Can you eat blue cheese while pregnant?
Not advisedSkip soft blue cheeses like gorgonzola, roquefort and danish blue unless they are cooked until steaming hot. Hard blue cheeses such as pasteurized stilton are safe.
Why
The NHS advises avoiding soft blue-veined cheeses in pregnancy even when pasteurized: the veining process introduces air and moisture that make these cheeses friendlier to Listeria than their age suggests. The exception is texture, not brand: hard blue cheeses like stilton are listed as safe when pasteurized, and any blue cheese becomes safe once cooked until steaming hot, as in a bubbling gorgonzola sauce. When in doubt about whether a blue counts as soft, treat it as soft.
Safer alternatives
- Pasteurized stilton or another hard blue
- A hot blue cheese sauce, bubbling and steaming
- Sharp aged cheddar for the salty punch
Sources
- NHS https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/keeping-well/foods-to-avoid/
- CDC https://www.cdc.gov/listeria/prevention/index.html
Every verdict follows our sourcing methodology: official health guidelines only, most cautious position when they differ.
Frequently asked questions
Why is blue cheese risky even when pasteurized?
Pasteurization cleans the milk, but blue cheeses are pierced during ripening, which lets in air and keeps the paste moist and relatively low in acid. Listeria can settle and grow after pasteurization, which is why the NHS keys the rule to the cheese style rather than the milk.
Is blue cheese dressing safe during pregnancy?
Commercially bottled dressing from the shelf is made with pasteurized ingredients under controlled conditions and is generally fine. Fresh dressings made in-house with crumbled soft blue are the cautious skip; ask, or choose a different dressing with your wings.
Can I eat cooked dishes with gorgonzola?
Yes. A gorgonzola sauce that has simmered, or a flatbread where the blue cheese has bubbled in the oven, has been heat-treated and is safe. The cheese should be visibly melted and steaming, not just softened on a warm dish.
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