Brie in pregnancy

[pinky30]

Is it safe to eat brie if it is marked as pasteurised?????? i'm so confused by some of the advice saying only have hard cheese?

Thank you!

[Solly-44]

I just double checked this because I thought it was ok if pasteurised (and was eating it yesterday!). Turns out I’m wrong - NHS advice is to avoid it even if pasteurised. I’ve copy & pasted this from NHS Scotland (what to avoid section):

pasteurised or unpasteurised mould-ripened soft cheeses with a white coating on the outside, such as Brie, Camembert and chèvre (unless cooked until steaming hot)

[Boo718 in reply to Solly-44]

aww man there goes ma cheese board 🤦‍♀️ What about blue cheese?

[ButtercupGarden in reply to Boo718]

I think blue cheese is sadly also on the bad list.... "pasteurised or unpasteurised soft blue cheeses, such as Danish blue, Gorgonzola and Roquefort (unless cooked until steaming hot)"

The cheese board is going to be very sad this year!

[Solly-44 in reply to Boo718]

😂 The ultimate bad news. Manchego all the way this year!

[pinky30 in reply to Solly-44]

Thank you for sharing! Bugger i ate half a brie yesterday 😬😩 Praying i've not done any damage 😩😩😩

[JA-fnuk Partner]

Try not to worry- it would just be a normal sized portion so risk is minimal -it is more of a concern if you kept eating it !But now you are aware of the risks and know what cheese/food to avoid

Take care

Janet

[pinky30 in reply to JA-fnuk]

Thank you. I was literally an entire small wheel of brie i ate with a load of bread with my dinner and been having cramps since which is a bit concerning! 😩😬 What problems does it cause?

[JA-fnuk Partner]

Can some times cause a bacterial infection in your gut but as it was made from pasteurised milk that is unlikely Cramps are common in early pregnancy due to uterus growing

Janet

[Riri88]

hi hun, it is confusing isn’t it! I went to France when I was 15 weeks pregnant and happily ate pasteurised Brie over the course of a week before I realised even pasteurised is actually not Oke. All was fine but I did stop after I realised that or only ate homemade panini’s with Brie where I was able to make sure the Brie was melted through. Or a baked Camembert again piping hot throughout. That way I still was able to enjoy my love for soft cheeses haha. Deep fried breaded Brie is also a good option! As long as piping hot! 🥰 so there are options!

[pinky30 in reply to Riri88]

Thanknyou. I can cope with not eating (much to my pain of of having 4 brie wheels in the fridge for xmas 😂) but i was more concerned that i had eating a whole brief wheel!

[Riri88 in reply to pinky30]

haha I hope your family enjoys Brie wheels!

And the chance of infection is small so if you are generally well, don’t worry I would say!

[pinky30 in reply to Riri88]

thank you. I had a day of crampy tummy pain yesterday so praying that wasn't a bacterial infection 😩 Seems to be easing off now. How would i know if i've had a reaction? What would happen? Would the baby just miscarry or would it cause some other problem?

[Riri88 in reply to pinky30]

I think you could have symptoms like fever, headache, achy muscles. But of course I am not a doctor. And a cranky tummy could be lots of things, most of them harmless.

If really in doubt maybe contact your midwife and discuss your concerns! If that helps to ease your mind!

[pinky30 in reply to Riri88]

ok thank you. i have my booking in appointment tomorrow so will make sure i ask but hopefully all will be ok 😬 I'm such an idiot! 🙈

[Positivechangeplease]

no it’s not safe to eat Brie. It’s such a mine field I know. Best to focus on what is safe and known to be safe: yes hard cheese, so cheddar, Wensleydale and Parmesan hard cheese like that. It’s not clear if Stilton is or isn’t allowed, so best avoid it.

All gooey cheese is off limits and unpasteurised cheese. However I think cream cheese is allowed. As Solly says check the NHS website for clarity. Also think smoked salmon might be off the list too as when I was pregnant it was added to the banned lot as listeria had shown up in it and some pregnant women had had complications