FDA Links Raw Milk Cheese to 13 E. Coli Illnesses

US regulators are investigating a multistate outbreak of E. coli O26:H11 infections linked to Sierra Nevada Graziers grass fed raw milk cheese. The Food and Drug Administration update dated September 25, 2026, reported 13 illnesses across nine states.

Eight people had been hospitalized, three had developed hemolytic uremic syndrome and no deaths had been reported. The most recent illness onset identified in the update was August 26, 2026.

The affected products are Graziers medium cheddar, sharp cheddar, jalapeno jack and Monterey jack raw milk cheeses. They were sold at retail in eight ounce and sixteen ounce packages and supplied to food service customers and wholesalers in five pound loaves.

FDA says the cheeses were distributed nationwide through retailers and online sales. Of the nine ill people interviewed by public health officials, all nine reported eating Sierra Nevada Graziers grass fed raw milk cheese.

FDA contacted the company on September 24 and recommended a recall. Sierra Nevada Cheese Company agreed that day to recall all Graziers Raw Milk Cheeses while investigators continued work to determine the source of contamination and whether other products might be affected.

Consumers, restaurants and retailers should not eat, serve or sell the recalled cheese. Because the product has a long shelf life, FDA advises checking refrigerators and freezers, including cheese stored without its original packaging.

Surfaces and containers that touched the cheese should be cleaned and sanitized to reduce cross contamination risk. People who ate the recalled cheese and develop symptoms should contact a health care provider.

The investigation remains ongoing. The recalled products named by FDA are specific Sierra Nevada Graziers raw milk cheeses, and the agency has not described this notice as applying to all raw milk cheese from every producer.