Mozarella and ricotta in pregnancy...??

[maybethisit]

Hi, going on the principle that practically everything except wholemeal bread seems to be potentially deadly in pregnancy, I wasn't sure if these are safe to eat...?? Does anyone know?? I have to fill in our christmas meal menu choices and really don't fancy the turkey option so was thinking the veggie one might appeal to me more by then (if anything does...) but it has both of these in it...

Thanks for any info!

 

[kanga]

The cheese thing confuses me too. I know pasteurised cheeses are fine. And cheese with mould in, like stilton, are not. These soft cheeses are in a different league tho, hmmm, so I'm not sure. Hopefully someone will know!

 

[CMarie]

Safe cheeses in pregnancy
Hard cheeses: smoked versions, caerphilly, cheddar, cheshire, derby, double gloucester, edam, emmental, English goat's cheddar, feta, gouda, gruyere, halloumi, havarti, jarlsberg, lancashire, manchego, orkney, paneer, parmesan, pecorino (hard), provolone, red leicester.

Soft, processed cheeses: garlic and herb roulade, cottage cheese, cream cheese, feta, goat's cheese without a white rind, mascarpone, mozzarella, processed cheese (such as cheese spread and cheese segments), quark, ricotta.

Yoghurts, probiotic drinks, fromage frais, soured cream and creme fraiche are all safe to eat. These include any variety, including natural, flavoured and live versions.

Unsafe cheeses in pregnancy
Mould-ripened soft cheeses: brie, blue brie, cambozola, camembert, chaumes, chevre (goat's cheese with a white rind), pont l'eveque, taleggio, vacherin-fribourgeois.

Blue-veined cheeses: bergader, bleu d'auvergne, blue wensleydale, shropshire blue, danish blue, dolcelatte, gorgonzola, roncal, roquefort, stilton, tomme.

Soft, unpasteurised cheese, including goat's and sheep's cheeses: chabichou, pyramide, torta del cesar.

I got this info from a website called babycenter.co.uk which my doctor recommended I look at

 

[alienbabe4321]

So based on CMarie's post...both Mozarella and ricotta are perfectly safe

 

[maybethisit]

Aw yay! Thanks guys!! I'll check out that website. I don't really have morning sickness as such yet, maybe the occasional wave of mild nausea, but am just off food in general, nothing really much appeals to me especially meaty things...xxx

 

[Palestrina]

It's confusing because they say "don't eat soft cheeses" when in fact there are lots of soft cheeses that are pasteurized and perfectly safe to eat.

Mozzarella
Ricotta
Cream cheese
cottage cheese
and a whole bunch of others. The only advise you need is to read the label. If it says pasteurized then it's good to eat!

 

[audrey]

And if you are putting the cheeses in the turkey wouldn't you be cooking them? I think it gets a green light when cooked!

This is #4 and I've eaten cottage cheese, cream cheese and ricotta. Sometimes I like to be bold and put cream cheese on a tortilla with cold ham lunch meat and a side of cottage cheese! YUM!

(But in all honesty I would stay away from the moldy cheeses....you just never know!)

 

[petitpas]

When wondering what to eat I find the food standards agency's website invaluable.
https://www.eatwell.gov.uk/agesandstages/pregnancy/whenyrpregnant/

Particularly the FAQ section:
https://www.eatwell.gov.uk/asksam/agesandstages/pregnancy/#A219904

 

[maybethisit]

Yes it is really confusing! It's like, when is a soft cheese not a soft cheese...?? The problem is it's for our work's Christmas meal in a restaurant, we have to fill out our menu choices in advance and I was thinking of going for the veggie tomatoes stuffed with ricotta and mozarella rather than the turkey option cos I can't face meat at present...So I couldn't check the labels, but thanks for the help! I will check out that other website too and bear in mind to check for pasteurisation in the supermarket... xxx

 

[qpaulina42]

definitely safe cause it will be cooked. Sometimes the soft mozzarella balls floating in the water for a while at the store may not be the wisest idea because even though made from pasteurized milk they do spend a lot of time exposed and can become contaminated with listeria for example. But you will be getting these things cooked and so you are just fine. I've been eating mozzarella balls and so far so good.

 

[maybethisit]

Thanks, that's reassuring! x