According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nine people in California, Texas and Florida were infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7 between September 2025 and February 2026. More than half of the cases involved children under the age of five. Three people were hospitalized, and one developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a severe complication that can lead to kidney failure.

Raw Farm president Aaron McAfee said the company agreed to the recall under protest and continues to deny that its cheese caused the illnesses. McAfee argued that all product tests conducted so far have been negative for pathogens and said there is no direct evidence connecting the dairy’s cheese to the outbreak. He also said an FDA advisory issued in March led retailers to remove products from shelves before a formal recall was announced.

State health officials countered that negative test results do not eliminate Raw Farm as the source of the outbreak. The California Department of Public Health said retail cheese samples collected in March tested negative for Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, but noted that pathogens can be difficult to detect in cheese because they may appear in low levels or be unevenly distributed. Officials said the epidemiological evidence was strong enough to identify Raw Farm cheese as the likely source.