Can you eat ricotta cheese when pregnant? [Explained]

During your pregnancy and anticipating becoming a mother, you may have been advised or heard various opinions about what you should do or what foods you should eat that are safe for you and your baby. Unfortunately, it is challenging to discern which is true or fictitious.

One of the most discussed questions surrounding women during pregnancy is whether women eat ricotta cheese when pregnant.

Keep reading this article to get great answers to this question.

Can you eat ricotta cheese when pregnant?

Yes, pregnant women can consume ricotta cheese while pregnant. However, this smooth, fresh, creamy cheese is only suitable for ingestion by pregnant women if it is prepared out of pasteurized milk. During pasteurization, the food is heated to destroy hazardous organisms such as bacteria, viruses, protozoa, molds, and yeasts, including Listeria.

Listeria is a form of bacterium that is present in cheeses that have not been pasteurized. Although Listeria does not cause a significant danger to the average population, it may have fatal adverse effects for pregnant women.

Listeria may cause pregnant women to go into preterm labor or might cause life-threatening complications to an unborn baby.

Therefore, If you want to consume ricotta cheese during pregnancy and purchase it from a grocery store, check the label to ensure that the cheese was manufactured using pasteurized milk.

Likewise, whether you are ordering cuisine from a restaurant that includes ricotta cheese, you should ask the establishment if the cheese was prepared using pasteurized milk.

You may also opt to only consume foods prepared with ricotta cheese that has been cooked, which should kill off any harmful germs.

If you cannot verify how the cheese was manufactured, the safest approach is to avoid eating the dish.

Is all ricotta cheese pasteurized?

Yes, mainly all ricotta cheese is produced out of pasteurized milk, which makes it healthier for consumption.

Is ricotta a soft cheese?

Ricotta is a soft, fresh, white cheese created from whey– the liquid fraction of whole milk removed from the curds during the cheesemaking process.

Is cooked ricotta cheese safe during pregnancy?

Yes, cooked ricotta cheese is safe during pregnancy; it protects you against infections that lead to various difficulties in your baby, such as early labor, or cause life-threatening damage to the unborn baby.

Is Tesco ricotta pasteurized?

Most of the time, Tesco ricotta cheese is manufactured out of pasteurized milk, which protects you from viruses and germs and makes it appropriate for pregnant people to ingest.

If you stumble across unpasteurized Tesco ricotta, you should only consume it if it’s properly cooked throughout. This kills out the listeria germs, making them safe to consume.

Conclusion

During pregnancy, you may enjoy the flavor of ricotta cheese on its own and in sweet and savory meals. If your ricotta cheese is manufactured from pasteurized milk, there’s no risk in adding it to your diet during pregnancy.

Sources:

https://www.healthline.com/health/pregnancy/is-ricotta-cheese-safe
https://parenting.firstcry.com/articles/eating-ricotta-during-pregnancy-is-it-safe/
https://www.netmums.com/pregnancy/can-you-eat-ricotta-when-pregnant