Can I Eat Soft Cheese (Brie, Camembert) While Pregnant? Safety Guide 2026
Quick Answer
Soft cheese is safe during pregnancy ONLY if made from pasteurized milk. Brie, camembert, and similar soft cheeses are often made from unpasteurized milk, which can harbor listeria. Always check the label for "pasteurized" or "made with pasteurized milk." When in doubt, avoid it.
Why Soft Cheese Can Be Risky
Helpful pregnancy essentials
A few things expecting moms often find useful. Always check with your OB-GYN or midwife first.
Soft cheeses have a higher moisture content and lower acidity, creating an environment where listeria can grow. Unpasteurized (raw) milk cheeses carry the highest risk. Pregnant women are 20x more likely to get listeria, which can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, or severe illness in newborns.
Safe Soft Cheese Options
Many US supermarkets sell pasteurized versions of brie, camembert, feta, and goat cheese. Look for:
- Label check: "Made with pasteurized milk" or "pasteurized" on the packaging
- US brands: Most mass-produced soft cheeses in the US are pasteurized
- Imported cheese: European artisan cheeses may be unpasteurized, always verify
- Cooked soft cheese: Baked brie (heated to 165°F) kills listeria, safe to eat
Soft Cheese Safety Checklist
- Check label for "pasteurized" or "made with pasteurized milk"
- Avoid imported artisan cheeses unless verified pasteurized
- Baked brie/camembert (heated to 165°F) is safe
- When dining out, ask if cheese is pasteurized
- Hard cheeses (cheddar, Swiss, Parmesan) are generally safe
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I eat baked brie while pregnant?
Yes! Heating soft cheese to 165°F (steaming hot) kills listeria. Baked brie, camembert en croute, or melted brie on pizza are safe.
What about goat cheese?
Goat cheese is safe if made from pasteurized milk. Check the label. Soft goat cheese (chèvre) follows the same rules as brie and camembert.
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The part the label doesn't tell you
The pasteurised / unpasteurised split is the headline, but it is not the whole picture. Two other things decide how risky a soft cheese actually is: moisture and acidity. Listeria needs water to move and grow, and it struggles in acidic conditions. That is why a wet, low-acid, mould-ripened cheese like brie or camembert is the classic warning, while a wet but very acidic cheese behaves quite differently.
This is exactly why cottage cheese, ricotta, cream cheese and mozzarella are on the safe list despite being soft. They are made from pasteurised milk and, in most cases, are acidic enough that listeria does not thrive. Hard cheeses such as cheddar and parmesan are safer again, because there is so little free water in them that even raw-milk versions are considered low risk by both the NHS and the FDA.
The other detail worth knowing is that heat resets everything. Listeria is killed at 165°F (74°C), so baked brie, camembert en croûte, cheese melted through a hot pasta bake or bubbling on a pizza is safe regardless of what milk it started as. "Steaming hot right through" is the standard, not "warmed up". If you cook a lot of dishes where that judgement is hard to eyeball, an instant-read food thermometer settles it in three seconds.
One last practical note. Deli counters slice and handle many cheeses on shared equipment, so pre-packed is the lower-risk choice over counter-cut when you can pick. And if you have already eaten some unpasteurised cheese, the honest answer is that listeria infection in pregnancy is rare and one portion very rarely causes harm. Watch for fever or flu-like aches, and read our guide on eating something you meant to avoid.
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Get the handbookMore Questions Moms Ask
Is soft cheese safe if it is pasteurised?
Yes. Soft cheese made from pasteurised milk is considered safe in pregnancy by the NHS, FDA and CDC. The pasteurisation step kills listeria, so the label is the thing to check rather than the texture.
Why are cream cheese and mozzarella allowed but brie is not?
Cream cheese, mozzarella, ricotta and cottage cheese are made from pasteurised milk and tend to be more acidic, which listeria does not tolerate well. Mould-ripened cheeses like brie and camembert are wetter and less acidic, so bacteria survive more easily if the milk was raw.
Does cooking soft cheese make it safe?
Yes. Heating cheese until it is steaming hot all the way through, around 165F or 74C, kills listeria. Baked brie, melted cheese on pizza and cheese cooked into a hot dish are all safe even if the cheese was unpasteurised.
Are hard cheeses safe during pregnancy?
Generally yes, including most raw-milk hard cheeses. Hard cheeses such as cheddar, parmesan and Swiss contain very little free moisture, which makes it very difficult for listeria to grow.
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