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Can I eat blue cheese dressing while pregnant?

Check Doola Scan's answer in the United States

Blue cheese dressing is Check in Doola Scan in all six countries, because blue-veined cheese is on every country's pregnancy guidance and the dressing's cheese is not cooked. The US accepts blue-veined cheese made with pasteurised milk, so the check there is the label. The UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand ask for soft blue cheese to be cooked, and Ireland's HSE lists blue cheeses among foods to avoid. For a hot blue cheese sauce, the NHS accepts any cheese cooked until steaming hot, and Australia asks for at least 75°C.

Checked against Doola Scan's pregnancy rules · Updated

  • Bottled blue cheese dressing from the shop or a wing restaurant

    CheckUnited StatesUnited KingdomCanadaAustraliaAvoidNew ZealandIreland

  • Homemade blue cheese dressing with crumbled blue cheese, sour cream and buttermilk

    CheckUnited StatesUnited KingdomCanadaAustraliaAvoidNew ZealandIreland

  • Cold blue cheese dip, with wings or vegetables

    CheckUnited StatesUnited KingdomCanadaAustraliaAvoidNew ZealandIreland

  • Hot blue cheese sauce, heated until steaming hot

    CheckIn all six countries
Doola Scan checking a plate
What each country says

Blue cheese dressing while pregnant: what each country says.

Each country's own pregnancy guidance on blue cheese dressing, with a link to it. Doola Scan uses your country's first.

  • United States

    Check
    • FDABlue-veined soft cheeses are fine if made with pasteurized milk.Source
    • CDCAvoid unheated queso fresco-type cheeses (queso fresco, queso blanco, requesón) even when made with pasteurized milk; heat to 165°F.Source
    • FDASoft cheese from raw milk can carry listeria.Source
    • FoodSafety.gov (HHS)Pasteurised; queso fresco-type fresh soft cheeses only when heated to 165°F, even if pasteurised.Source
    • USDA FSISAvoid soft cheeses not made with pasteurised milk.Source

  • United Kingdom

    Check
    • NHSCan carry listeria, which is riskier in pregnancy.Source
    • NHSPasteurised soft cheeses such as mozzarella, feta, paneer, ricotta, burrata are safe.Source

  • Canada

    Check
    • Health CanadaBlue-veined cheese is fine when cooked; avoid uncooked even if pasteurized.Source
    • CPSAvoid soft cheeses like Brie or Camembert, even if pasteurized.Source
    • Health CanadaAvoid uncooked soft, semi-soft and blue cheese even if pasteurized; fine cooked.Source

  • Australia

    Check
    • Better Health Channel (Victoria)Avoid soft cheeses including blue-vein unless cooked.Source
    • NSW HealthSoft blue-vein cheese only if cooked and eaten hot.Source
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Avoid blue cheese unless cooked to 75 °C and eaten immediately.Source
    • Better Health Channel (Victoria)Soft cheeses only if served cooked and hot.Source
    • FSANZAvoid soft, semi-soft and surface-ripened cheese incl. brie, camembert, mozzarella, ricotta, feta, blue - unless baked to 75 °C.Source
    • NSW Food AuthoritySoft and semi-soft cheeses only if cooked to at least 75°C and eaten soon after.Source
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)No soft cheeses (brie, camembert, blue, ricotta, feta) unless cooked to at least 75°C and eaten straight away.Source

  • New Zealand

    • Bottled blue cheese dressing from the shop or a wing restaurantAvoid
    • Homemade blue cheese dressing with crumbled blue cheese, sour cream and buttermilkAvoid
    • Cold blue cheese dip, with wings or vegetablesAvoid
    • Hot blue cheese sauce, heated until steaming hotCheck
    • Health NZLow acid soft pasteurised cheese incl. blue, brie, feta, mozzarella: do not eat unless cooked.Source
    • Health NZAvoid soft, semi-soft and surface-ripened cheeses such as brie, camembert, ricotta, blue and feta.Source

  • Ireland

    • Bottled blue cheese dressing from the shop or a wing restaurantAvoid
    • Homemade blue cheese dressing with crumbled blue cheese, sour cream and buttermilkAvoid
    • Cold blue cheese dip, with wings or vegetablesAvoid
    • Hot blue cheese sauce, heated until steaming hotCheck
    • HSEAvoid blue cheeses such as Danish blue, gorgonzola and roquefort.Source
    • HSESoft cheeses such as brie and camembert only if cooked until steaming hot.Source
What to check

Before you eat blue cheese dressing.

