Although infection with listeria listeriosis is rare, it is important to take special precautions in pregnancy - even a mild form of the illness in a pregnant woman can lead to miscarriage , stillbirth or severe illness in a newborn baby. Read about the symptoms of listeria. If you're pregnant and showing signs of listeria infection, seek medical help straight away. You can eat hard cheeses such as cheddar, parmesan and stilton, even if they're made with unpasteurised milk.
Hard cheeses don't contain as much water as soft cheeses, so bacteria are less likely to grow in them. It is possible for hard cheese to contain listeria, but the risk is considered to be low.
Other than mould-ripened soft cheeses, all other soft types of cheese are OK to eat, providing they're made from pasteurised milk.
These include:. Thorough cooking should kill any bacteria in cheese, so it should be safe to eat cooked mould-ripened soft cheese, such as brie, camembert and chevre, and cooked soft blue cheese, such as roquefort or gorgonzola, or dishes that contain them.
It's important to make sure the cheese is thoroughly cooked until it's steaming hot all the way through. Some eggs are produced under a food safety standard called the British Lion Code of Practice. Eggs produced in this way have a logo stamped on their shell, showing a red lion. Lion Code eggs are considered very low risk for salmonella, and safe for pregnant women to eat raw or partially cooked. If they are not Lion Code, make sure eggs are thoroughly cooked until the whites and yolks are solid to prevent the risk of salmonella food poisoning.
Salmonella food poisoning is unlikely to harm your baby, but it can give you a severe bout of diarrhoea and vomiting. If you don't know whether the eggs used are Lion Code or not for example in a restaurant or cafe , ask the staff or, to be on the safe side, you can follow the advice for non-Lion Code eggs. Do not eat raw or undercooked meat, including meat joints and steaks cooked rare, because of the potential risk of toxoplasmosis.
Cook all meat and poultry thoroughly so it's steaming hot and there's no trace of pink or blood — especially with poultry, pork, sausages and minced meat, including burgers. Wash all surfaces and utensils thoroughly after preparing raw meat to avoid the spread of harmful bugs. Wash and dry your hands after touching or handling raw meat. Toxoplasmosis is an infection caused by a parasite that can be found in raw and undercooked meat, unpasteurised goats' milk, soil, cat faeces and untreated water.
If you are pregnant, the infection can damage your baby, but it's important to remember that toxoplasmosis in pregnancy is very rare. Toxoplasmosis often has no symptoms, but if you feel you may have been at risk, discuss it with your GP, midwife or obstetrician.
If you are infected while you're pregnant, treatment for toxoplasmosis is available. Many cold meats, such as salami, Parma ham, chorizo and pepperoni, are not cooked, they are just cured and fermented. And be careful too about kitchen hygiene. Change kitchen towels daily and have soap and paper towels for hand drying at your kitchen sink.
Make sure you store and prepare food safely as well. Join Huggies now to receive week by week pregnancy newsletters. Learn more.
The problem with soft cheese during pregnancy Soft cheeses are considered too risky for pregnant women and you should avoid eating them — even those made with pasteurised milk. Some of the hard cheeses that are safe to eat during pregnancy include: Cheddar Edam Parmesan Gouda Jarslberg Emmental Gruyere Cooked haloumi Havarti Manchego Paneer Pecorino hard Provolone Enjoy the above cheeses as a snack with whole-grain crackers or fresh fruit; grated and sprinkled over soups and salads or in a sandwich or omelette.
Soft cheese that is warm and just melted could still contain listeria and harm your unborn baby. If you want to be totally sure, then use a thermometer and ensure the internal temperature of the cheese has reached F or 75c. Havarti, on the other hand, is only a semi-soft cheese and not a hard one, because it still grates, but not cleanly and easily. Below is an alphabetical list of hard cheeses and their common brands both pasteurized and unpasteurized that are safe in pregnancy. These cheeses are safe no matter which forms they come in, for example, in sticks or shredded or grated:.
Try a Greek salad of crumbled feta over mixed leaves, cucumber, tomatoes and olives. Make sure you choose a variety that's made from pasteurised milk. If you prefer to cook with a less salty cheese, paneer is a good option. It's safe to eat in pregnancy and is great in curries. Mild, cow's milk cheeses, with their characteristic red or yellow wax coating, are safe to eat in pregnancy. Which is just as well, as they're a favourite craving for many mums-to-be.
You can safely eat all hard cheeses, including continental choices such as manchego, emmental, and gruyere, in pregnancy. Varieties that are without the white rind and made from pasteurized goat's milk are safe to eat. However, soft, mould-ripened chevre goat's cheese isn't safe to eat. A curd cheese that's a good source of calcium. Choose unsweetened, low-fat varieties, and add fresh fruit for a vitamin C and fibre boost.
If you fancy a cheese slice or spreadable cheese triangle, pregnancy needn't stop you. The curing process gives smoked cheeses a characteristic yellow or brown skin. Smoked gouda, cheddar and gruyere are just a few varieties that are safe to eat in pregnancy.
But soft, mould-ripened smoked cheeses, such as smoked camembert, are not safe to eat uncooked if you are pregnant. You can eat these soft Italian cheeses in pregnancy.
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