Raw Farm of Fresno, California, is recalling more than a half-dozen varieties of its Raw Farm-brand cheddar cheese after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration launched an investigation into an E. coli outbreak, according to a company announcement. The recall includes cheddar cheese made from raw milk, which the FDA said was part of an investigation that began after cases of E. coli food poisoning among people who reportedly consumed the products last month.
Raw Farm said Thursday that it is voluntarily recalling the products after initially refusing to do so. The company said it is conducting the recall “under protest” as it looks for “a path forward,” and that the recall is limited to Raw Farm-brand cheddar cheese. It said no other products are being voluntarily recalled.
The company said the recalled batches carry expiration dates spanning from May 2026 to September 2026. FDA investigators began looking into the cases after people reported illness following consumption of Raw Farm products, the FDA said, and the agency later provided an update stating it had not found positive testing for E. coli bacteria among the company’s products at that time.
In an update described by Raw Farm, the FDA said it was conducting an inspection of the company’s facilities and had not identified positive E. coli testing in the company’s products during that phase of the review. Raw Farm reiterated that point in its announcement and added that it was moving forward with the recall while the investigation continues.
The FDA said in its outbreak reporting that nine people, including children, have been sickened. Of eight people interviewed by health officials, seven reported consuming Raw Farm-brand products, the FDA said, with two people in 2025 reporting they drank Raw Farm milk and five people in 2026 saying they ate or were served the raw cheddar cheese.
The FDA also said genetic sequencing of E. coli strains from sick people showed the cases were closely related, suggesting that outbreak patients “share a common source of infection.” As MSI previously reported about the same Raw Farm raw milk cheddar-linked E. coli outbreak, investigators were tracing illnesses to a single source pattern.
Federal authorities said the FDA has the authority to order companies to recall food products when the risk is reasonable to cause serious injury or death. The agency, the report said, must first give the company the opportunity to voluntarily comply.
The investigation comes amid rising interest and sales of raw milk in recent years, fueled by social media and support from Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again movement, according to the report. Raw milk has not been pasteurized, a process that kills germs including E. coli, salmonella, listeria and campylobacter.