Pasteurised cheese

[outthere]

I've bought some pasteurised Camembert which I was hoping to scoff eat.

Only trouble is that it has a label saying that expectant mothers should avoid this type of cheese... I thought it was only unpasteurised cheese that was a problem...?

Don't know whether I can eat it or not - can anyone shed some light?

I asked the same thing here when I first became pregnant because I LOVE Camembert and thought it was wonderful that there was a pasteurised version.

Sadly I was told that you shouldn't eat any cheese with a rind regardless of whether or not it is pasteurised. Apparently, the way cheeses with rinds are made is the issue and the pasteurisation doesn't affect it so it is still not recommended. I can't tell you more, I asked ages ago and the thread's disappeared.

So I would avoid it, and I heartily empathise. I'm due in a couple of weeks and have asked DH to bring me a sandwich with Le Rustique Camembert in it once I've given birth

This is the advice from the government of foods to avoid.

Some types of cheese. Don?t eat mould-ripened soft cheese, like Brie, Camembert and others with a similar rind. You should also avoid soft blue-veined cheese, like Danish blue. These are made with mould and they can contain listeria, a type of bacteria that can harm your unborn baby. Although listeriosis is a very rare infection,
it is important to take special precautions during pregnancy because even the mild form of the illness in the mother can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth or severe illness in a newborn baby. You can eat hard cheeses such as cheddar and parmesan, and processed cheeses made from pasteurised milk such as cottage cheese, mozzarella and cheese spreads.

www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/@ps/@sta/@perf/documents/digitalasset/dh_107679.pdf

it's the mouldyness on the outside that might be a problem... mind you it's not that it's a dead cert to give you problems... merely a risk... your choice if you take the risk...

I had read - but please check as I can't find the link just now (and MNing as DS is eating his tea) and don't want to be responsible for bad advice - that provided the cheese is properly cooked (as opposed to just melted) that you can eat soft-rinded cheese. Not quite the same but at least you get some of the flavour.

KnitterNotTwitter - I've seen the opinion before that its only the mouldyness on the outside that is problematic, but I've got an inquiring mind (a terrible thing ) and I'm trying to work out why this should be the case. Most of the advice I've seen that gives a reason beyond that quoted by Senorita is that a mould ripened cheese is, by its nature, a place hospitable to the development of bacteria - so you only need a spec of listeria to find its way in at an early stage and the whole cheese will be colonised.

If this is wrong I'd be glad to know it - and I'd like to understand why . Any help appreciated :o

outthere - how do you feel about baked camembert? As long as you let it get good and hot it should remove any risk (regardless of the answer to the inside/outside question). You can use it as a dip, kind of like a fondue, but without all the paraphernalia...

Aahhh - I remembered where I'd seen that link ref what is safe and cooking rinded cheeses: here.