can i eat feta cheese?

[supermumof3]

i know soft cheeses are a no no but what about fetta? is it a soft cheese? can i eat it?

[Tam-I-Am]

Only if its been thoroughly cooked (ie on a pizza). Its classified as a soft cheese, so is a no-no :)

[supermumof3]

damn i was gonna make kirstys pumpkin and feta pasta (See budget recipes section)

[Tam-I-Am]

I think if the fetta were heated thoroughly, that would be fine - and looking at the recipe, I'd just cook the fetta in for a little longer, and not sprinkle the extra over the top.

HTH :)

[Butterflies&Hurricanes]

Found this http://www.babycentre.co.uk/pregnancy/nutrition/foodsafety/cheeseexpert/
Its a UK site but thought it would still be relevent.
I still eat Feta! I thought it was fine...
Hard cheeses:
austrian smoked, Babybel, caerphilly, cheddar, cheshire, derby, double gloucester, edam, emmental, english goat's cheddar, feta (if bought in the UK), gouda, gruyere, halloumi, havarti, jarlsberg, lancashire, manchego, orkney, paneer, parmesan, pecorino (hard), provolone, red leicester.

Soft and processed cheeses:
Boursin, cottage cheese, cheese spread, cream cheese, mascarpone, mozzarella, Philadelphia, Quark, ricotta.

Yoghurts, fromage frais, soured cream and creme fraiche -- any variety, including natural, flavoured and biologically active -- are all safe to eat.

Cheeses to AVOID in pregnancy

Mould-ripened soft cheeses:
brie, blue brie, cambozola, camembert, chaumes, pont L'eveque, prince jean, tallegio. vacherin-fribourgeois, weichkaese.

Blue-veined cheeses:
bavarian blue, bergader, bleu d'Auvergne, blue shropshire, cabrales, Danish blue, dolcelatte, doppelrhamstuge, eldel pilz, gorgonzola, romano, roncal, roquefort, stilton, tommes, wensleydale (blue).

Soft unpasteurised goat and sheep's cheeses:
chabichou, pyramide, torta del cesar.

Oh and another thing... Normally if its patseurised its fine to eat! (when its not mouldy or blue veined cheeses...)

[mysonroger]

i have eaten feta cheese (uncooked) through all my pregnancies. i eat it almost daily in sandwiches and salads.

i don't eat blue cheese, although i have accidentally in dips, and i don't eat camebert or brie because of the mould covering on the cheese, or whatever it is ...that soft stuff on the outside.

i thought there was also some advice like don't eat the french cheeses because they don't pasteurise their milk ....???? but all australian brands do. i would have to research that again though. obvioulsy, the brain is not on yet.

actually, there's not too much i avoid in pregnancy, i would be more concerned about freshness and lots of hand washing and clean food preparation surfaces.

[mumkc]

I asked my ob this and he said NO feta (very hard when your hubby is Greek, like me!). Most feta cheeses sold in Australia are made from sheep or goat milk.

[mysonroger]

i looked on the australian and new zealand food standards site after i posted to clear it up and it definitely recommended against feta cheese during pregnancy.

i tried to copy the link over but my pc........ is just.......:geek: .....a little tempremental at the mo.

so anyone, you could google it. i've had so many mixed messages over the years, but i will probably steer a little further away from it now that i have seen this in black and white. it explains i think that it would be pretty rare to get it. but anyhoo....too late for me at this point. i can only avoid it from here on in.