FDA investigating illnesses linked to raw cheddar cheese from California farm
A raw cheese producer has declined to issue a recall of two of its products after the Food and Drug Administration linked the cheeses to a multistate outbreak of a dangerous strain of E. coli.
A raw cheese producer has declined to issue a recall of two of its products after the Food and Drug Administration linked the cheeses to a multistate outbreak of a dangerous strain of E. coli.
The FDA said Sunday that Raw Farm’s raw cheddar cheese has been linked to seven cases of E. coli O157:H7 infections, a strain of the bacteria that can cause serious kidney problems and lead to hospitalization or death.
Four of the seven cases are in children ages 3 or younger. Two patients have been hospitalized; no cases of kidney failure or deaths have been reported.
The cases span Sept. 1 to Feb. 13 and have been detected in California, Florida and Texas. Three of the patients interviewed by health officials reported eating Raw Farm-brand raw cheddar. The other cases have been linked to the outbreak through genetic sequencing of the bacteria, which suggests that the illness came from the same source.
The two Raw Farm-brand products linked to the outbreak are:
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