goats cheese

[Rinnyx]

I have read sites that say yes, others say big fat no, what is your view?

I'm only asking cause we have out 20 week scan friday and are off out in the evening to celebrate and me being me have already picked what I want, its only pizza express but I really want the pizza with Goats cheese on it then the next day I am off to lunch with some friends and picked out a dish with grilled goat?s cheese.

Should be fine right? its not like I am eating it everyday for 9 months, whats wrong with 1 little treat

The most worrying thing, IMO, is that doctors are fairly keen to prescribe you with various things. Since I've been pregnant, I was strongly advised to have the swine flu vaccine (which I decline), to take cyclazine for hyperemesis (which I took reluctantly for a few weeks to avoid ending up in hospital) and ranitadine for heartburn (which I take one tablet of every few days if the heartburn is really bad).

Most doctors/MWs are quite open about the fact that the drugs companies/government can't do a controlled test of the effect these tablets might have on pregnant women because the unborn child can't give their consent to being tested on like this. So all they can do is observe the effects - if most women seem absolutely fine then the drug is recommended for pregnant women. This is all very well, but when you think of the usual, very rigorous controlled test conditions of a normal drug trial process this is comparatively very lax, esp when you consider thalidomide was a drug used to treat morning sickness

So women are often encouraged to take these drugs which may or may not carry the risk of unknown side effects but eating cheese/tuna/whatever is a big no no, even though they know the risks of you actually getting ill or harming the baby by doing this are very small? Seems strange to me!!

Most doctors know very little about drugs - they rely on the BNF for information and that can be quite basic. It is possible if you know what you're doing to look up the info yourself, not just on the BNF online (registration is free) but also on sites like rxlist.com and pubmed which have detailed info or actual studies. Many drugs do get tested in pregnancy, but often doctors don't realise this. Conversely doctors may not be fully aware of the risks associated with some drugs.

Pharmaceuticals have come on so much in the last 50 years that GPs are unable to know it all.

japhrimel Have you found a brand of pasteurised feta?!?! I really miss it but have only found unpasteurised in the shops! looks hopeful

I've had a bit of goats cheese, a little alcohol (well within the recommended limit) and even some parma ham (although admittedly before I knew it was forbidden) but I am far more concerned about the things I have less control over like the cleaning chemicals I'm exposed to on a daily basis. Some of these things, like an ingredient in washing up liquid, if you were to use in a laboratory it would be compulsory to wear protective clothing!

GreenGekkGirl eatwell.gov.uk says feta is fine. AIUI, hard unpasteurised cheeses, and indeed lots of others, are fine, it's only the ones with rind or mould that are on the avoid list.

D

The feta I get from Waitrose says it's pasteurised anyway.

Well I'd be stuffed if I couldn't eat goats cheese, as I am allergic to cows milk. I ate it all through my first pregnancy and will continue to do so throughout this one (I'm 14 weeks).

There is such a huge amount of advice out there for pregnant women these days, a lot of it contradictory. I was told during first pregnancy that I must not eat peanuts as it could cause my child to develop a life-threatening allergy... but then again it might not - they weren't actually sure, but erring on side of caution. Now I'm on second pregnancy and according to the midwife I can safely eat peanuts. Oh really? Have peanuts somehow been genetically altered in the last 3 years to make them 'safe' and I didn't know about it? Or perhaps the advice couldn't be substantiated with any scientific evidence.

Sorry, rant over. This one just gets my goat.

Interesting article

Japhrimel Thanks, that's very exciting news and bless Waitrose! I'll be off there right now then

Deliaskis Feta is fine in principle but as no unpasteurised cheese is permitted, it depends whether the feta in question pasteurised or not.

Hi Everyone

I was soo glad to find this thread - I am a first time mum to be and have been panicking over what I have eaten and what I should be eating! The other night I went out for dinner with friends who served goats cheese as a stater. I said I couldn't have it and they said it was ok as it was pasteruised and didn't have the white edge. I eat it but after dinner thought I would just check online if it was ok! Disaster. I found various sites saying I shouldn't eat it and worried myself soo much I went to the bathroom and made myself sick to try and get rid of it all! - a bit extreme I know. I think i will just avoid it from now on - save me worrying!

Where have you all read about not being able to eat parma ham? The NHS and FSA guidelines don't actually seem to mention this at all but lots of pregnant women keep telling me I can't eat it!

NewMum the confusion with goats cheese comes from the fact there are different varieties, it's only the rind-ripened one that you are advised to avoid because of the listeria risk.

Hi Furryone

Thanks for your post - it really is a mine field. I read on the NHS site about Parma Ham - link is www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/917.aspx?CategoryID=54&SubCategoryID=130. I think it is due to the risk of toxoplasmosis. Seems everything nice is risky!!

This thread has a lot of people talking a lot of sense on it; the information given about foods to avoid in pregnancy is at the best contradictory and at the worst makes no sense whatsoever.

Smoked meats (including parma ham) and fish are a no-no for some people, but I have been eating both, as long as they are from a reliable source. I don't know any folk who preserve / hang their own meat and fish in their sheds, where nasties are most likely to breed, and I'm pretty sure all of them sold here in the UK in mainstream shops and delis are pretty vigourously tested before reaching the shelves.

After much cheese-based research I have discovered that it does not matter if a cheese is made from pasteurised milk or not - the listeria will breed after the cheese is made and it is being ripened, and it breeds in rind-moulded and blue cheeses, whether made from pasteurised milk or not. So, avoid all rinded and blue cheeses if you want to avoid the small listeria risk, and tuck into any type of hard cheese, feta, non-rinded soft cheese you fancy, including the non-pasteurised varieties.

And of course, we will all go to hell in a handcart if caught anywhere near the buffet .

Excellent news! For some reason I had convinced myself that feta was right out

Interesting points made about Cheese. What about Goats milk?

What also about runny eggs? I cannot survive without runny eggs. I have been told provided the hens are vaccinated and the whites are firm then they are fine,

I have been washing salad cos of the toxoplasmosis risk...

and could murder a slice of brie and am told by a foodie-scientist fella that provided its pasteurised its fine....!?!?

Sooo much conflicting information... damn google

I read somewhere (sorry, can't remember where) that all chickens in the UK are vaccinated so runny eggs should be fine nickstermum

Nickstermum apparently any lionmarked egg is fine runny .