Nine people are sick, three are hospitalized, and half the victims are children under five, yet the company behind the cheese refuses to issue a recall, telling federal health officials it "100% disagreed" with their findings.
The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention raised the alarm in mid-March over an E. coli outbreak linked to RAW FARM raw cheddar cheese sold at Sprouts and H-E-B grocery stores. The FDA has since warned consumers not to eat any RAW FARM raw cheddar cheese purchased on or after January 4, as The U.S. Sun reported.
Both retailers have pulled the products. But RAW FARM, run by Mark McAfee, described as an advisor to the Make America Healthy Again movement associated with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has refused the FDA's request for a voluntary recall. The company says all its products tested negative for E. coli.
That leaves consumers in an unusual spot: two grocery chains yanked the cheese, federal agencies flagged the danger, and the manufacturer is digging in.
Federal investigators confirmed the nine illnesses are likely from the same source of infection after analyzing the E. coli strain involved. Five of those sickened said they consumed raw cheddar cheese, sold either in block or shredded form. Two others reported consuming raw milk.
One patient developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious condition the FDA says can cause kidney failure. No deaths have been reported so far.
The specific products covered by the FDA warning include RAW FARM 16oz Raw Cheddar Cheese, RAW FARM 8oz Raw Cheddar Cheese with Jalapeño, and RAW FARM 8oz Shredded Raw Cheddar Cheese. The agency's advisory applies to any of these items purchased on or after January 4.
The fact that half the victims are children under five makes this outbreak especially alarming. Young children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems face the highest risk from E. coli infections, which the FDA says can be life-threatening and lead to kidney failure.
Sprouts moved quickly once the FDA advisory came down. A spokesperson for the grocery chain laid out the situation plainly:
"RAW FARM raw cheddar cheeses are being withdrawn from sale due to potential E.coli contamination per FDA advisory."
The chain also told shoppers directly not to eat the product. A second statement from Sprouts said:
"Please do not consume any variety of RAW FARM raw cheddar cheese."
Sprouts told customers who already purchased the cheese to bring it back to the store for a full refund. H-E-B, the Texas-based grocery chain, also sold the cheese and now says on its website that it no longer stocks RAW FARM raw cheddar in its stores.
This is not the first time shoppers have been caught off guard by contamination in everyday grocery items. A recent recall of thousands of pizza and bread cases across ten states over metal contamination showed how quickly store-shelf products can become a health hazard.
What sets this case apart is RAW FARM's posture. The company said it "100% disagreed" with health officials and maintained that its products tested negative for E. coli. The FDA, however, had already confirmed through strain analysis that the illnesses are connected. The agency requested a recall. RAW FARM refused.
The RAW FARM situation fits a broader pattern of food safety incidents hitting American grocery shoppers in recent months. Consumers have had to navigate an expanding landscape of recalls, some of them massive.
Trader Joe's, for instance, saw a frozen food recall balloon to nearly 10 million pounds over glass contamination. That recall illustrated how a single supply-chain failure can ripple through millions of households.
Dairy products have not been spared, either. A separate incident involving Wawa dairy products affected nearly 22,000 units across four states, underscoring the vulnerability of the cold-case aisle.
And the USDA recently had to expand a recall of nearly 37 million pounds of frozen meals after glass contamination was discovered, a staggering volume that showed how far a single safety failure can spread before regulators catch it.
In each of those cases, the companies involved cooperated with federal agencies. RAW FARM's refusal to comply stands out.
There are real questions here that remain unanswered. What states were these products sold in? What are the ages and locations of the nine people who fell ill? What specific E. coli strain was identified? And what enforcement tools does the FDA have when a company flatly refuses a recall request while children are getting sick?
The FDA can request a voluntary recall, but when a company says no, the agency's options narrow. That dynamic deserves scrutiny. If the federal government can confirm a strain match, identify hospitalizations, and flag the risk to children, and the company still refuses, the system has a gap.
Mark McAfee's connection to the MAHA movement and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. adds a political dimension. Raw milk and raw dairy advocacy have long been part of a broader push against what proponents see as overregulation of food. There is a legitimate debate about food freedom and consumer choice. But that debate hits a wall when children under five are ending up in the hospital with a strain-matched E. coli infection.
Consumers deserve transparency. They deserve to know what is in their food and whether the companies selling it will step up when something goes wrong. A company that tells the FDA it "100% disagreed" while three people are hospitalized, half the sick being toddlers, is not making a principled stand. It is choosing its own interests over the people it serves.
If you bought RAW FARM raw cheddar cheese at Sprouts or H-E-B on or after January 4, the FDA's message is clear: do not eat it. Sprouts says bring it back for a refund.
Food freedom is a fine principle. But freedom without accountability is just another word for recklessness, and it's the youngest and most vulnerable who pay the price.