Can You Eat Goat Cheese While Pregnant?
Hard goat cheese and pasteurised soft goat cheese are fine; avoid soft, mould-ripened (white-rind) goat cheese unless cooked.
The full answer
Goat cheese comes in different forms, and the form is what decides it. Hard goat cheeses are safe. Soft goat cheeses are fine too, as long as they're pasteurised and not mould-ripened. The ones to avoid are soft, mould-ripened goat cheeses with a white rind (like some chèvre) — their moisture and lower acidity can let listeria grow, and listeria is dangerous in pregnancy. Any goat cheese made from unpasteurised (raw) milk is also best avoided. The simple fix is heat: cooking goat cheese until it's steaming hot — on a tart, pizza, or in a bake — kills listeria, so a hot goat's-cheese dish is fine even when the cheese is a soft, ripened type.
How to eat goat cheese safely
- Fine: hard goat cheese, and pasteurised soft goat cheese without a white rind
- Cook soft/mould-ripened goat cheese until steaming before eating
- Avoid goat cheese made from unpasteurised (raw) milk
When to avoid: Avoid uncooked soft mould-ripened (white-rind) goat cheese and any made from unpasteurised milk.
Pregnancy food-safety basics
Most “can I have this?” questions in pregnancy come down to four things. Listeria — a bacterium that survives the fridge — is why chilled ready-to-eat meats, pâté, and mould-ripened soft cheeses are heated or avoided. Mercury is why certain fish are limited. Caffeine is capped at about 200 mg a day. And alcohol is best avoided entirely, as no safe amount is known. Cooking food until it’s steaming hot kills listeria and most other bugs, which is why “heat until steaming” solves so many of these questions.
For the full picture, see our pregnancy safety guide, and track your pregnancy with the How Far Along Am I? calculator and the week-by-week guide.
Frequently asked questions
- Can you eat goat cheese while pregnant?
- Hard goat cheese and pasteurised soft goat cheese are fine; avoid soft, mould-ripened (white-rind) goat cheese unless cooked. Goat cheese comes in different forms, and the form is what decides it. Hard goat cheeses are safe. Soft goat cheeses are fine too, as long as they're pasteurised and not mould-ripened. The ones to avoid are soft, mould-ripened goat cheeses with a white rind (like some chèvre) — their moisture and lower acidity can let listeria grow, and listeria is dangerous in pregnancy. Any goat cheese made from unpasteurised (raw) milk is also best avoided. The simple fix is heat: cooking goat cheese until it's steaming hot — on a tart, pizza, or in a bake — kills listeria, so a hot goat's-cheese dish is fine even when the cheese is a soft, ripened type.
- Why is goat cheese something to be careful with in pregnancy?
- Goat cheese comes in different forms, and the form is what decides it. Hard goat cheeses are safe. Soft goat cheeses are fine too, as long as they're pasteurised and not mould-ripened. The ones to avoid are soft, mould-ripened goat cheeses with a white rind (like some chèvre) — their moisture and lower acidity can let listeria grow, and listeria is dangerous in pregnancy. Any goat cheese made from unpasteurised (raw) milk is also best avoided. The simple fix is heat: cooking goat cheese until it's steaming hot — on a tart, pizza, or in a bake — kills listeria, so a hot goat's-cheese dish is fine even when the cheese is a soft, ripened type.
- When should I avoid goat cheese during pregnancy?
- Avoid uncooked soft mould-ripened (white-rind) goat cheese and any made from unpasteurised milk.