The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in collaboration with state and local partners, are investigating a multistate outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections.

As of March 14, seven confirmed infections have been reported from California (5), Florida (1) and Texas (1). Additionally, four of these cases were reported in children 3 years old or younger. Two patients have been hospitalized. No deaths or HUS cases have been reported.

Known illness onset dates range from Sept. 1, 2025 to Feb. 13, 2026. The agencies says whole genome sequencing analysis of E. coli isolates from ill people shows that they are all closely related genetically to each other. This means that people in this outbreak are likely to share a common source of infection. 

State and local public health officials have interviewed three ill people about food exposures of interest in this outbreak. All three reported eating Raw Farm raw cheddar cheese. State and local officials are working to gather additional data for the four other illnesses, including two illnesses that occurred in 2025. 

The agencies say epidemiologic evidence indicates that Raw Farm raw cheddar cheese products made by Raw Farm, LLC are the likely source of this outbreak. However, to the FDA’s awareness, no Raw Farm cheddar cheese products from this time period have tested positive for E. coli.

FDA has recommended that Raw Farm, LLC voluntarily removes raw cheese products from the market. The company declined, issuing the following statement on its Facebook page.

“We 100% disagree with the FDA’S false ‘possible link’ and extreme allegations,” the statement reads. “We disagree 100% with the allegations made by the FDA and CDC. All of our products have been confirmed to be negative for all harmful bacteria, including E. coli 0157-H7. FDA has found no Raw Farm products to be tested positive for E. coli in the marketplace. CDFA and State of California are not taking any action. Inaccurate statements made by the FDA and CDC linking our brand to an outbreak is egregious and extreme harassment towards our brand.”

Raw Farm states its cheese products are "never heated above 102°F." The International Dairy Foods Association says vat pasteurization requires a temperature of 145ºF for at least 30 minutes, while high temperature short time pasteurization (HTST) requires a temperature of 161ºF for at least 15 seconds. 

The investigation is ongoing to determine the source of contamination and whether additional products are linked to illnesses. As part of this investigation, state partners initiated collection of product samples for testing and analysis, but results are not yet available. FDA will update this advisory should additional information become available.