soft cheese?

[Mom2B]

I know I'm not supposed to eat soft cheese whilst pregnant but is Feta
cheese considered to be soft cheese?

[Elly]

Yes, Feta is a soft cheese; you can substitute Feta cheese with mozzarella
or cottage cheese - these are not considered to be risky during pregnancy.

Elly
(a former Feta cheese fan ;-)
30 weeks today!!!
EDD October 6th



"Mom2B" > ha scritto nel messaggio
...
> I know I'm not supposed to eat soft cheese whilst pregnant but is Feta
> cheese considered to be soft cheese?
>
>

[Elizabeth A]

Mom2B wrote:

> I know I'm not supposed to eat soft cheese whilst pregnant but is Feta
> cheese considered to be soft cheese?


Only in the United States. As far as I know, other countries don't
include it in their "forbidden" lists, although that might change with
the recent outbreak.

If you're concerned, you can always kill any Listeria by cooking the
cheese until it's steaming hot. For instance, in spanakopita...or just
added to scrambled eggs, along with some spinach and tomato. Yum. :-)

You can let it cool off after heating it, if you prefer. (This is what
I do with deli meats.) Just be sure to eat leftovers promptly, or
freeze them, instead of letting them sit in the fridge for days.

- EJA

[KR]

Why?


"Mom2B" > wrote in message >...
> I know I'm not supposed to eat soft cheese whilst pregnant but is Feta
> cheese considered to be soft cheese?

[Elizabeth A]

Astromum wrote:

> Maybe someone already said this, but the problem is not the soft
> cheese, but the raw-milk cheese. You can eat feta if it is made
> from pasteurized milk (which in most cases it is). Actually, in
> the US I haven't seen any raw-milk cheeses in the supermarket,
> and I know that in the Netherlands the general rule is: if it is
> wrapped in paper, you can eat it, since the raw-milk cheeses are
> only sold fresh and not pre-wrapped.

This isn't quite true. Most cases of dairy-borne Listeria are from
pasteurized milk products. This includes the recent Greek feta
incident, another recent outbreak involving butter in the UK, and the
1985 "queso fresco" outbreak that caused 48 deaths in California. Such
incidents are generally attributed to faulty pasteurization, or to
contamination during storage.

(http://www.foodhaccp.com/memberonly/newsletter9.html)

In some ways, pasteurized cheeses are actually more vulnerable to these
problems than raw milk cheeses. Raw milk often contains small amounts
of Listeria and E. Coli, but it also contains "friendly" substances that
inhibit the growth of the "bad" bacteria. Pasteurization destroys these
substances, allowing any contaminants to reproduce at an alarming rate.

(http://www.teagasc.ie/research/reports/dairyproduction/4541/eopr-4541.htm)

In California and a few other places, people can buy certified raw milk,
which is tested daily for bacteria levels.
(http://www.organicpastures.com/tests.html) Personally, I'd feel safer
drinking fresh certified raw milk than eating pasteurized Brie. But
it's kind of a moot point, I guess, as U.S. health authorities advise
pregnant women to avoid them both.

(By the way, it appears that there's a much higher risk of Listeria from
ready-to-eat meat products than from cheese. If you're curious, go to
Google and type in "listeria recalls". You'll never eat cold cuts or
hot dogs again, at least not without thoroughly reheating them. :-P )

Raw milk cheeses (hard, not soft) aren't that rare in US supermarkets.
For instance, some French cheeses, such as Roquefort, are always made
from raw milk. However, these are very unlikely to contain Listeria,
since hard cheeses are processed and aged under conditions that don't
favor bacterial growth.

Well, I'm sure that was more cheesy information than you wanted. :-)


- EJA

[Astromum]

Elizabeth A wrote:
>
> Well, I'm sure that was more cheesy information than you wanted. :-)
>

Wow, smelly stuff ;).... /takes deep breath

Thanks for all the details anyway, it's good to know in case I
do get pregnant here in the US! AAMOF I was paying a little more
attention to cheese while shopping yesterday, and noticed a small
special cheese section that indeed contained a few (very expensive)
real French raw-milk cheeses. Never noticed that before, mainly
because I don't like them very much...

I did eat quite a lot of feta though when I was pregnant :)

--
-- Ilse
mom to Olaf (07/15/2002)
TTC #2
"What's the use of brains if you are a girl?"
Aletta Jacobs, first Dutch woman to receive a PhD