Soft & Unpasteurized Cheese
Everyday exposureFood & drinkAlso called · 10 names▾▴
soft cheese, queso fresco, queso blanco, unpasteurized cheese, pasteurized cheese, brie, camembert, blue cheese, fresh cheese, mould-ripened cheese
Listeria group
General information · effects depend on amount, timing, and how it is used. About these sources
Research strength: 3 / 5
CDC lists unheated queso fresco-type cheese, whether made with pasteurized or raw milk, and describes heating it to 165°F or until steaming hot. FDA's August 2026 advice for higher-risk people says not to eat any queso fresco-type cheese, including soft ricotta or requesón. ACOG says pasteurized soft cheeses may be eaten; NHS lists specific pasteurized soft cheeses and calls for thorough cooking of mould-ripened or soft blue cheeses. CDC reports outbreaks from fresh soft cheeses made with pasteurized milk, and a published outbreak investigation found Listeria in pasteurized-milk asadero cheese; another outbreak was linked to queso fresco made from contaminated raw milk. These outbreak studies do not estimate the chance of illness from a serving of any cheese. Ask your provider about your situation.
Last reviewed: 2026-10-18
Sources
- CDC: Preventing Listeria InfectionUS government
- CDC: Safer Food Choices for Pregnant WomenUS government
- FDA: Outbreak Investigation of Listeria monocytogenes: Soft Cheese (June 2026)US government
- ACOG: Listeria and PregnancyProfessional society
- NHS: Foods to avoid in pregnancyUK government
- CDC: Listeria Outbreak Linked to Soft CheeseUS government
- Jackson et al. 2011: Multistate outbreak associated with Mexican-style cheese made from pasteurized milkUS government
- MacDonald et al. 2005: Outbreak linked to illicitly produced Mexican-style cheeseUS government
Research strength: 3 / 5
CDC lists unheated queso fresco-type cheese, whether made with pasteurized or raw milk, and describes heating it to 165°F or until steaming hot. FDA's August 2026 advice for higher-risk people says not to eat any queso fresco-type cheese, including soft ricotta or requesón. ACOG says pasteurized soft cheeses may be eaten; NHS lists specific pasteurized soft cheeses and calls for thorough cooking of mould-ripened or soft blue cheeses. CDC reports outbreaks from fresh soft cheeses made with pasteurized milk, and a published outbreak investigation found Listeria in pasteurized-milk asadero cheese; another outbreak was linked to queso fresco made from contaminated raw milk. These outbreak studies do not estimate the chance of illness from a serving of any cheese. Ask your provider about your situation.
Last reviewed: 2026-10-18
Sources
- CDC: Preventing Listeria InfectionUS government
- CDC: Safer Food Choices for Pregnant WomenUS government
- FDA: Outbreak Investigation of Listeria monocytogenes: Soft Cheese (June 2026)US government
- ACOG: Listeria and PregnancyProfessional society
- NHS: Foods to avoid in pregnancyUK government
- CDC: Listeria Outbreak Linked to Soft CheeseUS government
- Jackson et al. 2011: Multistate outbreak associated with Mexican-style cheese made from pasteurized milkUS government
- MacDonald et al. 2005: Outbreak linked to illicitly produced Mexican-style cheeseUS government
Research strength: 3 / 5
CDC lists unheated queso fresco-type cheese, whether made with pasteurized or raw milk, and describes heating it to 165°F or until steaming hot. FDA's August 2026 advice for higher-risk people says not to eat any queso fresco-type cheese, including soft ricotta or requesón. ACOG says pasteurized soft cheeses may be eaten; NHS lists specific pasteurized soft cheeses and calls for thorough cooking of mould-ripened or soft blue cheeses. CDC reports outbreaks from fresh soft cheeses made with pasteurized milk, and a published outbreak investigation found Listeria in pasteurized-milk asadero cheese; another outbreak was linked to queso fresco made from contaminated raw milk. These outbreak studies do not estimate the chance of illness from a serving of any cheese. Ask your provider about your situation.
Last reviewed: 2026-10-18
Sources
- CDC: Preventing Listeria InfectionUS government
- CDC: Safer Food Choices for Pregnant WomenUS government
- FDA: Outbreak Investigation of Listeria monocytogenes: Soft Cheese (June 2026)US government
- ACOG: Listeria and PregnancyProfessional society
- NHS: Foods to avoid in pregnancyUK government
- CDC: Listeria Outbreak Linked to Soft CheeseUS government
- Jackson et al. 2011: Multistate outbreak associated with Mexican-style cheese made from pasteurized milkUS government
- MacDonald et al. 2005: Outbreak linked to illicitly produced Mexican-style cheeseUS government
Soft & Unpasteurized Cheese — Breastfeeding
Research strength: 2 / 5
CDC says breastfeeding mothers generally do not need to limit specific foods, apart from guidance on some seafood and caffeine. NHS says no special diet is needed and includes cheese in the dairy group. These pages give general diet guidance, not a cheese-specific recommendation for breastfeeding. Ask your provider about your situation.
