Amid E. coli outbreak, California-based Raw Farm owner pushes back against a weakened FDA

Mark McAfee is lasting by his cheese.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has asked McAfee’s Fresno-based Raw Farm to voluntarily propulsion its unpasteurized food products from the marketplace arsenic the bureau investigates an E. coli outbreak that has sickened 9 radical successful 3 states — 7 of them successful California.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has warned the nationalist not to buy, merchantability oregon service the company’s earthy cheddar cheese, which 5 of those who had an E. coli corruption accidental they ate earlier their illness.

But McAfee is holding firm. The FDA has yet to corroborate that E. coli has been recovered successful immoderate Raw Farm products, helium said. The bureau has not issued a ceremonial recall, though it has sent retired a informing missive telling customers to debar Raw Farm products purchased connected oregon aft Jan. 4, peculiarly earthy beverage cheddar cheese.

McAfee said helium tests each batch of beverage that comes retired of his milking parlors, and nary person been affirmative for E. coli, salmonella, campylobacter, listeria oregon immoderate different contaminant that causes quality illness. He has shared those results with some the FDA and authorities regulators, helium said.

“There’s nary pathogenic bacteria correlating america to anybody,” said McAfee. “What they did was a backdoor move. They said, ‘we’ll conscionable fto everybody cognize we’re concerned,’ and that is capable to person stores footwear you out.”

The FDA has not yet responded to requests for comment.

Last month, the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced an probe into an E. coli outbreak that since September has sickened 9 radical successful California, Florida and Texas, 3 of whom person been hospitalized. More than fractional the cases are children aged 5 oregon younger. One diligent required attraction for hemolytic uremic syndrome, a superior kidney complication.

Genome sequencing of E. coli isolated from each diligent recovered that the strains were intimately genetically related, suggesting that each of the sick radical were exposed to the aforesaid root of infection.

State and section nationalist wellness officials were capable to interrogation 8 patients oregon their caregivers. All said they’d consumed earthy dairy products earlier falling ill. Two whose unwellness started successful precocious 2025 said they drank Raw Farm’s earthy milk, and 5 who fell sick successful 2026 had eaten the company’s earthy cheddar. (The eighth couldn’t callback the marque of the earthy beverage they drank.)

While investigating of retail samples of Raw Farm food connected merchantability successful March recovered nary E. coli, California has not ruled retired the workplace arsenic the outbreak’s root fixed the fig of patients who consumed its products earlier infection, a California Department of Public Health spokesperson said.

“Retail food samples collected bash not correspond each earthy food products sold by Raw Farm and whitethorn person been from antithetic tons of accumulation than those consumed by sick persons,” the bureau said successful a statement. “CDPH considers Raw Farm earthy dairy the root of the outbreak based connected this beardown epidemiologic data, contempt the antagonistic laboratory investigating results from a constricted illustration of retail products.”

Raw, oregon unpasteurized, dairy has not undergone the heating process that kills harmful bacteria portion leaving nutrients mostly intact. Raw Farm’s products unsocial person been associated with astatine slightest 239 reported cases of nutrient poisoning since 2006, including a salmonella outbreak successful October 2024 that sickened 171 people, according to Bill Marler, a nutrient information lawyer with Seattle-based MarlerClark.

He said the FDA’s determination to nonstop retired a informing missive alternatively of issuing a callback is “completely normal,” and the bureau is precise blimpish erstwhile it comes to nutrient safety.

“It makes sense, nether the circumstances, to propulsion the merchandise from the shelves,” helium said of market stores. “Hell, if I was a retailer, I would propulsion it, due to the fact that the past happening you’d privation to bash is person the merchandise connected the shelf, person it trial affirmative for immoderate E. coli, and person it poison immoderate small kid and who past gets kidney failure.”

Proponents of earthy dairy person agelong insisted that it prevents allergies and promotes beneficial bacteria, claims that are not supported by research. They see U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime instrumentality who celebrated the merchandise of the 2025 “MAHA Report” with a changeable of earthy milk.

McAfee was among those hopeful that Kennedy’s tenure would usher successful a much favorable regulatory situation for earthy dairy producers. But contempt having been contacted by Kennedy surrogates earlier Trump’s 2nd inauguration, he’s not heard from them since.

He said the medication has done small to beforehand earthy dairy arsenic portion of a revamped nutrient argumentation that emphasizes nutrient and whole-fat beverage arsenic indispensable for a steadfast diet.

The FDA’s webpage astir earthy dairy was past updated during the Biden administration, and cautions radical to debar earthy beverage products and dispels probe claiming it is healthy.

“They fired their champion radical astatine FDA and hired immoderate bully radical and weird radical and whatever,” McAfee said. “It’s truthful emblematic of a 3 ringing circus. The full freaking medication is showing that done their deficiency of consistency, the deficiency of argumentation adherence, they conscionable bash what the hellhole they privation to do.”

What has changed nether the caller medication is the FDA’s quality to transportation retired investigations similar the 1 it says it has initiated astatine Raw Farm. Inspections, laboratory enactment and outbreak investigations are among the bureau functions astir hindered by important unit reductions that person taken spot since Trump took office, manufacture experts person warned.

The Department of Health and Human Services has mislaid 18,200 employees since Trump took office, according to the Department of Personnel Management’s Federal Workforce Data tool. More than 3,000 of those losses were astatine the CDC, and astir 4,500 were astatine the FDA.