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Can I eat camembert while pregnant?

Check Doola Scan's answer in the United States

Camembert meets the pregnancy guidance of all six countries when it's baked until steaming hot, and Doola Scan shows Check for it in all six. Cold camembert shows Avoid in New Zealand and Ireland, and Check in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. The US accepts it made with pasteurised milk; the UK, Canada and Australia ask for it cooked. The NHS names camembert among mould-ripened cheeses with a white rind, which it asks to be cooked thoroughly.

Checked against Doola Scan's pregnancy rules · Updated

  • Cold camembert, on a cheese board or in a sandwich

    CheckUnited StatesUnited KingdomCanadaAustraliaAvoidNew ZealandIreland

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

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

Camembert while pregnant: what each country says.

Each country's own pregnancy guidance on camembert, 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
    Camembert 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
    Camembert 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
    Camembert 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
    Camembert 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 camembert, on a cheese board or in a sandwichAvoid
    • Baked camembert, 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
    Camembert 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 camembert, on a cheese board or in a sandwichAvoid
    • Baked camembert, 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
    Camembert 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 camembert.

  1. Bake it until steaming hot all through

    The NHS asks for mould-ripened soft cheeses such as camembert to be cooked until steaming hot. Australia's Pregnancy Birth and Baby asks for camembert cooked to at least 75°C and eaten straight away. NHS

  2. In Canada, cook it even if it's pasteurised

    Health Canada lists uncooked brie, camembert and feta among cheeses to avoid even when made from pasteurized milk. It says any cheese is fine cooked, as in a casserole. Health Canada

  3. In the US, check the label for pasteurised 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. FDA

  4. Eat it hot, soon after baking

    Ireland's HSE asks for soft cheeses such as brie and camembert to be eaten only if cooked until steaming hot. The NSW Food Authority asks for cooked soft cheese to be eaten soon after, so a baked camembert left to cool on the table no longer meets it. HSE

Questions

About camembert
in pregnancy.

Baked until steaming hot all through, camembert shows Check in Doola Scan in all six countries. The NHS, Health Canada, Australia and Ireland all accept soft cheese cooked until hot.

Some is and some isn't, so read the label. The FDA asks for soft cheeses such as camembert to be made with pasteurized milk, and the NHS asks for unpasteurised cheese to be thoroughly cooked.

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

The NHS treats camembert differently from other soft cheeses: pasteurised or not, it asks for mould-ripened cheeses with a white rind to be cooked until steaming hot.

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

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

In the six countries Doola Scan covers, camembert meets the guidance baked until steaming hot. Cold, it shows Avoid in New Zealand and Ireland and Check in the US, UK, Canada and Australia.

Yes. Take a photo of the label, and Doola Scan checks it against your country's pregnancy guidance, including whether the milk is pasteurised. 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.