Unpasteurised hard cheeses - how do I know?

[Rhia30]

How do I know if cheese is made from pasteurised / unpasteurised milk? This is not part of the labelling, at least in the big supermarket products. I hadn't realised that there actually are some hard cheeses (like cheddar) that may be made of unpasteurised milk and are hence not safe. But how do I know??

I wouldn't worry about it too much, just avoid the smaller "artisan" cheese companies and stick to major brands, which will be pasteurized.

All hard cheeses are fine, because there's not enough moisture for listeria to grow.

Thanks!! How do you know major brands are pasteurised because the labelling doesn't detail this?

Cheddar is absolutely fine. Try to relax a bit - otherwise you will drive yourself mad with 'is this safe' 'is that safe'?

If you're a cheese fiend, you could hunt out your local cheese shop. They'll be able to tell you everything you want to know. Plus there stuff is really, really tasty.

their

All hard cheese is fine even if its not pasteurised. See www.eatwell.gov.uk/agesandstages/pregnancy/whenyrpregnant/#cat226049. Look at 'What to avoid' and 'Foods you don't need to avoid'. There seems to be a lot of misinformation out there to confuse us pregnant ladies.

I called Sainsbury's once to ask about a tub of ricotta or mascarpone or something and was told that unless the label says otherwise, all their own brand cheese has been pasteurised.

My earlier response seems to have disappeared. Anyway, was just saying that I was not so much interested as to what cheeses are considered safe by different people but whether these cheeses are made from pasteurised milk or not. I called Sainsburys today and got the same reply as YesSir and they said if cheese contains unpasteurised milk, it is always marked on the label.

Unpasteurised milk products are not considered safe in many countries and I'm not intending to eat them.

Thanks all!

OMG! What countries are those? Even the American guidelines don't prohibit hard cheese and I thought they were the 'strictest' ones around!