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.

Hello ladies,
I was so upset at the thought of a Christmas without Silton that I contacted the British Cheese Board to see if there were any blue cheeses safe to eat in pregnancy.
This is what they said:
Guidance of the Dept of Health in that pregnant women are recommended NOT to eat any white mould or blue mould cheese regardless of whether they have been made from pasteurised milk or not.

Because of the way they are made, the higher moisture and the pH of these white and blue mould cheeses are at such a level that if they come into contact with Listeria, the bacteria can survive and grow. In other words they are a friendly environment for harmful bugs to grow. In contrast, hard cheese such as Cheddar provides an inhospitable environment for pathogenic bacteria, as the moisture is lower and the acidity higher.

Raw vegetables and salad vegetables will often carry Listeria, which will be eliminated when they are washed or cooked - but it is easy to get accidental cross-contamination between foods either in the home - particularly in the fridge if foods are not wrapped - or at the deli counter. So although the mould ripened cheeses may be free from Listeria (and other harmful bugs) when they are made, there is a risk of post-production contamination.

All raw milk cheeses should also be avoided."

I was surprised because I thought too thought pastuerised ones would be ok.
Am gutted :(

I was so upset at the thought of a Christmas without Silton that I contacted the British Cheese Board to see if there were any blue cheeses safe to eat in pregnancy.
medicaled woman after my own heart! lol
So basically we're all just buggered are we?

gutted :(

It is a small risk but not sure it is one worth taking.
We are so careful with everything why risk a miscarriage or premature birth for a lump of cheese?
Cases of listeria must be reported by doctors to the Health Protection Agency and their data shows there have been 953 cases of pregnancy-related listeria between 1983 and 2009 out of a total of 4,173.
Pregnancy makes us more susceptible to listeria than when we were sans bump so just because you've never been ill with it before doesn't mean you won't be while preggers.
Listeria factsheet on HPA here:
www.hpa.org.uk/Publications/InfectiousDiseases/Factsheets/factListeria/

Only bright side is, the Silton ban is not forever.
Bet DH will still stuff his face this Christmas

Cooking your cheese might be an answer.
Found this on the Food Standards Agency website:
"Can I eat Brie and blue cheese when I'm pregnant if it's cooked?
Pregnant women are advised against eating these types of cheese because of the risk of listeria. However, thorough cooking should kill any listeria, so it should be safe to eat food containing, these and other cheeses such as Camembert or chevre (a type of goats' cheese), that have a similar rind, provided it has been properly cooked and is steaming hot all the way through."

Am thinking one of the those whole camemberts baked in its little wooden box and mopped up with crusty bread.

MedicalEd great minds think alike, was thinking about one of them just today

I've been eating broccoli and stilton soup because you can heat it to boiling point. Also sad about Christmas with no stilton!

can you spread soup on your crackers?On the upside just think of the tins of celebrations you can eat guilt free. mmmm

You can eat any cheese if it has been cooked through and is piping hot. If you are eating uncooked cheese you should avoid all mould-ripenened cheeses and blue cheeses even if they are pasteurised. The problem is that even though when they are pasteruised they won't have listeria they are moister and less acidic than other cheese so provide the perfect environment for listeria to grow afterwards. You should also avoid unpasteurised soft cheeses but can eat unpasteurised hard cheeses.

Raw fish is fine as long as the fish has been frozen for 24 hours. Some raw fishes like smoked salmon are OK to eat without being frozen first. Shellfish is OK as long as it has been cooked but you can't eat it raw.

Presume you can start eating it again when breastfeeding? If so, I plan on ordering a whole round of camambert and one of stilton to celebrate baby's arrival

Hmm, I'd been having a fantasy that blue cheese dressing was OK because it isn't refrigerated when you buy it but maybe it has lurky mouldy bits in it

(If anyone else wants to join this fantasy, I recommend Brianna's, you can get it in Waitrose).