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Can I eat goat cheese while pregnant?

Check Doola Scan's answer in the United States

Goat cheese shows Check in Doola Scan in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand and Avoid in Ireland, and cooked until steaming hot it shows Check in all six. The NHS splits it by rind: goats' cheese without a white coating on the outside is on its list of cheeses you can have, while soft ripened goats' cheese with a white coating, like chèvre, must be thoroughly cooked. Ireland's HSE lists mould-ripened cheeses among foods to avoid, Canada and Australia ask for soft cheese to be cooked, and the US asks for pasteurised milk.

Checked against Doola Scan's pregnancy rules · Updated

  • Soft goat cheese eaten cold: crumbled on a salad, spread on toast, or a log with a white rind

    CheckUnited StatesUnited KingdomCanadaAustraliaNew ZealandAvoidIreland

  • Goat cheese baked or grilled until steaming hot, on a tart, a pizza or toast

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

Goat cheese while pregnant: what each country says.

Each country's own pregnancy guidance on goat cheese, 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
    Goat cheese made from raw (unpasteurised) milk, such as farm or market cheese
    • 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
    Goat cheese made from raw (unpasteurised) milk, such as farm or market cheese
    • 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
    Goat cheese made from raw (unpasteurised) milk, such as farm or market cheese
    • 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
    Goat cheese made from raw (unpasteurised) milk, such as farm or market cheese
    • 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

    Check
    • MPI (NZ Food Safety)Low-acid soft pasteurised cheeses (brie, camembert, feta, mozzarella): do not eat unless cooked.Source
    Goat cheese made from raw (unpasteurised) milk, such as farm or market cheese
    • Health NZAvoid unpasteurised dairy products.Source
    • MPI (NZ Food Safety)Avoid raw milk, raw-milk cheeses and raw-milk yoghurts.Source

  • Ireland

    • Soft goat cheese eaten cold: crumbled on a salad, spread on toast, or a log with a white rindAvoid
    • Goat cheese baked or grilled until steaming hot, on a tart, a pizza or toastCheck
    • HSEAvoid mould-ripened cheeses such as brie and camembert.Source
    Goat cheese made from raw (unpasteurised) milk, such as farm or market cheese
    • HSEAvoid unpasteurised dairy (milk and cheese).Source
    • FSAIDo not drink raw milk without boiling it first.Source
What to check

Before you eat goat cheese.

  1. Look at the rind

    The NHS asks for soft ripened goats' cheese with a white coating on the outside to be thoroughly cooked. Goats' cheese without that white rind is on its list of cheeses you can have. NHS

  2. Check the label says pasteurised milk

    The FDA asks for soft cheese clearly labelled made from pasteurized milk, and says not to eat cheese made from raw milk. Ireland's HSE also asks you to check the label to see if food is pasteurised. FDA

  3. In Canada and Australia, cook it until hot

    Health Canada asks pregnant people to avoid uncooked soft and semi-soft cheese even when pasteurized, and accepts any cheese cooked. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby accepts soft cheese cooked to at least 75°C and eaten straight away. Health Canada

  4. In Ireland, eat it only cooked until steaming hot

    Ireland's HSE lists mould-ripened cheeses among foods to avoid in pregnancy, and asks for soft cheeses to be eaten only if cooked until steaming hot. Doola Scan shows Avoid for cold goat cheese there. HSE

Questions

About goat cheese
in pregnancy.

Some is and some isn't, so read the label. The FDA asks for soft cheese labelled made from pasteurized milk, and the HSE asks you to check labels for pasteurised.

Check each pack. The NHS lists goats' cheese without a white rind among the cheeses you can have, and asks for rinded, soft ripened goats' cheese and anything unpasteurised to be thoroughly cooked.

In the UK, the NHS lists goats' cheese without a white coating among the cheeses you can have. Canada and Australia still ask for soft cheese to be cooked, and Doola Scan shows Check for cold goat cheese in five countries and Avoid in Ireland.

Goat cheese cooked until steaming hot shows Check in all six countries. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby asks for soft cheese cooked to at least 75°C and eaten straight away, so warm all through, not just softened at the edges.

The NHS lists hard cheeses such as cheddar, gruyère and parmesan among the cheeses you can have, and Health Canada accepts pasteurised firm cheeses uncooked. Neither names hard goat cheese, so check the label for pasteurised milk.

The NHS says dairy foods such as cheese are important in pregnancy, because they contain calcium and other nutrients you and your baby need.

Goat cheese 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.

Yes. Take a photo of the label or the menu, 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.