Can I eat Somerset Brie

[Momof2]

If it is made from Pasturised milk, do you think?

It is the mould-ripened aspect of its manufacture that causes concern, Momof2, not whether the milk is pasteurised - although that's also a factor.
This is such a hard one as listeria is SO rare and there is no such advice given to pregnant women in France.
BUT in your position I'd be safe rather than sorry and skip it, myself.

Only if it's cooked, strictly speaking. Pasteurised or not - it's the mould ripened aspect of brie which makes it a no-no. In fact unpasteurised cheddar is fine - because it's a hard cheese. Very confusing! Though it all depends how strict you're being of course.

I have been eating a pasteurised Brie from Cornwall this pregnancy, as I just love it and my midwife said I could!! I don't cook it either.

Mmm- Have some in the fridge you see, that is shouting "Eat me" when I open the door.
Thanks for this as I thought it was just about whether the milk was pasturised or not.

I don't think it's worth the worrying you would do after you'd eaten it - even though the risk is so small. Sorry!

Very true, hadn't considered that.

Officially it is the recommendation now that pregnant women should not eat mould ripened soft cheeses pasteurised/unpasteurised.

You are right in saying the risk of Listeria comes after the cheese has been pasteurised during the mould ripening stage, if the cheese were to become contaminated with Listeria from the environment (it is very common in factories) it would grow very quickly and could be harmful. In hard cheeses that are unpasteurised they are matured for many months and any Listeria present would die off, soft cheeses do not have this maturation stage.

I hope that helps a bit, again though the risk is very small.

whilst I recognise small risks do exist I believe that if the wrold were so full of dangers for pregnant woman then the human race would not have survived.

On the continent they receive none of this advice re pate and cheese and although the French are a little strange they have no increase in abnormalities.

I was more careful than usual in the first 12 weeks but since then have reverted back to my eating habits. My child can bring it up in therapy...!

I have eaten a slab of Emmantal today - didnt realise it was made from unpasturised milk and explicitly said not to eat if pregnant on the label. I presume the risk is small so I am not going to panic. Or should I???

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phew! hope so

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dont they just?!! My dh keeps fretting everytime I mention a yearning for prawns. I could murder a king prawn vindaloo but have held off so far.

myermay - problem with mayo is only really if homemade - commercially made mayo should have been made from pasteurised egg so no safety issues.

bunny2 - see link to a very useful safe cheese in PG page

www.shef.ac.uk/pregnancy_nutrition/nutrition.php?kf_id=g that says emmenthal is fine

unpasteurised non blue hard cheeses like emmenthal, gruyere and parmesan are ok.

Hard unpasteurised cheeses are fine as listeria needs a fair bit of moisture to survive, and hard cheeses are too dry.

Cooked (piping hot) prawns are fine! as is shop bought mayonnaise as it's made with pasteurised egg (home made is the dodgy one). When I accidentally ate pate while pg with ds1 and went to my GP in a flap she said the number of pregnancies affected by listeria was 1 in 20,000.

Bunny2 - go for the curry - why not?

What makes me laugh is i am told to eat and not to eat exactly the opposite to what my MIL was told 20 years and she has managed to bring up 3 perfectly normal, perfectly healthy kids, so what they're telling me not to eat can't be that damaging as they told her to eat nothing but!!