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Can I eat brie while pregnant?

Check Doola Scan's answer in the United States

Brie meets the pregnancy guidance of all six countries when it's baked until steaming hot; cold brie shows Check in Doola Scan in the US, UK, Canada and Australia and Avoid in New Zealand and Ireland. In the US the check is the label: the FDA lists soft cheeses such as brie among foods not to eat unless made with pasteurized milk. The NHS asks for mould-ripened cheeses such as brie to be thoroughly cooked, pasteurised or not, Health Canada asks you to avoid uncooked brie even when pasteurised, and Ireland's HSE lists mould-ripened brie among foods to avoid.

Checked against Doola Scan's pregnancy rules · Updated

  • Cold brie, on a cheese board, in a sandwich or triple cream

    CheckUnited StatesUnited KingdomCanadaAustraliaAvoidNew ZealandIreland

  • Baked brie, heated in the oven until steaming hot all through

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

Brie while pregnant: what each country says.

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

  • United States

    Check
    • FDASoft cheeses such as Brie and Camembert are fine if made with pasteurized milk; check the label.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
    Brie made from raw (unpasteurised) milk
    • FDADo not drink raw milk or eat foods made with unpasteurized milk during pregnancy.Source
    • FoodSafety.gov (HHS)Avoid raw milk; only pasteurised milk and milk products.Source
    • USDA FSISNever drink raw milk.Source
    • FDADo not eat any cheese made with unpasteurized (raw) milk; no exception for hard or cooked cheese.Source
    • CDCAvoid raw-milk cheese unless heated to 165 F or until steaming hot.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
    Brie made from raw (unpasteurised) milk
    • FSAPregnant women should not consume raw drinking milk or cream.Source
    • NHSRaw milk can carry listeria and other harmful bacteria.Source
    • NHSUnpasteurised dairy may contain listeria.Source

  • Canada

    Check
    • CPSAvoid soft cheeses like Brie or Camembert, even if pasteurized.Source
    • Health CanadaSoft cheese like Brie or Camembert is fine when cooked (casserole, au gratin); avoid uncooked even if pasteurized.Source
    • Health CanadaAvoid uncooked soft, semi-soft and blue cheese even if pasteurized; fine cooked.Source
    Brie made from raw (unpasteurised) milk
    • CPSAvoid unpasteurized milk, cheese and dairy products.Source
    • Health CanadaAvoid raw or unpasteurized dairy products; choose pasteurized.Source
    • CPSAvoid unpasteurized cheese and dairy products.Source
    • Health CanadaAvoid raw or unpasteurized dairy products, including uncooked hard cheese; cooked cheese is fine.Source

  • Australia

    Check
    • Better Health Channel (Victoria)Soft cheeses such as brie and camembert are safe if served cooked and hot.Source
    • NSW Food AuthoritySoft and semi-soft cheeses only if cooked to at least 75°C and eaten soon after.Source
    • NSW HealthSoft cheeses only if cooked and eaten hot.Source
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Do not eat brie, camembert, blue, ricotta, feta unless cooked to at least 75 °C and eaten straight away.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
    • 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
    Brie made from raw (unpasteurised) milk
    • Better Health Channel (Victoria)Avoid unpasteurised milk and foods made from it.Source
    • FSANZAvoid raw milk and raw-milk cheeses; choose pasteurised dairy.Source
    • NSW Food AuthorityDo not drink or use unpasteurised (raw) dairy.Source
    • NSW HealthDo not eat unpasteurised milk or milk products.Source
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Only dairy made from pasteurised milk.Source
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Only dairy made from pasteurised milk; no cooked unpasteurised exception.Source
    • NSW Food AuthoritySoft and semi-soft cheeses only if cooked to at least 75°C.Source

  • New Zealand

    • Cold brie, on a cheese board, in a sandwich or triple creamAvoid
    • Baked brie, heated in the oven until steaming hot all throughCheck
    • MPI (NZ Food Safety)Low-acid soft pasteurised cheeses (brie, camembert, 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
    Brie made from raw (unpasteurised) milk
    • Health NZAvoid unpasteurised dairy products.Source
    • MPI (NZ Food Safety)Avoid raw milk, raw-milk cheeses and raw-milk yoghurts.Source

  • Ireland

    • Cold brie, on a cheese board, in a sandwich or triple creamAvoid
    • Baked brie, heated in the oven until steaming hot all throughCheck
    • HSEAvoid mould-ripened cheeses such as brie and camembert.Source
    • HSESoft cheeses such as brie and camembert only if cooked until steaming hot.Source
    Brie made from raw (unpasteurised) milk
    • HSEAvoid unpasteurised dairy (milk and cheese).Source
    • FSAIDo not drink raw milk without boiling it first.Source
What to check

Before you eat brie.

  1. Bake it until it's steaming hot in the middle

    The NHS asks for mould-ripened soft cheeses with a white coating, such as brie, to be thoroughly cooked. Australia's Pregnancy, Birth and Baby asks for brie cooked to at least 75°C and eaten straight away. NHS

  2. In Canada, pasteurised isn't enough

    Health Canada lists uncooked brie, camembert and feta among cheeses to avoid, even when made from pasteurized milk. It accepts any cheese cooked, as in a casserole or au gratin dish. Health Canada

  3. In the US, read the label for pasteurized milk

    The FDA lists soft cheeses such as feta, brie and camembert among foods not to eat in pregnancy unless they're made with pasteurized milk. Brie without that line on the label doesn't meet it. FDA

  4. Serve baked brie hot, not left to cool

    Ireland's HSE asks for soft cheeses such as brie to be eaten only if cooked until steaming hot. A baked brie that has sat on the table until lukewarm no longer matches that line. HSE

Questions

About brie
in pregnancy.

Some brie is and some isn't, so read the label. The FDA asks for brie made with pasteurized milk, and the NHS asks for unpasteurised cheese, apart from hard cheeses, to be thoroughly cooked.

The countries answer differently. In the US the check is pasteurized milk. The UK, Canada and Australia ask for brie to be cooked even when pasteurised, and New Zealand and Ireland advise against cold brie, where Doola Scan shows Avoid.

Brie baked until steaming hot all through shows Check in Doola Scan in all six countries. The NHS, Health Canada, Pregnancy, Birth and Baby and the HSE all accept soft cheese cooked until hot.

A cold brie sandwich follows the cold-brie lines: Check in the US, UK, Canada and Australia and Avoid in New Zealand and Ireland. With the brie toasted until steaming hot, brie cooked that way shows Check in all six.

Health NZ advises against soft, semi-soft and surface-ripened cheeses such as brie and camembert. Ireland's HSE lists mould-ripened cheeses such as brie and camembert among foods to avoid in pregnancy.

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

Brie made from raw milk shows Avoid in the US, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland, and Check in the UK and Canada, where it must be cooked until steaming hot.

Yes. Take a photo of the label, the board or the menu, and Doola Scan checks each cheese against your country's pregnancy guidance. 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.