Accidentally ate soft cheese!

[Jinnah]

I'm so upset. DH made some Au Gratin potatoes. They were Betty Crocker, so boxed. While eating, I asked if he checked what type of cheese is in it. He read the box and told me Ricotta and Blue Cheese. I just want to cry!

Should I call the doctor?

 

[pansorie]

I have gone through this pregnancy eating a variety of PASTEURIZED soft cheeses from blue to feta, and LO has survived. I have also eaten a few boxed cheesy potatoes as well. It was one meal, I think you should be OK, but call the doctor if you are overly concerned and anxious.

But... does boxed powered cheese even count? =/

 

[Larkspur]

Seriously, don't worry. A) it was cooked, and it is 100 percent fine to eat cooked soft cheeses during pregnancy, B) it's actually fine to eat most pasteurized soft cheeses anyway, even uncooked (I did through two entire pregnancies), and C) it probably contained negligible amounts of blue cheese and ricotta in the first place.

 

[Sweetpea1010]

I've been eating ricotta this entire pregnancy.... Lasagna....I also eat feta like it's nobody's business.

 

[greats]

You will be fine, trust me. I've eaten everything from blue cheese to raw fish sushi, all OKd by my doctor. And since the potatoes were cooked, you're even more fine. So relax and enjoy those potatoes!

 

[BabyCleo]

Don't worry about it. I ate brie and I'm fine. It was cooked/heated.

I also think your close enough to the end for it not to be an issue just remember, back in the day women drank alcohol all the time and their babies were fine.

 

[Jinnah]

I don't know if boxed powdered cheese counts or not!! I hope not... I've been eating those the entire pregnancy and it only occurred to be to check this time. ?????

Is the boxed stuff pasteurized? I have no idea.

DH said it was cooked for at least 15 minutes on the stove and was boiling part of the cooking.

Here are the ingredients: Idaho Potatoes (Dried), Corn Starch, Whey, Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Salt, Maltodextrin, Onion (Dried), Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Sodium Phosphate, Ricotta Cheese (Whey, Milkfat, Lactic Acid, Salt), Cheddar Cheese (Dried) (Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Corn Syrup Solids (Dried), Garlic (Dried), Whey Protein Concentrate, Mono and Diglycerides, Monosodium Glutamate, Sodium Citrate, Lactic Acid, Calcium Lactate, Sodium Caseinate, Sodium Bisulfate (Preservative), Blue Cheese (Dried) (Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Nonfat Milk, Sodium Silicoaluminate (Anticaking Agent), Colored With Yellow 5 Lake and Yellow 6 Lake, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Natural Flavor, Wheat Starch, Spice, Modified Starch (Corn, Wheat, Potato), Soy Flour.

 

[Zephram]

Anything boxed and powdered is nothing to worry about! It's all dried out and obviously not growing listeria. I would argue it's not really cheese too in that form. Listeria and other bacteria die at 70 degrees, so basically any cooking would get rid of it. You can eat soft cheese cooked anytime you like while pregnant.

 

[misspriss]

It's cooked, it's fine. I've been eating boxed potatoes like that my entire pregnancy.

 

[Jinnah]

Thanks, everyone! I really appreciate the replies... I feel much better.

I'm tired of all the restrictions... it makes me hate being pregnant because there is nothing to eat... especially for lunch with all the lunch meat and cheese restrictions.

I have ice cream I'm afraid to eat now because of all the Blue Bell thing.

 

[pansorie]

Thanks, everyone! I really appreciate the replies... I feel much better.

I'm tired of all the restrictions... it makes me hate being pregnant because there is nothing to eat... especially for lunch with all the lunch meat and cheese restrictions.

I have ice cream I'm afraid to eat now because of all the Blue Bell thing.

Yeah, it is a wonder that any of us survived the womb considering the food restrictions that are out there for pregnant women these days. My mother is Asian, and only likes food from her country, so I know she consumed things while pregnant that would be considered a huge no no. But I wouldn't stress so hard about those things, unless your pounding down a bottle of Wild Turkey with you morning eggs. There are a lot of worse things that pregnant women ingest compared to boxed potatoes or sushi.

I was very stressed about any intake early in my pregnancy. No deli meats, soft cheeses, meds, you name it. Now that I am in the home stretch I have loosened my belt a bit.

And in all honesty, I was munching on a fried garlic bologna sandwich as I read your thread earlier.

 

[greats]

I've eaten so many "restricted" foods because I don't believe in restricting anything unless my doctor tells me otherwise. I drink coffee every morning, have a turkey or ham sandwich usually once a day or every other day, sushi twice a month, blue cheese on my salads, runny eggs, you name it I've eaten it (except alcohol). So long as you get deli meats from a good source (ie not eating a deli sandwich from a gas station) or anything for that matter, then you're good to go.

 

[Sweetpea1010]

Thanks, everyone! I really appreciate the replies... I feel much better.

I'm tired of all the restrictions... it makes me hate being pregnant because there is nothing to eat... especially for lunch with all the lunch meat and cheese restrictions.

I have ice cream I'm afraid to eat now because of all the Blue Bell thing.

I heat my lunch meat up in a pan, let it cool for a minute or so and make a sandwich I noticed you're in the U.S., and its very unlikely you will ever buy unpasteurized cheese, just FYI. I still check all labels, but that gives you some peace of mind if you accidentally forget to check

 

[timeforababy]

Honestly, it's fine. I've eaten all sorts and baby is growing well. Soft cheeses (pasteurised), hams (even dry cured ones!!), sushi (the raw fish kind).

As long as you eat sensibly, (don't buy food from dodgy sources), all will be well.

 

[Diana3]

Don't worry! In the U.S., all the cheeses including ricotta and feta are pasteurized, so any bacteria would be killed! It would be very hard to find unpasteurized cheese or any dairy product commercially sold here, so most likely what you ate was a pasteurized cheese. And you wouldn't get sick even from unpasteurized cheese unless it was contaminated with listeria or some other harmful organism, but sounds like you have nothing to worry about!

 

[pumpkin90]

I've been eating soft cheeses all through my pregnancy. don't worry about it

 

[pansorie]

Don't worry! In the U.S., all the cheeses including ricotta and feta are pasteurized, so any bacteria would be killed! It would be very hard to find unpasteurized cheese or any dairy product commercially sold here, so most likely what you ate was a pasteurized cheese. And you wouldn't get sick even from unpasteurized cheese unless it was contaminated with listeria or some other harmful organism, but sounds like you have nothing to worry about!

I don't think that is very accurate. I can easily pick up unpasteurized, raw cheese at my local grocery store. At Kroger and Giant Eagle they have signs all over distinguishing what is raw and what is pasteurized (Raw usually has a picture of a cow and it says RAW on it). Fresh queso is usually unpasteurized. I think in the big box stores like Aldis, Wal-Mart, Meijer you would be more hard pressed to find raw cheese.

But in the OP's case, I don't think there is even a comparison with fresh cheese vs. boxed powered "cheese".

 

[MindUtopia]

I ate everything in pregnancy (except for pate because I don't eat that anyway). I ate runny eggs and soft cheese at least weekly. You've eaten those things your whole life and never gotten listeria, so it's unlikely to happen now. As someone else said, boxed dried cheese powder doesn't count as cheese anyway. It's just a food additive. And it would have to pastuerised to be stored at room temperature in a box anyway.