Second raw-milk cheese outbreak this year reaches San Diego, sickening two young children

Sept. 25, 2026 — San Diego County public health officials say two children under 5 in the county are among 13 people sickened in a multistate E. coli outbreak linked to Sierra Nevada Graziers grass-fed raw milk cheese, made in Willows, Calif. Federal officials report eight hospitalizations, three cases of a type of kidney failure and no deaths. The company recalled all its Graziers raw milk cheeses Sept. 24, the day the FDA contacted it. County epidemiologists helped detect the outbreak.

It is the county's second such warning this year. In April, officials linked raw cheddar from a different California producer, RAW FARM, to an E. coli outbreak that sickened nine people, two of them in San Diego County. More than half of those patients were under 5; three were hospitalized and one developed the kidney complication.

The outbreaks share raw-milk cheese, California makers and very young patients. They differ in company, and the current strain is identified as E. coli O26:H11; the county's April notice did not name a strain.

Federal rules require raw-milk cheese to be aged at least 60 days, which reduces but does not eliminate risk, Consumer Reports has noted. The CDC advises choosing pasteurized dairy. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a raw-milk proponent, has pledged support for farmers who sell it.

The recalled cheese keeps a long time; officials urge checking refrigerators and freezers.

The wall: The county's notice says 10 states but lists nine, matching the FDA; the source of contamination is under investigation.

Tier: Confirmed (outbreak and local cases confirmed; policy positions reported)

Sources

• San Diego County News Center
• FDA outbreak advisory
• FDA recall notice
• County April 2026 warning (Village News reprint)
• CDC investigation, March 2026
• Consumer Reports
• The Guardian (AOL syndication)

health disaster, accident and emergency incident county: San Diego

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