What are the cheeses to avoid during pregnancy? • Montreal Diet Dispensary (2024)

FAQs

What are the cheeses to avoid during pregnancy? • Montreal Diet Dispensary? ›

Don't eat mould-ripened soft cheese, such as brie, camembert and chevre (a type of goat's cheese) and others with a similar rind. You should also avoid ricotta, feta, mozzarella, bocconcini and blue-veined cheeses. These may contain listeria, which can get in during the manufacturing process.

Don't eat mould-ripened soft cheese, such as brie, camembert and chevre (a type of goat's cheese) and others with a similar rind. You should also avoid ricotta, feta, mozzarella, bocconcini and blue-veined cheeses. These may contain listeria, which can get in during the manufacturing process.

soft, unpasteurized cheeses (often advertised as "fresh") such as some feta, goat, Brie, Camembert, and blue-veined cheeses, and Mexican queso fresco. Soft cheeses labeled as “pasteurized” usually are OK, especially if they're individually packaged and not cut at the deli counter from a larger piece.

Standard medical advice tells you to avoid unpasteurized cheeses and stick exclusively to the pasteurized ones. But given the 60-day rule, the pasteurized choices will be disproportionately soft cheeses, as in, the ones that some doctors suggest pregnant women to avoid.

Although pasteurization does kill off harmful bacteria, it also kills the good bacteria that gives some raw milk cheeses their unique, complex flavours. You'll find that most of the cheeses we have available today in Canada are pasteurized.

People who eat food contaminated with Listeria bacteria can get a harmful infection. Soft cheeses, which are high in moisture, are more likely to be contaminated than hard cheeses. Outbreaks of Listeria infection have been linked to many kinds of soft cheeses, including queso fresco, feta, Camembert, and Brie.

If a banana is taken on an empty stomach, it might cause acidity and bowel issues. Acidity can cause severe complications and might affect the baby indirectly. It is better to avoid bananas if there is the slightest chance of acidity. Due to their high content of Vitamin B6, bananas promote sleepiness and drowsiness.

Every label on any cheese you buy at the store should clearly indicate whether it's pasteurized or unpasteurized. But in summary, go ahead and spread your favorite cream cheese on that everything bagel and order extra cheese on your next pizza. Just make sure it's all been pasteurized!

Pasteurised semi-hard and soft cheeses, such as cottage cheese, mozzarella, feta, paneer, ricotta, halloumi, cream cheese, cheese spreads, or goat's cheese without a white coating on the outside (rind) Any cheese that has been thoroughly cooked until steaming hot. Pasteurised milk and yoghurt.

What happens if you accidentally eat unpasteurized cheese while pregnant? ›

Unpasteurized cheeses may harbor E. coli or Listeria, which are harmful strains of bacteria that can make you sick with food poisoning. Again, you have a higher risk of developing foodborne illnesses when you're pregnant. While most infections are mild, there are complications that may become life-threatening.

Dr. Rabin stated, “With unpasteurized, white rind, soft cheese, the risk is listeria bacteria, which can cause severe infection in the uterus and in the amniotic sac, to the baby.” She points out that people can purchase pasteurized brie, but the pasteurization process may or may not kill all of the bacteria.

Soft ripened cheese (SRC) caused over 130 foodborne illnesses in British Columbia (BC), Canada, during two separate listeriosis outbreaks. Multiple agencies investigated the events that lead to cheese contamination with Listeria monocytogenes (L.m.), an environmentally ubiquitous foodborne pathogen.

Cheese to avoid when pregnant

When you're pregnant, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends avoiding unpasteurized soft cheese, raw milk, unpasteurized yogurt, and unpasteurized ice cream. That's because these products may rarely contain the bacteria listeria, which can cause listeriosis.

Hard cheese (such as cheddar or Parmesan) is your safest choice during pregnancy. Hard cheese contains less moisture than soft cheese, which slashes the odds that potentially dangerous bacteria will grow even if it is made from unpasteurized milk. Pasteurized cheese during pregnancy is another safe bet.

You may be worried about popular toppings, such as mozzarella, pepperoni or seafood. Mozzarella is safe in pregnancy as a pizza topping. Cured meat toppings, such as pepperoni or prosciutto, and seafood toppings, such as prawns, are also safe so long as they are cooked thoroughly.

Cheeses allowed or to be avoided

Pressed cooked cheeses, preferably with a maturing period of more than 6 months, are also authorised, such as Gruyere, Comté, Parmesan, Manchego, Provolone, Pecorino, Gouda, Edam, Cheddar..., as well as processed cheeses for spreading.

The bottom line. You can eat cheesecake safely during pregnancy. Just be sure to check the label when buying or when out to eat to ensure your cake is made with pasteurized ingredients. When making cheesecake at home, choose pasteurized ingredients and cook fully if you're using eggs.