure. The cases have so far only been reported in California, Florida and Texas.
This isn’t the first time in recent years that Raw Farm pushed back on a recommendation to recall their products. Back in 2024, the company’s raw cheddar cheese was also linked to an E. coli outbreak. While the company initially agreed to recall products, it later withdrew that recall against the CDC’s advice.
