E. coli outbreak linked to raw milk cheese expands to nine states, prompting nationwide recall

Federal health officials are investigating a multistate outbreak of E. coli infections tied to raw milk cheese sold under the Graziers brand, prompting a nationwide recall by the manufacturer, Sierra Nevada Cheese Company of Willows, California. As of Sept. 25, the outbreak had sickened 13 people across nine states, hospitalized eight of them and left three people, most of them young children, with a serious kidney complication, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's ongoing outbreak investigation.

The company pulled every variety of its Graziers grass-fed raw milk cheese from the market — medium cheddar, sharp cheddar, jalapeño jack and Monterey jack — after the Food and Drug Administration contacted it on Sept. 24 and recommended a recall. Sierra Nevada agreed the same day, and the agency published the formal recall notice on Sept. 29, listing the strain as Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O26:H11.

The scope of the outbreak

The 13 confirmed patients range in age from 1 to 58, with a median age of 5; more than half are children 5 or younger, the group the CDC considers most vulnerable to severe foodborne illness. Reported illness onsets span July 7 through Aug. 26. Eight patients have been hospitalized and three have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a potentially life-threatening kidney complication associated with this family of E. coli. No deaths have been reported. Cases have been confirmed in California, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Tennessee and Utah.

Investigators say the link to Sierra Nevada's cheese is strong: of nine patients interviewed in detail, all nine reported eating the company's Graziers cheese before falling ill, compared with roughly 5 percent of people who report eating similar raw milk cheese in routine population surveys, the CDC's case-control analysis found. As with most outbreaks, officials caution that the true number of illnesses is almost certainly higher than the confirmed count, since many people with milder cases never get tested.

How investigators traced the source

Public health labs used whole-genome sequencing to match the bacterial strain isolated from sick patients to a common source, a technique that lets investigators link geographically scattered illnesses that would otherwise look unrelated. That genetic match, combined with patients' food histories, pointed investigators to Sierra Nevada's raw milk cheddar.

Raw milk cheese occupies a narrow legal carve-out in U.S. food law. Under FDA rules dating to 1950, cheese made from unpasteurized milk can be sold across state lines only if it is aged at least 60 days, on the theory that aging and the cheese's natural acidity suppress pathogens. Food-safety researchers have long questioned whether that holds up in practice; a federal science advisory panel has found that some bacteria, including strains of E. coli, can survive well beyond the 60-day window under refrigeration. CDC guidance is more blunt, recommending pasteurized milk and dairy products over raw ones regardless of aging, because pasteurization — not aging — is what reliably kills the bacteria responsible for outbreaks like this one.

A recurring problem for raw dairy

This is not Sierra Nevada's first brush with a pathogen recall. In August 2025, the company recalled its Bella Capra raw goat milk cheddar after state regulators in California detected Listeria monocytogenes in the product. It is also not the only raw-dairy recall in California this year; a separate, unrelated cheesemaker, Raw Farm of Fresno, was linked to its own E. coli outbreak and cheese recall earlier in 2026, underscoring a pattern that food-safety advocates have tracked for years. Food Safety News, which has covered raw milk outbreaks for more than a decade, has reported that unpasteurized dairy products account for a share of illnesses far out of proportion to how rarely they are consumed, a pattern the CDC's own historical data, spanning outbreaks from 1998 through 2018, has also documented.

Who is affected

Sierra Nevada distributed the recalled cheese nationwide, through retail stores, food-service distributors and online sales, in 8-ounce and 16-ounce consumer packages as well as 5-pound loaves and larger blocks sold to restaurants and wholesalers. That means potential exposure extends well beyond the nine states where illnesses have so far been confirmed. Because investigators have not been able to narrow the contamination to a single lot or production date, the recall covers all Graziers raw milk cheese currently in the market, regardless of best-by date. Public health officials single out children under 5, pregnant women, older adults and people with weakened immune systems as facing the highest risk of severe illness from the strain involved.

Company and regulator response

In its statement accompanying the recall, Sierra Nevada Cheese Company framed the decision as precautionary, noting that the illnesses identified so far have been associated with its medium cheddar but that it chose to pull all Graziers varieties because the investigation had not isolated a specific lot or date code.

"We are incredibly grateful for the trust and support of our customers and community, and we appreciate your understanding as we take this precautionary step," the company said, according to reporting by Good Morning America.

The CDC's public guidance is unambiguous: do not eat any recalled Graziers raw milk cheese, regardless of how it was packaged or purchased. Local television coverage of the outbreak has focused on symptom awareness, since early signs of infection — stomach cramps and diarrhea that may or may not be bloody — can resemble routine stomach upset before progressing to more serious illness within days.

What happens next

The FDA and CDC say the investigation is continuing and the case count could rise as more state health departments complete interviews and lab confirmations. Consumers who have any of the recalled Graziers products — medium cheddar, sharp cheddar, jalapeño jack or Monterey jack — are advised to throw them away or return them to the place of purchase for a refund, and to wash any surfaces, containers or utensils that touched the cheese with hot, soapy water. Sierra Nevada has set up a recall hotline for customers seeking refund or lot information.

Anyone who ate the recalled cheese and develops symptoms such as diarrhea lasting more than three days, bloody stools, a fever above 102 degrees Fahrenheit, or signs of dehydration is advised to contact a healthcare provider promptly, since hemolytic uremic syndrome can develop roughly a week after the initial gastrointestinal symptoms appear and requires immediate medical attention, particularly in young children.