Query about 'safe' pregnancy cheeses....

[M2T]

Rrrrrright... I'm hate all this hysteria about avoiding certain foods in pregnancy, but still find myself doing it!!!

So, can someone please tell me if it is okay for me to eat:

Fresh Mozzarella and
Ricotta

I love cheese and I love fresh mozzarella cooked or just sliced on a sandwich with salad.... tell me this is allowed!??

Oh dear.... should've thought of a better title!! Pregnancy cheeses??? LOL!

I was told not to eat any soft cheese - but didn't think Mozzarella was classed as that. So I ate it!!
My friend has just had a baby and was advised she could eat anything including soft cheeses etc as long as she did so in moderation - no one seems to get the same message during pregnancy.

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I asked in tesco and the mozzarella they had in the deli was made from Pasturized cows milk.... but the one i bought was packaged in water and much softer than the deli one (most used for melting on pizzas).

The Ricotta was on a pizza.

packaged ones are usually pasturised (I think they have to say on the packet if they're NOT pasturised rather than if they are), it's the deli ones you have to be really careful of. I always veer on the safe side and cook it though.

Oh and if soft cheese is cooked through thoroughly to kill any bacteria then it's fine. (I really must go out and buy that deep fried camembert )

The French eat ALL cheeses and most are unpasteurised.... it's very much a British issue.

Thats what I thought Pupuce. As with wine??? I certainly don't feel like having a glass just now..... waaayyy too sicky, but later on in pregnancy I fully intend to have the odd couple of glasses when we are out for a meal.

I'm pretty sure it's not to do with pasteurised/unpasteurised ? it's to do with how the cheeses are ripened. All mould ripened cheeses are off limits (brie, camembert etc) as well as blue-veined ones such as stilton, Lymeswold etc. I'm sure mozzarella's fine, as is ricotta.

Mozzarella fine - mixed views on ricotta. Anything piping hot is fine. Blue cheeses are a no no as are mould ripened cheeses -eg anything soft with a rind (ie brie or camembert). Soft goat's cheese is also out as are all soft cheeses made with pasteurised milk. All processed cheeses are fine and all hard cheeses whether made with pasteurised milk or not - Listeria can't survive in hard cheese. So hard goat's cheddar is fine for example. If you are desperate for a 'banned' cheese, it is perfectly safe to eat it really hot and cooked - ie in sauce or melted on a pizza/toast (but it has to be hot and bubbling, not just soft).

Just as a matter of interest, aloha, why is the jury out about ricotta? Is it because it's soft and may be unpasteurised?

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Sorry - mistyped - yes, I meant soft cheeses made with UN-pasteurised milk, of which there are very few.

Actually 'soft cheese' is misleading as what they actually mean is mould-ripened soft cheese - this means all softish cheeses with a rind, like Chaumes and Tallegio, but hardly any others apart from Brie and Camembert. All cream cheeses, Philadelphia, Boursin, cottage cheese etc are perfectly safe.

I think the only issue with ricotta is that is often sold from open bowls on deli counters and can get cross-contaminated. It's not unsafe per se and I personally would eat if it I liked it, which I don't

Oh no, I have requested Goat's cheese as my starter at my work's xmas do! Can't change it now as they don't know I am pg!

It's 'grilled goats cheese with a herb and nut crust'. I presume this will be hot so ok? Will have to just nibble the lettuce round it

Oliveoil, if it is really hot then it's fine. maybe sneakily ask if yours could be popped under the grill for a bit longer than the rest because that's the way you prefer it. Having said that, I ate it during pregnancy (kept forgetting I was pg!) and ds is very well indeed. Mmmm....I love crusty grilled goats cheese...

I've made it a policy to eat all types of cheese - though as Aloha says there are actually very few that you "shouldn't" eat.

AND I had a Macdonald's milkshake.

AND I drink the odd glass of wine (on occasion 3).

AND I lie on my back sometimes.

AND dd had strawberries before she was 18.

Can you tell I don't like all these pronouncements? There should be a "raspberry" smiley!

It s suimple - anything that is not pasteurised os not safe
It says on the label

PS was assuming everyone knew I am pregnant there.

But codswallop - pastuerisation is only heating: hot unpateurised cheese/milk should be fine (though it should have been heated to I think 60 degrees throughout). However Lysteria is still really rare, even in goats cheese eating pregnant women.

Not always that simple though.... The packet of mozzarella I have doesn't mention the words pasteurised or unpasteurised!

lol SenoraA!!!
I had a runny yolk the other day!

gasp

raw eggs every day for me!

"AND I had a Macdonald's milkshake."

I have to say the worst case of food poisoning I've ever had is from a McDonald's meal (no idea which part but suspect the burger) - that hasn't stopped me tucking into a few McDonald's meals this pregnancy ... looks guilty

Nooo... unpasteurised is ONLY a problem in soft cheeses - Listeria can't live in hard cheese (not enough moisture) so all hard cheeses are safe, pasteurised or not.