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Fairlife pauses US production after
cyberattack breached milk brand's systems
[July 18, 2026]
By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS
NEW YORK
(AP) — Milk brand Fairlife is pausing its production in the U.S. after a
ransomware cyberattack breached the company's systems.
Coca-Cola, which owns Fairlife, announced Thursday that its dairy
company had identified “unauthorized access by a third party” to a
portion of its systems, including those related to production. The
company disclosed that this was in connection to a ransomware event —
and in response, it took some operations offline. |
Fairlife milk products are seen in New York on Friday, July 17, 2026.
(AP Photo/Dorothea Degen) |
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“Product quality and safety have not been impacted,"
Atlanta-based Coca-Cola said in a statement. “However, as a
result of the incident, production operations at fairlife in the
United States are temporarily suspended.”
Fairlife’s Canadian operations were not affected. The full scope
and impacts of the attack are otherwise still unknown, Coca-Cola
added — but the beverage giant said it had informed law
enforcement, and is also working with cybersecurity experts as
it continues its investigation and recovery to restore
operations.
A company spokesperson said there were no further updates to
share as of Friday morning.
Cyberattacks are on the rise across sectors. Beyond dairy goods,
other breaches have recently resulted in anything from core
education services getting knocked offline to empty shelves at
popular clothing or grocery stores.
Ransomware attacks — in which hackers demand a hefty payment to
restore hacked systems — also account for a growing share of
cyber crimes. And experts note that attackers know there’s a
particular impact when going after well-known brands and
products that shoppers buy or need every day.
Fairlife, based in Chicago, touts over $3 billion in annual
retail sales today. The company produces a range of lactose-free
products — which beyond milk, includes protein shakes.
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