What Just Happened

FDA and CDC are investigating a multistate outbreak of E. coli O26:H11 linked to Sierra Nevada Graziers grass-fed raw milk cheese — Monterey Jack, Jalapeño Jack, Medium Cheddar, and Sharp Cheddar, sold in 8 oz and 16 oz packages at retail and in 5-lb loaves to foodservice and wholesale customers. Sierra Nevada Cheese Company, based in Willows, California, agreed to recall all Graziers Raw Milk Cheese on September 24, 2026, after FDA contacted the company about the outbreak. The product was sold nationwide.

As of FDA's most recent update, of the 9 people interviewed, all 9 (100%) reported eating this cheese before getting sick. The case count stands at 13 illnesses, 8 hospitalizations, 3 cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) — a type of kidney failure — and 0 deaths, across California, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Tennessee, and Utah. FDA has not yet traced the contamination to a specific lot or production date, which is why the recall covers the full product line rather than one batch. The investigation is still open.

This Isn't a One-Off

I covered a different raw-milk-adjacent cheese outbreak back in Part 7: a Listeria outbreak tied to requesón cheese from Clover Hill Dairy. CDC has since closed that investigation — the final count was 15 illnesses across 4 states, 14 of those people hospitalized (100%), and 1 death. Different pathogen, different cheese, same underlying pattern: a soft or unpasteurized cheese carrying a serious bacterial contaminant that a pasteurized, properly aged product is far less likely to carry.

That's two serious outbreaks tied to raw-milk-style cheese in the same year, one of them fatal. That's worth pausing on if raw milk cheese is a regular item in your fridge.

Why Raw Milk Cheese Carries More Risk

Pasteurization heats milk enough to kill disease-causing bacteria like E. coli, Listeria, and Salmonella before it's made into cheese. Raw milk cheese skips that step — the cheese is made directly from unpasteurized milk. U.S. law requires raw milk cheese to be aged at least 60 days before sale, on the theory that aging reduces (but doesn't eliminate) harmful bacteria. Both outbreaks above show that 60-day aging is not a guarantee: it lowers risk, it doesn't remove it.

This isn't a reason to panic over all cheese — most cheese sold in the U.S. is pasteurized and carries a much lower risk profile. It's specifically raw-milk and certain soft, high-moisture cheeses (soft ripened, Mexican-style fresh cheeses like queso fresco and requesón, some feta) that show up disproportionately in these outbreaks, because they don't go through the same heat-kill step and can support bacterial growth more easily than hard, aged, pasteurized cheese.

Who's most at risk: pregnant people, young children, older adults, and anyone with a weakened immune system face the highest chance of severe illness from both E. coli and Listeria in cheese. For E. coli specifically, HUS (the kidney complication seen in 3 of the 13 cases here) is most common in young children. For Listeria, infection during pregnancy can cause miscarriage or stillbirth.

How to Check Before You Buy

  • Check the label for the words "raw milk," "unpasteurized," or "made from raw milk" — U.S. law requires this to be disclosed.
  • If you're pregnant, caring for a young child, older, or immunocompromised, pasteurized versions of the same cheese styles carry meaningfully less risk.
  • Soft, fresh, high-moisture cheeses (queso fresco, requesón, some feta and soft ripened cheeses) warrant more caution than hard, aged, pasteurized cheese — ask if you're unsure how a cheese was made, especially at a deli counter or farmers market.
  • CDC's own guidance: heating cheese to 165°F or until it's steaming hot can help kill Listeria if you choose to cook with a higher-risk cheese rather than eat it cold.
  • Check FDA.gov and CDC.gov directly if you're ever unsure whether a specific brand is part of an active recall — I'll keep flagging real ones here as they come up.

Sierra Nevada Graziers outbreak page last updated by FDA on September 29, 2026; investigation ongoing. Clover Hill Dairy/requesón outbreak closed by CDC on August 26, 2026.