Can I Eat Cheese if I’m Pregnant?

You can eat some cheeses when you’re pregnant, and cheese is great source of calcium. However, some cheeses are not safe to eat. Unsafe cheeses are more likely to grow bacteria such as listeria, which can harm your unborn baby. Please always consult your doctor for advice on dietary practice during pregnancy.

These cheeses are not safe for you while you’re pregnant:

· Soft, mould-ripened cheeses, such as brie, camembert and chevre (a type of goat’s cheese).

· Blue-veined cheeses, such as danish blue and stilton.

Even if these cheeses are pasteurised, they still aren’t safe to eat. That’s because they are more moist and less acidic than other cheeses. It’s this moistness and acidity which provide the perfect environment for listeria bacteria to grow. If you become infected with listeria, you can get an illness called listeriosis. This causes flu-like symptoms that develop several weeks after you’ve been exposed to the bacteria. Even though listeriosis a fairly mild illness for you, it can cause serious health problems for your baby. It can even lead to miscarriage, or the loss of a baby at birth. However, you can eat these cheeses if you cook them thoroughly, as this will kill any listeria. Just make sure you’ve cooked the cheese until it’s piping hot all the way through, and it hasn’t just melted. All hard cheeses are generally considered safe to eat, even if they are made with unpasteurised milk. There is only a very small amount of listeria bacteria in hard cheeses so they are not considered a risk during pregnancy.

Some safe cheeses in pregnancy include:

· Hard cheeses: smoked versions, cheddar, edam, emmental, English goat’s cheddar, feta, gouda, gruyere, halloumi, manchego, paneer, parmesan, pecorino (hard), provolone

· Soft, processed cheeses: garlic and herb roulade, cottage cheese, cream cheese, feta, goat’s cheese without a white rind, mascarpone,

mozzarella, processed cheese (such as cheese spread and cheese segments), quark, ricotta.

· Yoghurts, probiotic drinks, fromage frais, soured cream and creme fraiche are all safe to eat. These include any variety, including natural, flavoured and live versions.

Unsafe cheeses in pregnancy

· Mould-ripened soft cheeses: brie, blue brie, cambozola, camembert, chaumes, chevre (goat’s cheese with a white rind), pont l’eveque, taleggio, vacherin-fribourgeois.

· Blue-veined cheeses: bergader, bleu d’auvergne, blue wensleydale, shropshire blue, danish blue, dolcelatte, gorgonzola, roncal, roquefort, stilton, tomme.

· Soft, unpasteurised cheese, including goat’s and sheep’s cheeses: chabichou, pyramide, torta del cesar