Pasteurised milk/cheese question

[seasister]

I've had a liking for pre-packed Caesar salad bags from supermarkets - where you get the dressing, croutons, cheese etc.

Tonight just happened to look at the bag ingredients and it says the dressing is made with unpasteurised milk and the cheese too (a sort of parmesan). I didn't realise Parmesan was a problem; we have a hard Italian cheese in the fridge, that too, I have just discovered contains unpasteurised milk.

Should I be worried? Obviously I am. I've been eating them since conception without knowing the above. I'm 14 +3.

Obviously I meant worried about Listeria...

I think you would have noticed if you had Listeriosis, as it makes you quite ill. The risks are really quite small anyway, so try not to panic. There was a thread on here a while back that linked to scientific papers explaining that actually a lot of the advice is based on the avoidance of tiny or theoetical risks, and not based on actual evidence, much like the no drinking thing.
If it bothers you, then just avoid it in the future. You will be fine.

Yes, but I think it can incubate for quite a while before symptoms occur. Probably don't have anything to worry about but will be staying clear. I do love it though...

Oh it's horribly worrying isn't it? I always get in a panic. So much so, with my first, that after I ate gryuere (and later read that it was made with unpasteurised milk) I made myself sick and then phoned NHS direct for advice. They told me not to make myself sick again (very stern!) but whether they told me then or I read it later, cheese made with unpasteurised milk is fine if it's imported. I couldn't quite get my head around that - so I tend to avoid it if I'm not sure and try to eat only pastuerised stuff.

The problem is - these guidelines change all the time - and I can never tell what's OK and what's not. I mean, today I was told by my midwife, it's OK to eat peanuts again.

Have you checked out the NHS website? they might have some up-to-date info?

Unpasturised cheese is fine if it is a hard cheese. Parmesan is on the officially ok to eat Food Standards Agency list.

Thank you very much.

Sorry incomplete message. I meant to say thank you all very much; i was about to post the same issue! I had no idea about hard cheese and unpasteurised milk. So thanks Seasister for raising it and all for your advice.

In Switzerland, where quite a few hard cheeses are made of unpasteurised milk, the official advice now is that it's fine to eat but to cut of the rind generously.

Avoid a dressing with unpasteurised milk though!

I saw something on tv recently (Countryfile, I think it was because I'm that interesting) and they said that it's illegal for supermarkets to sell unpasteurised milk. Now I don't know if that extends to cheese and other products or not.

I noticed recently that a lot of cheeses actually state on the packaging if they are unsuitable for pregnant women.

I read that the chances of actually contracting listeria from cheese are really slim so I wouldn't worry too much if you have accidentally eaten unpasteurised soft cheeses.

Japhrimel - why avoid a dressing with unpasteruised milk in particular? I think dressings that are made in bulk, like the dressing in the caeser salad are more likely to have been made on mass and heated in vats etc.