Cheese During Pregnancy

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  • Are you craving for cheese?
  • Is it safe to eat cheese when pregnant?
  • Safe and unsafe cheeses during pregnancy
  • Is it safe to eat goat cheese while pregnant?
  • Listeriosis due to cheese cravings
  • Tips to prevent listeriosis due to cheese craving during pregnancy

Want to make your food interesting? Add some cheese to it, and the dish becomes appetizing. During pregnancy, it is recommended you eat a variety of foods, including cheese. If you have a craving for cheese, then you need to know what type of cheese and how much of it you can eat during pregnancy. MomJunction tells you that and much more.

Are You Craving For Cheese?

You have cravings for a reason. It can be a way for your body to tell you to have certain nutrients (1). A strong craving for cheese could indicate that your body needs more protein, calcium, vitamins, and minerals.

Some old wives tales say that a strong urge to eat cheese indicates the sex of the baby. But they are just tales and have no scientific backing.

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Is It Safe To Eat Cheese When Pregnant?

Yes, it is safe to have hard cheeses during pregnancy (2) as they contain listeria bacteria in negligible amounts.

However, you need to stay away from soft cheeses, especially the mold-ripened and soft blue-veined varieties as the concentration of listeria is high in them.

Listeria leads to listeriosis, and pregnant women are more vulnerable than normal individuals due to their weak immunity. Go for pasteurized varieties of cheeses as the process removes listeria.

So, before you relish cheeses, you need to know about the types that are safe to eat, and the ones to avoid during pregnancy.

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Safe And Unsafe Cheeses During Pregnancy

The below table lists the safe cheeses you can consume during pregnancy.

Safe Cheeses

1. Hard cheese

It has a firm texture and long maturation period. It is prepared from pasteurized milk or is cooked at high temperature; therefore, the presence of listeria is almost nil.

oked at high temperature; therefore, the presence of listeria is almost nil.

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[Read: Bocconcini Cheese During Pregnancy]

Examples Origin Texture/flavor
1. Cheddar Made from cow's milk, it is a hard and natural cheese. The fresh form has a smooth texture, and it crumbles as it ages.
2. Emmental Originated in Switzerland, it is made from cow's milk. An unpasteurized hard cheese with walnut-sized holes in it.
3. Halloumi Made from goat and sheep milk. It's originated in Cyprus. Semi-hard cheese with a springy texture. Typically eaten during warmer months because of its refreshing nature.
4. Havarti Made from highly pasteurized cow's milk. It is a widely used cheese product in Denmark. Has buttery aroma and is slightly acidic. It is aged for around three months. As it ages it becomes saltier and tastes like hazelnut.
5. Jarlsberg Made of cow's milk. Named after the place Jarlsberg in Norway. Has a slightly sweet and nutty flavor.
6. Manchego Made from unpasteurized milk produced by the sheep breed manchega, in the La Mancha region of Spain. Has a fruity, grass and slightly tangy flavor. It is aged for around three months.
7. Paneer The un-aged curd cheese is prepared by curdling the milk. It is commonly found in South Asia. Crumbly and moist in texture. It is mildly flavored.
8. Orkney A form of cheddar produced in the Orkney Scottish Island. Firm, smooth, and soft texture.
9. Parmesan Made from the milk of cows that graze on fresh grass and hay. Has hard, gritty texture and a fruity flavor.
10. Pecorino Made from 100% cow milk in the US and sheep milk in Italy. Feels hard and has a strong taste. It is aged for up to 12 months.
11. Provolone Made from full-fat cow's milk and originated in Italy. Semi-hard and firm texture with a mild, smoky flavor.
12. Stilton An English cheese made from cow milk. Available in two varieties, blue and white. Semi-soft, crumbly, and creamier with a strong smell and taste.
13. Edam Named after a town in North Holland, it is low in fat content compared to other cheese varieties. Is semi-hard and creamy. Its fresh form tastes salty and nutty and is odorless. Attains a sharper flavor on maturation.

2. Soft processed cheese

Soft processed cheese

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Soft cheeses made from pasteurized milk are safe to eat during pregnancy. This cheese has a soft texture and can sometimes be watery and runny. While buying them, read the label to make sure it is pasteurized. Soft cheeses include:

  • Cottage cheese
  • Garlic and herb roulade
  • Goat cheese without white rind
  • Cream cheese
  • Mozzarella
  • Mascarpone
  • Quark
  • Ricotta

[Read: Ricotta Cheese While You Are Pregnant]

3. Processed cheese

Processed cheese

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Made from modified natural cheeses, it has a homogeneous and flexible texture. The heating process makes processed cheese safe for pregnant women. However, it contains salt emulsifiers, stabilizers, and other additives; therefore limit them to small quantities. Processed cheese includes:

  • American cheese
  • Velveeta
  • Cheese whiz

As mentioned above, these cheese varieties are considered safe due to the absence of listeria.

