Family Farmstead Dairy of Worcester, New York is recalling all of its Raw Mild Cheddar and Raw Sharp Cheddar dated 10/16/27 or earlier because of possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes, according to an FDA notice posted November 10. The notice does not say how the problem was found and does not report any illnesses.
It is the dairy’s second recall in 26 days. On October 15 it pulled one lot of Raw Mild Cheddar, dated 7/22/27, after a surveillance sample tested in Maryland turned up two strains of Shiga toxin producing E. coli. No illnesses were reported then either. The recalls involve different bacteria, and neither notice names a cause. What changed is the scope: one lot in October, every date on the shelf now.
Which cheese is recalled
- Family Farmstead Raw Mild Cheddar, 8 ounce plastic wrapped package
- Family Farmstead Raw Sharp Cheddar, 8 ounce plastic wrapped package
- All lot codes dated 10/16/27 and prior
If the date on the package is October 16, 2027 or earlier, it is recalled. Aged cheddar keeps for months, so a block bought last summer counts. No other Family Farmstead products are included.
The cheese went to retail stores in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia. No retailers are named. October’s recall also listed Maryland and warned of onward distribution, so run the date check wherever you bought it.
Why raw cheese gets a closer look
Raw cheddar has a following among the high protein, whole food crowd. Raw means the milk was never pasteurized, the heating step that kills bacteria. Federal rules instead require raw milk cheese to age at least 60 days before crossing state lines.
What Listeria does
The CDC describes two forms. The mild one stays in the gut: diarrhea and vomiting within about 24 hours, gone in one to three days. The invasive one usually appears within two weeks, with fever, flu like aches, and fatigue, sometimes headache, stiff neck, confusion, or loss of balance. Pregnant women, newborns, adults 65 and older, and people with weakened immune systems face the highest risk. In pregnancy the infection can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, or a life threatening infection in the newborn, even when the mother barely feels ill…