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Can I eat queso dip while pregnant?

Check Doola Scan's answer in the United States

Warm queso dip made from melted processed or nacho cheese isn't on the pregnancy food lists of the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand or Ireland, so Doola Scan shows No known issues for it. A white queso blanco dip, such as a white queso at a Mexican restaurant, gets Check in all six: queso blanco is a fresh soft cheese, and the CDC asks for queso fresco-type cheeses to be heated to 165°F, even when made from pasteurised milk. Australia, Canada and Ireland ask for soft cheese cooked until hot. Cold queso fresco crumbled on top shows Avoid in New Zealand and Check elsewhere.

Checked against Doola Scan's pregnancy rules · Updated

  • Warm queso or nacho cheese dip, from a jar or restaurant

    No known issuesIn all six countries

  • White queso blanco dip from a Mexican restaurant

    CheckIn all six countries

  • Queso fundido with chorizo, served bubbling

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

Queso dip while pregnant: what each country says.

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

  • United States

    • Warm queso or nacho cheese dip, from a jar or restaurantNo known issues
    • White queso blanco dip from a Mexican restaurantCheck
    • Queso fundido with chorizo, served bubblingCheck
    • 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
    • FDAAvoid deli meats, fermented and dry sausage unless reheated until steaming hot.Source

  • United Kingdom

    • Warm queso or nacho cheese dip, from a jar or restaurantNo known issues
    • White queso blanco dip from a Mexican restaurantCheck
    • Queso fundido with chorizo, served bubblingCheck
    • NHSPasteurised soft cheeses such as mozzarella, feta, paneer, ricotta, burrata are safe.Source
    • NHSCured meat may carry listeria or toxoplasma.Source

  • Canada

    • Warm queso or nacho cheese dip, from a jar or restaurantNo known issues
    • White queso blanco dip from a Mexican restaurantCheck
    • Queso fundido with chorizo, served bubblingCheck
    • 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
    • CPSOnly non-dried deli meats are listed; dried cured meats are not.Source
    • Health CanadaDried and salted deli meats such as salami and pepperoni are listed as SAFER alternatives (no cooking/freezing needed).Source

  • Australia

    • Warm queso or nacho cheese dip, from a jar or restaurantNo known issues
    • White queso blanco dip from a Mexican restaurantCheck
    • Queso fundido with chorizo, served bubblingCheck
    • 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
    • Better Health Channel (Victoria)Avoid ham, salami and fermented meats unless cooked or heated.Source
    • NSW Food AuthorityProcessed meats only if cooked to at least 75°C and eaten soon after.Source
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Avoid cold cured meats (salami, ham, luncheon meat) unless cooked to 75 °C and eaten straight away.Source

  • New Zealand

    • Warm queso or nacho cheese dip, from a jar or restaurantNo known issues
    • White queso blanco dip from a Mexican restaurantCheck
    • Queso fundido with chorizo, served bubblingCheck
    • Health NZAvoid soft, semi-soft and surface-ripened cheeses such as brie, camembert, ricotta, blue and feta.Source
    • MPI (NZ Food Safety)Avoid processed meats (ham, pâté, salami, luncheon) in pregnancy.Source

  • Ireland

    • Warm queso or nacho cheese dip, from a jar or restaurantNo known issues
    • White queso blanco dip from a Mexican restaurantCheck
    • Queso fundido with chorizo, served bubblingCheck
    • HSESoft cheeses such as brie and camembert only if cooked until steaming hot.Source
    • HSEAvoid cold cured meats such as salami, parma ham, chorizo and pepperoni.Source
What to check

Before you eat queso dip.

  1. Ask which cheese is in a white queso

    The CDC asks you to avoid unheated queso fresco-type cheeses, such as queso fresco, queso blanco and requesón, even when they're made with pasteurised milk, and to heat them to 165°F. A white dip made with queso blanco falls under that line; one made only from processed cheese doesn't. CDC

  2. Eat it hot, straight from the pot

    FoodSafety.gov accepts queso fresco-type cheeses heated to 165°F. NSW Food Authority asks for soft cheeses cooked to at least 75°C and eaten soon after, and Ireland's HSE asks for soft cheese cooked until steaming hot. FoodSafety.gov

  3. Look for pasteurised milk on the label

    The FDA asks for soft cheese clearly labelled made from pasteurized milk. On a jar or tub of queso, the ingredient list names the cheeses in it. FDA

  4. Leave off cold queso fresco in New Zealand

    Health NZ asks you to avoid soft and semi-soft cheeses in pregnancy, so cold queso fresco crumbled on the dip shows Avoid there. Elsewhere it shows Check, with each country's line on pasteurised milk or cooking. Health NZ

Questions

About queso dip
in pregnancy.

Warm cheese dip made from melted processed or nacho cheese shows No known issues in Doola Scan in all six countries. A white dip made with queso blanco shows Check, because the CDC asks for queso fresco-type cheeses heated to 165°F.

Doola Scan reads a jar of queso dip as queso dip: No known issues in all six countries. Scan the jar's label and Doola Scan reads each ingredient, so a queso blanco or queso fresco in the list gets its own rule.

Ask what cheese it's made with. White queso made with queso blanco shows Check: the CDC asks for it heated to 165°F, so it should come to the table hot. A yellow dip from melted processed cheese shows No known issues.

It depends on the cheese and the maker, so look at the label or ask. The FDA asks for soft cheese labelled made from pasteurized milk, and the CDC asks for queso fresco-type cheeses to be heated to 165°F even when pasteurised.

Nacho cheese sauce shows No known issues in Doola Scan in all six countries. None of these countries' pregnancy food lists names it.

Queso blanco heated in a dip shows Check in all six countries. Cold queso blanco shows Avoid in New Zealand and Check elsewhere; the queso page covers fresh Mexican cheeses in detail.

The guidance is the same in every trimester. The soft cheese rules apply all through pregnancy.

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