What cheese can I/can't I eat?

[Bekster]

This is my second pregnancy and I'm still confused about which cheese I can and can't eat (other than the basics that the FSA give you, no blue/brie type/soft unpasteurised/etc). We go to a lovely deli where they use a lot of Manchego and hard unpasteurised cheeses and I keep reading conflicting views of whether I can eat these or not. I know the Spanish and French would scoff at this question and wash it down with copious amounts of red wine, but I'd rather be safe than sorry - a definitive answer would be appreciated. Ta B

I watch this thread with interest. I am fed up with cheddar!

I know parmesan is okay and I've also used some other of the hard cheeses like Grado Padano.
Have stayed clear of blue cheese though and camembert... Very cruel over Christmas!

President camembert is pasturised - am eating it by the bucketful!!

Most cheese is safe to eat, the only types you're definitely meant to avoid (unless they're thoroughly cooked) are mould ripened or blue veined - so brie, stilton, gorgonzola etc.

I went to in Spain in October and ate Manchego every day. Our baby is just fine!

This page is quite helpful www.babycentre.co.uk/pregnancy/nutrition/foodsafety/cheeseexpert/

The other option of course is to eat whatever cheese you want - just be sure to cook it first! That'll kill off all the nasties.

Cheese on toast, anyone?

I was told by my midwife that it was a 'no' to parmesan as it has mouldy spores on it or some such ... she also said though that if i had eaten some of the cheeses that are considered not safe, I shouldn't worry too much.

Really, parmesan not okay? Ooooops... Been eating that by the wheel in two pregnancies

Parmesan is absolutely ok as are other hard cheeses such as Manchego.

full list

Oh don't! I am far more chilled out now than before, also did the worst thing ever over NY, didn't want anyone to know I was preggers (6 weeks!) so ate what was put in front of me if it was put in front of me. I know, appalling behaviour.....don't slate me for it! (I ate lots of other things I shouldn't too, but won't go into that one....as will definitely get slated!) Might possibly have been because I didn't really believe I was pregnant.

(shush.... very bad pregnant person here...) I eat all cheeses!!!

Love cheese to death... did research on listeria during first pregnancy (now pregnant again), and found out that, on average, there are 20 cases of listeria annually (including preg and non-preg people) out of 300 million inhabitants (I live in the States). I decided that these were odds I could live with, and went on to eat all cheese.

(In case any of you are interested, the 'don't eat this cheese' thing started because some villagers in France, during the 90s, ate a bunch of seriously unpasteurized cheese (bet it was good!) and two or three pregnant women developed horrible complications that resulted in one still birth and one incidence of blindness amongst their babies - Listeria IS much worse, and much more serious, in pregnancy - Since then, unpasteurized cheeses, etc, all banned for all pregnant women everywhere. Obviously exceptionally painful for the women involved. But knowing the history/statistics behind the recommendation made my own mind up that I would eat cheese if I wanted it, and use common sense about something that looked mouldy, etc.)

Each to their own regarding risk I suppose but the OP did say she would rather be safe than sorry. I think there is a tendency amongst those who disregard health advice to play down the risks in order to justify their own decision.
It is impossible to say how many cases of Listeria in the UK as it is not a notifiable disease so cases don't have to be officially reported. It is however known to affect 1 in 30000 live and still births per year in the UK. It is also responsible for an unknown amount of premature births and miscarriages.
I personally know of two women who have had stillbirths due to Listeria infection which makes the risk feel all the more real to me.
Like I said- each to their own- but these are my reasons foe choosing to follow the health advice guiven

I agree with what rightsaidfred said totally - I don't judge anyone's choices, but be aware of what the risks are and understand them.

Pasteurised cheese that has been mold-ripened is still a listeria risk - so that is all types of brie, camembert etc, most soft cheeses that have a rind, and all blue cheeses.

These are the official guidelines.

Some of the risks are small but it is better to be aware than not aware IMO; I would feel pretty hard done by if I wasn't aware of the guidelines above, even if I feel the risks are small.

Dear Bekster like flyingcloud I live in France and I can assure you that the French do not scoff at the question concerning cheese nor do they down it with copious quantities of wine. In France pregnant ladies are given extremely strict guidelines about which cheeses they shouldn't eat and at the end of the 'no list' we are not left with much choice. I am at the end of my third pregnancy (hurrah)and I must admit that I have eaten KILOS of unpasturised Conté, Gruyère, etc. which I believe are on the 'no list'. Apart from the fact that I love the taste you just can't find decent pasturised Swiss/mountain cheese: for me the packet version just doesn't cut it.

I cannot WAIT to tuck into some decent blue cheese soon.

Definitely agree with everyone being aware of the risks and making their own choices - the info I got was from an American book called 'the Panic-Free Pregnancy' and only has stats on American cases. I really wasn't trying to downplay the risks, just put them into some perspective based on the statistical evidence available to me - personally, I feel we pregnant women get so bombarded with what we should/shouldn't do half the time that it's hard to know how much oxygen we should inhale on a daily basis!

rightsaidfred - completely hear you on how much more scared you feel when you have a personal connection with a pregnancy complication: My brother was born with a very, very rare (one in seven million) chromosomal defect that resulted in severe mental retardation, and as a result I get an amnio with every pregnancy, regardless of NT results or my age (still 'young' in preg terms). Sorry, not meaning to hijack the thread, just saying I know how much more careful you can be when you have a personal connection with a pre-related complication.