A Fresno County dairy estimates an ongoing federal and state investigation into an E. coli outbreak linked to its raw milk cheese has already cost it $1.5 million.
Aaron McAfee, president of Raw Farm, the largest raw milk producer in California, said Friday that the company has voluntarily recalled several products of its specialty cheese at the urging of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Federal and state officials say Raw Farm’s popular specialty cheeses are to blame for a three-state outbreak of E. coli that caused nine people to become sick, most of them children.
McAfee, whose father Mark founded the dairy, said the company agreed to the recall but under protest. He is adamant that federal and state regulators are wrong.
“There are no pathogens in our products and all tests have been negative to date,” McAfee said. “And while there is no evidence, we are trying to move forward.”
On Thursday the company issued a list of cheddar cheese products that are part of the recall.
Investigators with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention along with state and local partners connected Raw Farm’s cheddar cheese to the multistate outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections.
As of Friday, nine people were infected with the outbreak strain in California, Texas and Florida. The illnesses happened from Sept. 1, 2025, to Feb. 20, 2026.
While no deaths have been reported, three people were hospitalized and one developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious condition that can cause kidney failure, according to the FDA.
More than half of the illnesses are in children under 5 years old.
McAfee maintains that an advisory, not a recall, from the FDA in March about the potential E. coli connection to Raw Farm cheese spooked retailers, prompting many to clear the suspected cheese from the store’s shelves.
“I can understand why they removed the product, prior to being told to, but it also cost us: $1.5 million worth of cheese,” McAfee said.
McAfee said that throughout the investigation none of the company’s products have tested positive for the E. coli pathogen.
Grant Boyken, spokesman for the California Department of Public Health, said the absence of a positive test does not mean the dairy is in the clear.
On March 13, the CDPH Food and Drug branch collected samples of Raw Farm raw cheese for STEC testing, a way to identify Shiga toxin-producing E. coli bacteria. Boyken said those samples tested negative for STEC.
“Negative STEC results from product testing does not rule out RAW FARM raw dairy as the source of the outbreak. Retail cheese samples collected do not represent all raw cheese products sold by RAW FARM and may have been from different lots of production than those consumed by ill persons,” Boyken said in an email. “Additionally, laboratory detection of pathogens such as STEC in cheese products is challenging as the pathogen may be present in low quantities and/or be unevenly distributed throughout the cheese, yet still cause human illnesses.”
The state concluded Raw Farm was the source of the outbreak based on the epidemiologic data, despite the negative laboratory testing results from a limited sample of retail products, Boyken said.
This is not, however, the first investigation of Raw Farm’s milk.
In 2024, state and federal investigators linked an outbreak of salmonella to Raw Farm. State health investigators found that from Oct. 18, 2023, through May 4, 2024, there were 171 reported cases — 159 confirmed and 12 probable — of salmonella infections in five states: California, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington.
The FDA and CDC continue to warn consumers that raw milk is not pasteurized and could contain dangerous pathogens, such as salmonella, E. coli, and listeria, that could cause severe illnesses.
Despite the dairy’s challenges, Raw Farm’s customers remain steadfast in their support.
On the dairy’s Instagram page, Taylor Rourke posted, “We love you. I’ve been so sad to hear of yet another smear campaign thankful you’re out here fighting the good fight!!! and SO looking forward to seeing you guys on the farm in a MONTH”
The dairy is hosting its annual Camping with the Cows in May, a two-day festival held on its west Fresno County farm.
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A Valley native, Robert has worked at The Fresno Bee since 1994, covering various topics including education, business, courts and agriculture.