Nine people across three states have been sickened by E. coli O157:H7 linked to unpasteurized dairy from California-based Raw Farm, the FDA confirmed Thursday. Three required hospitalization. One developed Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome, a life-threatening form of kidney failure.
The evidence against Raw Farm is specific: investigators interviewed eight of the nine patients, and seven named Raw Farm products directly. Five ate Raw Farm raw cheddar, two drank Raw Farm raw milk. Whole genome sequencing of E. coli isolates from patients shows high similarity, pointing to a common source. Raw Farm denies the link and has refused to issue a recall.
The case count rose by two since the outbreak was announced earlier this month, and the refusal to recall despite genomic evidence and a HUS case is the detail that demands a closer read. The full FDA investigation page and Ars Technica's reporting trace how that denial holds up against the data.
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