Unsafe Cheeses

You need to avoid cheeses, which increase the risk of listeriosis during pregnancy.

1. Mold-ripened soft cheese

Mold-ripened soft cheese

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These cheeses are more likely to contain listeria:

  • Brie
  • Blue brie
  • Cambozola
  • Camembert
  • Chèvre

2. Blue-veined cheese

Blue-veined cheese

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The cheese is soft and filled with moisture, providing an ideal environment for bacterial growth. The varieties include:

  • Bergader
  • Bleu d'Auvergne
  • Blue Wensleydale
  • Shropshire blue
  • Danish blue
  • Dolcelatte
  • Gorgonzola
  • Roncal
  • Roquefort
  • Tome

3. Soft, unpasteurized cheese

Soft, unpasteurized cheese

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Cheeses made from unpasteurized milk should be avoided. Some unpasteurized types include:

  • Chabichou
  • Feta (goat cheese)
  • Pyramide
  • Torta del cesar cheeses

Cheese is mostly made from cow milk, but it is also made from other sources such as goat milk. Let's see if it is safe to consume such varieties.

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[Read: Brie Cheese During Pregnancy]

Is It Safe To Eat Goat Cheese While Pregnant?

Goat cheese is safe if the milk is pasteurized or the cheese is hard. However, there are some cheeses you must avoid. One such cheese is chevre, which is often served in restaurants and is widely used in cheese salads.

The soft, mold-ripened cheese creates a ground for bacterial proliferation. It carries the bacteria called listeria monocytogenes (3).

Why should a pregnant woman be so careful about avoiding cheese that has the risk of carrying listeria?

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Listeriosis Risk

Eating contaminated or unpasteurized cheese could lead to listeriosis. You need to be careful while selecting the cheese because it is difficult to identify infected cheese as it lacks any distinct taste or smell.

Pregnant women are ten times more likely to get infected by listeria than non-pregnant population. The condition is caused by listeria bacterium and results in mild, flu-like symptoms in adults but is more likely to harm the unborn baby (4).

Listeriosis can put a pregnant woman at the risk of miscarriage, severe illness, stillbirth, premature birth or can lead to the death of the fetus (5). However, early detection and treatment of listeriosis using antibiotics may help prevent serious complications in the baby.

Tips To Prevent Listeriosis

It is true that cooking helps kill the listeria bacterium, but these bacteria are resilient. They can grow and survive in the refrigerator or freezer. Here are some tips to avoid getting listeriosis during pregnancy:

  1. Avoid soft cheeses during pregnancy. The CDC recommends pregnant women to refrain from consuming brie, feta, camembert, blue-veined cheeses and Mexican-style cheeses like queso blanco, queso fresco, and panela.
  1. In case you wish to eat soft cheese, then cook it till it starts bubbling and eat it immediately. Avoid consuming it later or storing in the refrigerator. Since listeria is susceptible to heat, cooking it at 160oF will kill the bacteria (6).
  1. Use only pasteurized dairy products. While buying hard cheese made from unpasteurized milk, make sure to check for the label marked as 'aged 60 days' or longer (7). Only such aged cheese is good for you.
  1. Maintain hygiene while storing food in the refrigerator. Makes sure to clean the refrigerator often and maintain the temperature at 40°F or below and freezer at 0°F. This temperature is ideal to slow down the growth of listeria (8).

Be careful of the cheese you consume during pregnancy. You can have cheese in limited quantities and only if it is pasteurized and/ or hard. Do not take a risk by eating soft cheese when pregnant as it can have an adverse effect on your baby. Wait for a few months until your pregnancy is over, and you can go back to your cheese days.

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Have you had a craving for cheese while pregnant? Share your experiences in the comment section below.

Recommended Articles:

  • Is It Safe To Have Swiss Cheese During Pregnancy?
  • Is It Safe To Eat Paneer During Pregnancy?
  • Things You Must Avoid During Pregnancy

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Claudia Wilson is a registered dietitian/ nutritionist, a Board Certified Specialist in Sports Nutrition (CSSD), and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS). She founded ALL of NUTRITION and authored ONE-TWO PUNCH. She holds a BS in Public Health and an MS in Nutrition. Claudia spent 10 years as sports nutritionist for the University of Utah Athletic Department and in... more

Swati Patwal is a clinical nutritionist and toddler mom with over eight years of experience in diverse fields of nutrition. She started her career as a CSR project coordinator for a healthy eating and active lifestyle project catering to school children. Then she worked as a nutrition faculty and clinical nutrition coach in different organizations. Her interest in scientific writing... more