An FDA Warning Has People Taking a Second Look at the Cheese in Their Fridge

An FDA-posted recall notice is prompting shoppers to check their cheese drawers this week. Family Farmstead Dairy, LLC of Worcester, New York, recalled a specific lot of Raw Mild Cheddar Cheese on October 15, 2026, because it may be contaminated with Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, according to the company’s announcement posted by the FDA.

Which cheese is included in the recall

The recalled product is identified as Family Farmstead Dairy Raw Mild Cheddar Cheese under the Family Farmstead brand. The lot code is 7/22/27, and the best-by date is also 7/22/27, according to the FDA-posted company announcement.

The company said no other Family Farmstead Dairy products are included in this recall. That matters for shoppers who may have more than one cheese from the brand in the fridge and need to know whether to pull everything or just one product.

One point that needs care is package size. The recall notice says the issue was discovered after a Maryland sample isolated two strains of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli in two samples of Family Farmstead A2 Raw Cheddar in an 8 oz package marked 7/22/27. But the broader product identification in the recall names the affected item as Raw Mild Cheddar Cheese with that lot code and best-by date, without stating that 8 ounces is the only recalled package size.

Where it was sold and why the FDA notice matters

Family Farmstead said the recalled cheese was distributed to grocers in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland, Virginia, and Massachusetts. The company also said the product may have reached other states through downstream distributors, which is one reason the notice is worth a second look even for shoppers outside those seven states.

The contamination concern is Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, specifically serotypes O26:H11 and O45:H2, according to the updated company announcement on the FDA site. The notice says the October 15 update corrected both the distribution pattern and the serotype information from an earlier version of the press release.

As of the company’s announcement, no illnesses or allergic reactions had been reported. The recall page also says the product should not be consumed, even if it looks and smells normal.

What shoppers should do now

If the cheese in your fridge matches lot code 7/22/27 and best-by date 7/22/27, the company’s guidance is straightforward: do not eat it. Consumers should discard the product or return it to the place of purchase for a full refund, according to the FDA-posted notice.

Shoppers who want more information can contact Family Farmstead Dairy by phone at (607) 397-4044 or by email at customerservice@familyfarmsteaddairy.com during the hours listed in the notice. The company said it is committed to identifying the cause of the issue and taking corrective action.

This recall is separate from the Clover Hill Dairy Listeria recall from June 2026. The FDA’s current outbreak investigation page shows an active E. coli O26:H11 investigation linked to raw milk cheese, but that is a different FDA outbreak entry and should not be blended with the Family Farmstead recall unless regulators explicitly connect them.