Here are some summary points that we have discovered/observed from our research:
- In Australia, the reason they tell you not to eat soft cheese while pregnant is because it may contain lysteria (mostly a problem with cheese made with unpasteurised milk)
- lysteria is a bacteria which is present in a number of foods we eat everyday, but consuming it doesn't have any adverse effects on the average human adult
- lysteria may cause miscarriage in pregnant women, although how high of a risk it poses is not really known
- In countries where the consumption of soft cheese is an everyday part of the culture, they don't seem to worry about pregnant women eating it (including France where a number of their soft cheeses are made with unpasteurised milk).
- In countries where the consumption of soft cheese is not an everyday part of the culture, then they seem to be overly cautious and advise pregnant women not to eat it (pasteurised or not).
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7 comments:
So what conclusion have you come to? Will you eat it or not? I actually just read the advice pamphlet again that they gave me & it does say to not eat cheese made from unpasteurised milk.
My 2c worth...I ate cheese that was theoretically forbidden! I think that the medical world today has gone overboard on what's safe because we(humans) are in control of our destiny. As Christians we know that that is not true. Of course that does not give us licence to be stupid but it does give us the freedom to take the negligable risks and toss them out! My humble opinion!
Hey Mel, I think some of it depends on your preception of risks. I've seen women and babies die from Listeriosis. Old people are at risk (anyone who's immunocompromised). The main risk in Oz is not actually soft cheeses, but things that are left in fridges like deli meats. The reason being that Listeria grows at 4'C unlike many other bacteria. Pasteurisation kills it, so a lot of our soft cheeses are theoretically safe (:. I tend to recommend you check your cheese, but avoid deli meats)
It's up to you what you eat and do during pregnancy, and you have to keep in mind that even if you follow all the theoretical rules to the letter, it may not be God's will that you have your little baby alive and healthy at the end of 9mo.
Feel free to email if you want more info. :)
Mmm... as I suspected. The risk of anything bad happening from eating NZ-made, pasteurized milk cheese that hasn't been left to fester on the bench for a week is probably quite small (but it is there!).
Thing is - I can't seem to find a straight answer here in NZ... some places say don't eat it, some say maybe don't eat it, some don't say anything.
I guess we'll eat it... in the interest of family harmony :) (Mel complains if I get to eat yummy cheese and she doesn't...)
In reply to appletoppings comment. There is another whole issue, deli meat. Here in Denmark we live on it. That's if deli meat also refers to prepakkaged luncheon meat, ham etc
But it's like Diger said as Christians we can put the risk in God's hands. Cause if I followed all the requirements of what you can't eat, I'd be virtually living on bread & water. But then God has also given us the medical knowledge & common sense. So my view is I try to follow the guidelines generally, but sometimes I have to just leave it up to God.
I meant to also add that even though we live on deli meat, salami & soft cheeses in Denmark, we also have the highest birth survival rate (not sure that's the right terminology).
Hey Ally :) By deli meat's, I'm not referring to packaged products that would be required to meet food safety standards, but the stuff that's left open in a delicatessen. i.e. stuff that's not packaged and can be colonised by environmental organisms such as Listeria. :) (so also those unpackaged salads, sorry, should have been more specific in my examples)
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