Can You Eat Soft Cheese While Pregnant? Safety Guide
Is soft cheese safe during pregnancy? Expert guidance on risks, safe alternatives, and how much is OK. Based on ACOG and FDA guidelines.
🧀 The Short Answer: Pasteurized Soft Cheese Is Safe
The concern with soft cheese during pregnancy isn't the softness — it's whether the cheese is made from pasteurized or unpasteurized (raw) milk. Unpasteurized soft cheeses can harbor Listeria monocytogenes, a bacteria particularly dangerous during pregnancy. Pasteurized soft cheese has been heat-treated to kill harmful bacteria and is safe to eat.
In the U.S., the vast majority of cheese sold in supermarkets — including soft varieties like brie, feta, and mozzarella — is made from pasteurized milk. Check the label: if it says "pasteurized," you're good.
❌ Soft Cheeses to Avoid (If Unpasteurized)
These soft cheeses are only risky when made from unpasteurized (raw) milk. If the label confirms pasteurization, they're safe:
- Brie — soft-ripened French cheese. Check the label for "pasteurized milk"
- Camembert — similar to brie, creamy interior. Same rule: pasteurized = safe
- Feta — crumbly Greek cheese. U.S. supermarket feta is almost always pasteurized. Imported feta may not be.
- Blue cheese (Roquefort, Gorgonzola, Stilton) — the mold veins create an environment where Listeria can grow more easily in unpasteurized versions
- Queso fresco and queso blanco — traditional Latin American fresh cheeses. Homemade or from small producers is often unpasteurized. Commercial brands are usually pasteurized.
- Panela — another Latin American fresh cheese that may be unpasteurized
✅ Cheeses That Are Always Safe During Pregnancy
These cheeses are safe regardless of pasteurization status, either because they're always pasteurized in commercial production or because their low moisture content prevents Listeria growth:
- Hard cheeses — cheddar, parmesan (Parmigiano-Reggiano), Swiss, Gruyère, Gouda, Manchego. Low moisture = Listeria can't grow.
- Cream cheese — always made from pasteurized milk in commercial production. Philadelphia, store brands, all safe.
- Cottage cheese — pasteurized and processed. Safe to eat.
- Mozzarella — U.S. mozzarella (string cheese, shredded, fresh balls in water) is pasteurized. Safe.
- Ricotta — commercially made ricotta is pasteurized. Safe.
- Processed/American cheese — always pasteurized. Safe.
- Mascarpone — commercially produced mascarpone is pasteurized. Safe in tiramisu made without raw eggs.
🦠 Why Listeria and Soft Cheese Are Connected
Soft cheeses made from raw milk are the perfect environment for Listeria monocytogenes. The combination of high moisture content, relatively low acidity, and no heat treatment during production allows the bacteria to survive and multiply. Pasteurization (heating milk to 161°F for 15 seconds) kills Listeria and other pathogens before the cheese-making process begins.
Hard cheeses are safer because their low moisture content and long aging process (months to years) create conditions where Listeria cannot thrive — even if the original milk was unpasteurized. That's why aged Parmigiano-Reggiano made from raw milk in Italy is considered safe.
🍕 Cooking Makes Unpasteurized Cheese Safe
Heating cheese to 165°F kills Listeria, just like with deli meat. So unpasteurized soft cheese that's been cooked — melted on pizza, baked in a quiche, added to a hot pasta dish — is safe to eat during pregnancy.
- Brie baked in puff pastry (fully melted and hot) — safe
- Blue cheese crumbled on a hot steak and melted — safe
- Feta in a baked dish or on hot pizza — safe
- Queso fresco melted into a cooked quesadilla — safe
- Cold blue cheese dressing or cold brie on a cheese board — only safe if pasteurized
🛒 Practical Grocery Shopping Tips
Here's how to navigate the cheese aisle confidently during pregnancy:
- U.S. law requires all commercially sold cheese to be either pasteurized or aged at least 60 days. Most soft cheese in regular grocery stores is pasteurized.
- Store-brand and major-brand cheese (Kraft, Sargento, Boar's Head, President) is virtually always pasteurized
- When buying feta: Athenos, President, and most grocery brands are pasteurized
- When buying brie: President, Alouette, and most grocery store brie is pasteurized
- Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and specialty cheese counters may carry unpasteurized options — read labels carefully
- If the label doesn't mention pasteurization at all and it's a soft cheese, err on the side of caution and skip it