John Myers
Pregnant women should avoid cheese made from raw milk if possible. How can I tell if the cheese is made from raw milk?
All pre-packaged foods made from or using raw milk must be labeled “made with raw milk”. If there is no such marking on the label, it can be assumed that the cheese was made from heat-treated milk. When in doubt, ask about cheese from the service counter.
Some cheese specialties such as “Allgäuer Emmentaler” or “Tiroler Bergkäse” have to be made from raw milk according to their specifications. Here, too, there must be a clear indication of the use of raw milk. However, heat-treated or pasteurized milk is used for many types of cheese.
It is very important for pregnant women that food from the animal is thoroughly heated, i.e. boiled, fried or pasteurized. This applies to fish, meat, sausage, milk, dairy products such as cheese and eggs. These foods can transmit foodborne infections such as listeriosis and toxoplasmosis, which can harm the unborn baby.
Background:
Raw milk and raw milk products are not heated. It is therefore possible that, despite strict hygiene regulations during production, they contain pathogens such as listeria, which would otherwise be killed off when milk is heated.
These pathogens usually do not harm healthy people. However, pregnant women, small children or people with a weakened immune system should avoid them.
Listeria cause the infectious disease listeriosis, which leads to flu-like symptoms, exhaustion and poor performance. Infection with listeriosis in the last trimester of pregnancy can result in premature birth and stillbirth. In addition, listeria can be transmitted to the child and lead to encephalitis and meningitis, which result in mental and physical disabilities.
In addition to listeria, raw milk and its products can also contain Escherichia coli bacteria, salmonella or tuberculosis bacteria, which can also have a harmful effect on the child.