  1. In the US, check for pasteurised milk

    The FDA says pregnant women should not eat soft cheeses such as blue-veined cheeses unless they're made with pasteurised milk. Read the dressing's label: the blue cheese in the ingredients should say made with pasteurized milk. FDA

  2. In the UK, cook soft blue cheese until steaming hot

    The NHS says soft blue-veined cheeses, pasteurised or not, such as Danish blue, gorgonzola and roquefort, must be thoroughly cooked in pregnancy. It accepts any cheese cooked until steaming hot, blue cheese included. A cold dressing is not cooked; a hot blue cheese sauce can be. NHS

  3. In Canada, Australia and New Zealand, the cheese needs cooking

    Health Canada asks pregnant people to avoid uncooked blue-veined cheese, like gorgonzola and roquefort, even if it's made from pasteurised milk. Australia's Pregnancy Birth and Baby accepts blue cheese cooked to at least 75°C and eaten straight away, and Health NZ asks for soft cheeses including blue not to be eaten unless cooked. Health Canada

  4. In Ireland, read the HSE's blue cheese line

    Ireland's HSE lists blue cheeses such as Danish blue, gorgonzola and roquefort among foods to avoid in pregnancy, and asks you to check labels for pasteurised. Doola Scan shows Check for the dressing in Ireland and Avoid for blue cheese itself. HSE

Questions

About blue cheese dressing
in pregnancy.

The label says: look for pasteurised milk next to the blue cheese in the ingredients. The FDA asks for soft cheese labelled made with pasteurized milk. The NHS, Health Canada and Health NZ ask for soft blue cheese to be cooked even when it is pasteurised, and Australia's guidance asks for it cooked.

Doola doesn't rate brands. Read the bottle's ingredients for pasteurised milk in the blue cheese, which is what the FDA asks for in the US. Doola Scan shows Check for bottled blue cheese dressing in all six countries.

Crumbled blue cheese is Avoid in Doola Scan in New Zealand and Ireland, and Check in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. Health NZ names blue among soft cheeses to avoid, and Ireland's HSE lists blue cheeses such as gorgonzola. The UK, Canada and Australia ask for it cooked, and the US for pasteurised milk.

A cold blue cheese dip has uncooked blue cheese, like the dressing, so Doola Scan shows Check in all six countries. The US asks for pasteurised milk; the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand ask for soft blue cheese cooked.

The NHS accepts any cheese cooked until steaming hot, blue cheese included, and Health Canada accepts cooked blue-veined cheese. Australia's Pregnancy Birth and Baby asks for at least 75°C and eating it straight away. Doola Scan shows Check for a blue cheese sauce heated until steaming hot.

The cheese is the part the guidance asks about. In the US, use blue cheese made with pasteurised milk, as the FDA asks; in the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, uncooked soft blue cheese is what the guidance says to avoid or cook.

The blue cheese guidance is the same all through pregnancy. None of the six countries changes it by trimester.

The NHS lists salad dressings among foods high in fat, and says dairy foods such as cheese are important in pregnancy for calcium. The blue cheese in a dressing is still the part the guidance asks you to check.

The guidance is about what to choose next time. If you feel unwell or are unsure, talk to your midwife or doctor.

Yes. Take a photo of the bottle's label or the menu, and Doola Scan checks each ingredient against your country's pregnancy guidance. Food scans are free, 3 a day.
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Point Doola at a plate, a menu or a label. It checks every ingredient against your country's pregnancy guidance and shows its sources. Food scans are free, 3 a day.

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Doola shows what official guidance says; it never diagnoses. No known issues means none of these countries' pregnancy guidance names it, not a promise that a food is safe.