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By Jasmine Laws
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Cabot Creamery is recalling 1,700 pounds of butter after testing found elevated levels of coliform bacteria in the product, a marker of potential fecal contamination.
The voluntary recall, initiated by Agri-Mark Inc, Cabot Creamery's parent company, affects the brand's 8-ounce Extra Creamy Premium Sea Salted Butter and was distributed in seven states.
Agri-Mark told Newsweek it had recovered 99.5 percent of the product before it reached consumers, and there had been no reports of illness or consumer complaints.
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Why It Matters
Coliform bacteria are commonly found in the environment, including in soil, water and animal waste. While not inherently dangerous, their presence in food products indicates potential lapses in hygiene during production. Such lapses increase the risk of more harmful pathogens being present, including E. coli and salmonella.
Both pathogens are leading causes of foodborne illness in the U.S. E. coli can cause severe stomach cramps, bloody diarrhea and vomiting. In some cases, it may lead to kidney failure, especially in young children and older adults. Salmonella infection typically causes fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps, and it may require hospitalization in severe cases.
Contaminated dairy products are among the most common sources of such bacterial outbreaks, making early detection and recall critical for public health.
What To Know
According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the recall was initiated on March 26.
The affected products are sold in cardboard containers holding two 4-ounce sticks and have a best-by date of September 9, 2025. They also carry the lot number 090925-055 and the UPC 0 78354 62038 0.
The affected butter was distributed to stores in Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, Maine, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Arkansas, according to the FDA report**.** In total, 189 cases are being withdrawn from the market. Only 17 packages—or 8.5 pounds of butter—were sold at retail, all in Vermont, according to Agri-Mark.
On Tuesday, the FDA gave the recall a Class III risk categorization, indicating it is "a situation in which use of or exposure to a violative product is not likely to cause adverse health consequences."
What People Are Saying
Dr Elaine Cloutman-Green, a professor at University College London, told Newsweek: "Coliform is a generic term for Gram negative bacteria that are frequently found in the intestine. Finding them would often suggest recent fecal contamination at some point along the production pipeline, potentially from the raw ingredients."
She said: "Because the term coliform is a catch all for quite a few different organisms, it can be difficult to risk assess, as some bacteria are more likely to cause harm than others. That said, if enough butter is consumed detection would indicate that the person eating it may develop food poisoning type symptoms, or if the person was particularly vulnerable due to other conditions, more severe illness including blood stream infection."
Cloutman-Green added that there would likely be others who eat the butter and are not affected by the contamination, so there could be a large "spectrum" of how the product could affect a consumer, linked to how much they consume and "how healthy the person was otherwise."
Jeremy Nicholson, a biological chemistry professor at Imperial College London, told Newsweek that the amount of butter a person would have to consume to feel any side-effects depends on "how contaminated it is, the level of pathogenicity of the particular strain or strains involved, how much is consumed and the susceptibility of the individual."
Agri-Mark told Newsweek: "Agri-Mark has identified the cause and has taken the appropriate internal actions to address it. No other products were affected. Agri-Mark is dedicated to food safety and producing quality products and is always monitoring its products for compliance."
What Happens Next
The recall is still ongoing as of April 9. Agri-Mark advised consumers to get in touch via email at info@cabotcreamery.com or call 1-888-792-2268 if they are concerned about the product.
Update 04/09/25, 08:39 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Jeremy Nicholson.
Update 04/10/25, 03:37 a.m. ET: This article has been updated following a response from Agri-Mark.
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