Cheese frantically pulled from shelves as three people are hospitalized with life-threatening bacterial illness

Raw cheeses linked to an E.coli outbreak are being pulled from shelves after sickening nine and hospitalizing three people.

Of patients interviewed, all say they have consumed RAW FARM-branded raw milk or cheddar cheese, either sold in a block or shredded.

Now, Sprouts grocery store — which stocks the items — has said it is withdrawing them from shelves. It has encouraged its customers not to eat the cheeses and to throw them out immediately.

A spokesperson said: ‘RAW FARM raw cheddar cheeses are being withdrawn from sale due to potential E.coli contamination per FDA advisory. 

‘Please do not consume any variety of RAW FARM raw cheddar cheese.’

Other grocery stores including H-E-B are also reported to have sold the cheeses, but have not released a statement. On its website, H-E-B says it no longer stocks RAW FARM raw cheddar in its stores.

In mid-March, the FDA and CDC raised the alarm over a potential link between E.coli infections and the products and requested the company issue a recall. On Thursday last week, the agencies revealed two new infections and one further hospitalization linked to the outbreak.

Officials had urged RAW FARM to recall its products, but the company refused, and said in a statement that it ‘100 percent disagreed’ with health officials. In an update last week, the California-based business said all current tests on its products were negative for E.coli.

This does not rule out a potential link between its products and the outbreak, however, as it is possible investigators did not test the contaminated batch.

In its notice, Sprouts said it was recalling the following products from RAW FARM that were sold in its stores: RAW FARM 16oz Raw Cheddar Cheese, RAW FARM 8oz Raw Cheddar Cheese with Jalapeno and RAW FARM 8oz Shredded Raw Cheddar Cheese.

Any customer who purchased a RAW FARM cheddar cheese has been advised to contact the grocery store to receive a full refund.

In an update Thursday, the CDC revealed two new infections, bringing the total number of E.coli cases linked to the outbreak to nine. One patient has developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious condition that can cause kidney failure. 

Seven of the patients are in California, while one each were reported in Florida and Texas. Over half of the illnesses were in children under five years old. 

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.

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.

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. 

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. 

The FDA, partnering with the CDC, said Thursday last week 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.

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.’