Soft Cheese in Pregnancy: The Pasteurized Rule

Soft Cheese in pregnancy: how to think about it

The concern with soft cheese in pregnancy is listeria. NHS guidance explains that listeria bacteria can grow in soft cheeses with a higher moisture content and less acidity, particularly soft mould-ripened and soft blue types, even when they are made with pasteurized milk. Listeriosis is rare, but NHS notes that catching it in pregnancy can cause miscarriage, stillbirth or serious illness in a newborn, which is why the advice is cautious relative to the actual frequency. The two things that remove the risk are pasteurization of the milk and thorough cooking, which is why the guidance keeps returning to those checks rather than to cheese type alone. Hard cheeses are treated differently because their low moisture makes them a poor environment for listeria. In practice most soft cheese sold in UK and US supermarkets is pasteurized, so the label is usually the fastest answer.

Working through a longer grocery list? The Pregnancy Food Safety Hub gathers all 50 SafeMama food and drink guides, grouped by pasteurization, cooking temperature and mercury questions.

Soft Cheese: safer choices

• Soft cheeses made with pasteurized milk, which NHS lists as safe to eat in pregnancy. This covers most supermarket mozzarella, ricotta, cream cheese, cottage cheese, feta, halloumi, paneer and processed cheese.
• Any soft cheese cooked until steaming hot all the way through, which NHS says makes even mould-ripened and blue varieties safe, because heat kills listeria.
• Hard cheeses such as cheddar and parmesan, which NHS treats as safe whether or not they are pasteurized, because the low moisture content makes listeria much less likely.
• Checking the label for the word pasteurized, and asking staff at a deli counter or restaurant if the packaging is not visible.

Soft Cheese: what to avoid or double-check

• Avoid soft mould-ripened cheeses such as brie, camembert and chevre with a white rind unless they are cooked until steaming hot.
• Avoid soft blue cheeses such as roquefort, gorgonzola and danish blue unless cooked until steaming hot.
• Avoid any cheese made with unpasteurized or raw milk, soft or hard, unless it has been thoroughly cooked.
• Avoid soft cheese from unclear sources: buffets, antipasto boards, salad bars and open deli tubs where storage time and temperature are unknown.

How SafeMama helps

SafeMama can flag pasteurized and unpasteurized milk wording, soft and mould-ripened cheese types, blue cheese varieties, use-by dates and refrigeration instructions on cheese labels, so you can check a specific product rather than guess from the category.

Open the SafeMama app, scan the barcode or search the ingredient, then use the result as a starting point for a conversation with your healthcare provider.

Sources

• NHS foods to avoid in pregnancy
• NHS listeriosis
• FDA listeria food safety for moms-to-be
• CDC listeria and dairy