The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said they are investigating a multistate outbreak of E. coli infections potentially linked to Sierra Nevada Graziers raw milk cheese.
Thirteen people in nine states have been sickened in the E. coli outbreak, including eight who were hospitalized and three who developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a potentially serious complication of E. coli infection that presents with bloody diarrhea and fever, according to the CDC. No deaths have been reported, the FDA said.
States with E. coli cases linked to raw milk cheese include California, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Tennessee and Utah.
In the US, if I’m remembering right, women are just advised to avoid soft cheeses in general. Along with deli meats, and a bunch of other things. Although in the US you can’t have raw milk soft cheeses to begin with.
There are definitely people for whom the cheesemaking process alone is an insufficient safeguard. But for the general public it’s not something that super matters.