Inspired by the cheeseboard thread. Good cheese in pregnancy.

[theevildead2]

Can you get pasteurized camembert, Brie or any other cheeses that traditionally a no-no?

Please list any brands that you know of.

[kelly2525]

Tesco do a nice pasteurised blue cheese, think its a finest one

[CocoPopsAddict]

I thought it was to do with the method by which the cheese is made, not whether the milk is pasteurised or not?

[LoopyLoops]

Yes you can.

Don't forget that Boursin is safe - yum yum yum!

If anyone finds a substitute for runny eggs, please let me know!

[theevildead2]

cocopopsaddict I thought it was that that soft cheeses were fine if pasturised, and hard cheese didn't matter because the way they are made kills bacteria anyway?

Let me know if im wrong though. go on kill a pregnant woman's dream

[Janus]

I know you can have pasteurised cheese but seriously doubt that covers blue cheese as blue cheese has harmful bacteria in the mould which is the reason you can't have it. I have had a tiny morsel of soft cheese when in France but wouldn't touch the blue cheese and this pregnancy have stayed off anything not pasteurised. I hate doing so though!! Shall investigate Boursin today!

[AllBellyandBoobs]

LoopyLoops my midwife told me I could have runny yolks as long as the white was cooked. Luckily my DP has mastered the art of the perfect boiled egg and so that's one pleasure I've not had to miss

As for cheese, apparently gryuere is fine to eat even if unpasteurised.

[wigglesrock]

I cook brie, as far as I'm aware if the cheese is thoroughly cooked bacteria is killed. You have my sympathies, I am 26 weeks and was reduced to tears looking at the cheesy sandwiches in M&S last week

[FindingMyMojo]

I think with blue & soft rind cheeses it's about the mould/method etc rather than being pasturised or not.

Lots of supermarket camembert, brie etc is made from pasturised milk. Parmesan tends to be unpasturised milk but is on the OK list isn't it?

I've been eating lots of runny eggs (yolk not white) - I read it was OK as long as they were lion marked (which means the hens are immunised against salmonella) and in date?

Boursin for lunch it is!!

As soon as I'm pregnant I crave raw fish, blue cheese, pate and steak tartare!

[8rubberduckies]

I have heard that goat's cheese is fine as long as it is the sort without a rind that come in logs, so that would support your blue-cheese theory Janus. I will be so pleased if I can eat unpasteurised hard cheese; is that definitely true? It won't make up for the lack of blue cheese in my life but will help .

[BeautifulBlondePineapple]

I read this article a few years ago and it cheered me up immensely in the cheese eating department:

www.guardian.co.uk/society/2007/may/29/health.medicineandhealth

I love cheese and have eaten lots of different ones throughout all of my pregnancies. If in doubt then cook it. Spinach & gorgonzola pizza....mmmmm....

[Alibabaandthe40nappies]

I'm 20 weeks and I ate a big lump of brie the other day without realising it, oh well! I am much less bothered this pregnancy about all these food rules, on the basis that they don't have them on the continent and it doesn't seem to be a problem

Rare meat is fine btw, although steak tartare is probably pushing it a bit

Yes rubberduckies - you can eat unpasteurised hard cheese with no problems at all :)

[coraltoes]

You're meant to avoid mould-ripened cheeses. Sadly this encompasses everything we love...blue cheese, brie, epoisse, a lot of goats cheeses. The trick is, they usually have a white rind.

Raw fish is fine..well sushi from restaurants is, as fsa rules they have to freeze it once first to kill bacteria.

[theevildead2]

Does anyone know why there isn't a safe mark on cheeses? I mean they put "not safe for pregnancy" on every bottle of alcohol, when everyone knows alcohol is frowned on in pregnancy. Why not make my life easier and put a picture of a smiling fat pregnant woman on the cheese I can eat?




Bastards.

[Minione]

So is parmesen ok to eat? My midwife said it is but when I said ' but on the block i have it syas its unpasteurised' she said 'oh, perhaps not, I was thinking of the stuff already in a tub'. Like I'd buy that muck!

So, I'm very confused. SHe also said to avoid prawns, I said unless they're cooked through and served straightaway, to which she replied 'yes, boiling.' Mmm, boiled prawn anyone?

[Muser]

Unpasteurised cheese is fine, cheese made with mould is not fine. This is all the FSA says about cheese, so all you need to be concerned about. And the risk is very tiny anyway, plenty of us are quite happy to continue to munch on stilton.

What to avoid

Some types of cheese
Avoid cheeses such as Camembert, Brie or chevre (a type of goats' cheese), or others that have a similar rind. You should also avoid soft blue cheeses.

These cheeses are made with mould and they can contain listeria, a type of bacteria that could harm your unborn baby.

www.eatwell.gov.uk/agesandstages/pregnancy/whenyrpregnant/

[8rubberduckies]

I now love Zoe Williams . Thanks for the link beautifulblonde. BTW, I removed the space in the middle of the word "health" to get the link to work.

[thefurryone]

I'm avoiding brie and camembert type cheeses which I love but to take my mind off it have been scoffing an incredibly large amount of the stilton & cranberry cheese from M&S (it's white rather than blue stilton) and good old mature cheddar.

To be honest I miss pate more as at least I can get some kind of cheese fix.

[BeautifulBlondePineapple]

It is amazing what you crave when you're not allowed to have it. During all 3 pregnancies I have been desperate for pate and oysters on ice (not together!).

Never bother about them as soon as the baby is out mind you. It's all in my head I guess.

[FindingMyMojo]

I hear you BBP
I also crave pineapple now worries there though.

[gastrognome]

They do have the same rules about cheese on the continent - at least in France and Belgium anyway! Pretty much the same advice as in the UK - i.e. to avoid blue/mould ripened/unpasteurised cheese.

I know a French woman who caught listeria from eating cheese when pregnant and nearly lost her baby. Makes me take the advice a bit more seriously, I suppose.

But when in real need of some brie or camembert I slather it on some toast and grill till it's all bubbly and melted. Definitely worth the extra effort!

[greentig3r]

DP found some seasonal limited edition Stilton and Port Kettle Chips in Sainsbury's the other day. Not quite the same as the real thing but gets you stinky cheese and booze in one snack.

Agree with cooking it advice- BeautifulBlonde, we chuck it on a bit of filo pastry with some broccoli or whatever we've got lying around.

Oh, cheese. Why must you taste so good?

[8rubberduckies]

The thought of Stilton and Port Kettle Chips is not helping with the morning sickness [green-around-the-gills emoticon].

[trixie123]

really you can relax a bit about this, especially when you are a bit further along. The only danger with these foods is that they MAY contain bacteria which could make you ill. This is true at any other time also and I have been eating all these things for about the past 25 years without once getting ill from them so I for one am prepared to risk it occasionally when I fancy it. Especially when you have GD and nice sweet stuff is off the menu!

[ledkr]

damn damn damn. I am 27 wks and didnt realise there were ways around the cheese famine.Pasteurised blue cheese. Yum Yum i am off to tescos tomorrow,how exciting.

[theevildead2]

trixie123

You wouldnt have known if you had eaten listeria infected bacteria as in healthy adult you just get a mild stomach upset.

It is more dangerous for pregnant women who get flu like symptoms and can cause septicaemia (what Lilly Allen is currently in hospital for although that could be/probably is, entirely unrelated to listeria) and menangitus. It is also dangerous for the elderly and obviously the unborn baby.

I know it is a small risk but cetainly one I am not willing to take, no matter how much I want some cheese!