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Can I eat ricotta while pregnant?

Check Doola Scan's answer in the United States

Ricotta made from pasteurised milk is accepted cold in the UK, but Canada, Australia and New Zealand ask for soft cheeses like ricotta to be cooked until hot in pregnancy. Doola Scan shows Check for ricotta in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and Ireland, and Avoid in New Zealand for cold ricotta, where Health NZ names it among soft cheeses to avoid. Baked until steaming hot, in lasagna or stuffed shells, it shows Check in all six. The NHS lists pasteurised ricotta among the soft cheeses you can have, and the US asks for a pasteurised-milk label.

Checked against Doola Scan's pregnancy rules · Updated

  • Cold ricotta: from the tub, on toast, in cannoli or cheesecake filling

    CheckUnited StatesUnited KingdomCanadaAustraliaIrelandAvoidNew Zealand

  • Baked ricotta, in lasagna, stuffed shells or baked pasta, heated until steaming hot

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

Ricotta while pregnant: what each country says.

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

  • United States

    Check
    • 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
    Ricotta made from raw (unpasteurised) milk, such as farm or deli ricotta
    • 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
    • NHSPasteurised soft cheeses such as mozzarella, feta, paneer, ricotta, burrata are safe.Source
    Ricotta made from raw (unpasteurised) milk, such as farm or deli ricotta
    • 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 CanadaAvoid uncooked soft, semi-soft and blue cheese even if pasteurized; fine cooked.Source
    Ricotta made from raw (unpasteurised) milk, such as farm or deli ricotta
    • 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 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
    Ricotta made from raw (unpasteurised) milk, such as farm or deli ricotta
    • 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 ricotta: from the tub, on toast, in cannoli or cheesecake fillingAvoid
    • Baked ricotta, in lasagna, stuffed shells or baked pasta, heated until steaming hotCheck
    • Health NZAvoid soft, semi-soft and surface-ripened cheeses such as brie, camembert, ricotta, blue and feta.Source
    Ricotta made from raw (unpasteurised) milk, such as farm or deli ricotta
    • Health NZAvoid unpasteurised dairy products.Source
    • MPI (NZ Food Safety)Avoid raw milk, raw-milk cheeses and raw-milk yoghurts.Source

  • Ireland

    Check
    • HSESoft cheeses such as brie and camembert only if cooked until steaming hot.Source
    Ricotta made from raw (unpasteurised) milk, such as farm or deli ricotta
    • HSEAvoid unpasteurised dairy (milk and cheese).Source
    • FSAIDo not drink raw milk without boiling it first.Source
What to check

Before you eat ricotta.

  1. Check the tub says pasteurised milk

    The FDA asks you to check the label of soft cheese for the words made with pasteurized milk. The NHS lists pasteurised ricotta among the soft cheeses you can have in pregnancy, and unpasteurised dairy among the foods to be careful with. FDA

  2. In Australia or New Zealand, bake it to 75°C

    Australia's Pregnancy Birth and Baby names ricotta among soft cheeses not to eat, unless cooked to at least 75°C and eaten straight away. FSANZ lists baked soft cheeses cooked to an internal 75°C as the alternative. Pregnancy Birth and Baby

  3. In Canada, cook it until hot and bubbly

    Health Canada asks pregnant people to avoid uncooked soft cheese even when it's made from pasteurised milk. It says the cheese just needs to be cooked, like in a casserole, broiled until hot, bubbly and browned on top. Health Canada

  4. Eat baked ricotta hot, soon after cooking

    Ireland's HSE asks for soft cheeses to be eaten only if cooked until steaming hot, and the NSW Food Authority asks for soft cheeses cooked to at least 75°C to be eaten soon after. By those lines, leftover lasagna is reheated until steaming hot, not eaten cold. HSE

Questions

About ricotta
in pregnancy.

Look at the tub: the label says whether it's made from pasteurised milk. The FDA asks you to check for made with pasteurized milk on soft cheese, and Ireland's HSE also asks you to check the label for pasteurised.

The NHS lists pasteurised soft cheeses, ricotta included, among the foods you can have in pregnancy. Doola Scan shows Check in the UK because the check is the label: pasteurised milk.

Cooking is what Canada, Australia and New Zealand ask for. Australia's Pregnancy Birth and Baby accepts ricotta cooked to at least 75°C and eaten straight away, and Health Canada accepts soft cheese cooked until hot and bubbly. Doola Scan shows Check for ricotta baked until steaming hot in all six countries.

Health NZ names ricotta, with brie, camembert, blue and feta, among the soft cheeses people at higher risk of listeria should not eat. It lists cooking food all the way through as a way to reduce the risk.

Ireland's HSE asks for soft cheeses such as brie and camembert to be eaten only if cooked until steaming hot, and to check labels for pasteurised. Doola Scan shows Check for ricotta in Ireland.

A cannoli filling is cold ricotta, so the cold-ricotta lines apply: Check in most countries and Avoid in New Zealand, with pasteurised milk asked for in the US and UK. For a baked ricotta cheesecake, Australia's guidance is cooked to at least 75°C and Health Canada's is cooked cheese.

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

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

Raw-milk ricotta is a different product. Doola Scan shows Avoid for it in the US, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland, and Check in the UK and Canada, where it must be cooked until steaming hot. The FDA says not to eat any cheese made with unpasteurised milk.

Yes. Take a photo of the tub'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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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.