By Josh Beckerman
Cheese company Raw Farm LLC, which has criticized the Food and Drug Administration's comments as the agency investigated E. coli cases, said it voluntarily recalled some products "under protest."
The Fresno, Calif., company said it "continues to contest the epidemiological links provided by the FDA" and said the recall "is performed as a path forward."
In March, the FDA recommended that Raw Farm voluntarily remove its raw cheese products from the market. The company declined at the time. It said it disagreed with allegations by the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and said, "All our milk is tested prior to making cheese and our finished cheese is tested prior to release. We have no customer complaints at this time."
In a Friday update, the FDA said, "Sample analysis is ongoing but, at this time, FDA is not aware of any positive samples."
The CDC said in a March 25 update that nine illnesses with the outbreak strain were reported, including three hospitalizations. Of the eight people interviewed, seven reported consuming or being served Raw Farm products, the CDC said.
Raw Farm's recall includes seven cheddar cheese batches.
The company said it "proudly makes truly raw cheddar cheese from milk that is not pasteurized or thermalized and is fully compliant with C.F.R section 133.113."
Write to Josh Beckerman at josh.beckerman@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-03-26 1511ET