Last reviewed: 2026-10-18
Sources
- CDC: Maternal Diet and BreastfeedingUS government
- NHS: What to eat and drink when breastfeedingUK government
Pregnancy
Moran et al. (2018) reviewed 11 case-control or cross-sectional articles on food exposures and listeriosis during pregnancy. The authors reported that cases were more likely to have consumed high-risk dairy products, but the review does not give a chance of illness for an individual serving. In MacDonald et al.'s 2000-2001 outbreak, 13 cases included 11 pregnant patients; the report lists 5 stillbirths, 3 premature deliveries, and 3 infected newborns. Queso fresco was associated with illness in that outbreak (matched odds ratio 7.3; 95% CI 1.4-37.5), which was traced to noncommercial fresh cheese made with contaminated raw milk. This outbreak-specific result is not a general estimate for all cheese. In a 2008-2009 multistate outbreak, Jackson et al. found the outbreak strain in asadero cheese made with pasteurized milk. CDC reports that soft cheeses made with pasteurized milk have caused outbreaks because contamination can occur during cheese-making. Condoleo et al. (2025) analyzed 16 studies and estimated 1.2% Listeria prevalence in mozzarella samples at the end of manufacture (95% CI 0.0-4.2; I2 = 78%). This is a product-sampling estimate, not the chance of illness in pregnancy or from a serving.
Breastfeeding
The CDC and NHS breastfeeding pages reviewed here give general diet guidance and do not make a cheese-specific recommendation. This describes the scope of those pages, not research on Listeria transfer through human milk. No cheese-specific breastfeeding study was included among the sources reviewed.
Soft cheese is not one uniform category. CDC and FDA give specific advice for queso fresco-type cheese, while ACOG and NHS also describe pasteurized cheese and cheese styles such as mould-ripened or soft blue cheese. CDC reports that fresh soft cheese made with pasteurized milk can still be contaminated during cheese-making.
What was tested
Moran et al. reviewed 11 observational articles, mostly case-control studies. The MacDonald and Jackson outbreak investigations used case-control information and microbiological testing or tracing. The Condoleo meta-analysis combined 16 studies of Listeria prevalence in mozzarella samples. These sources describe food exposures and product contamination; they do not estimate an individual's illness chance per serving.
Advice for pasteurized queso fresco-type cheese
- Source A says
- CDC lists unheated queso fresco-type cheese, whether made with pasteurized or raw milk, and describes heating it to 165°F or until steaming hot. FDA's 2026 advice for higher-risk people says not to eat any queso fresco-type cheese, including soft ricotta or requesón, without stating a heating exception in that recommendation. (CDC: Preventing Listeria Infection, FDA: Outbreak Investigation of Listeria monocytogenes: Soft Cheese (June 2026))
- Source B says
- ACOG says soft cheeses made with pasteurized milk may be eaten. NHS lists specific pasteurized soft cheeses and says mould-ripened or soft blue cheeses must be thoroughly cooked. (ACOG: Listeria and Pregnancy, NHS: Foods to avoid in pregnancy)
- Why they differ
- CDC and FDA focus on queso fresco-type cheese, while ACOG and NHS give broader advice by pasteurization and cheese style. CDC describes a heating option for queso fresco-type cheese; the FDA's 2026 advice for higher-risk people does not state one in that recommendation.
- What the evidence shows overall
- Queso fresco-type cheese has more specific restrictions than the broad pasteurized-soft-cheese category. The CDC heating option and FDA's stricter 2026 advice support a Use Only With Healthcare Provider Guidance rating for pregnancy, while the general ACOG and NHS advice remains relevant to other cheese types.
- CDC describes heating queso fresco-type cheese to 165°F or until steaming hot, including cheese made with pasteurized milk. (CDC: Preventing Listeria Infection)
- NHS lists specific pasteurized soft cheeses among pregnancy options and says mould-ripened or soft blue cheese should be thoroughly cooked. (NHS: Foods to avoid in pregnancy)
- FDA's August 2026 advice for higher-risk people says not to eat queso fresco-type cheese, including soft ricotta or requesón. (FDA: Outbreak Investigation of Listeria monocytogenes: Soft Cheese (June 2026))
Not enough research found yet.
Experiences from moms and non-medical voices. Not medical evidence.
- CDC: Preventing Listeria InfectionUS governmentSecondaryPage dated 2025-01-31
- CDC: Safer Food Choices for Pregnant WomenUS governmentSecondaryPage dated 2025-01-31
- FDA: Outbreak Investigation of Listeria monocytogenes: Soft Cheese (June 2026)US governmentSecondaryPage dated 2026-08-26
- CDC: Listeria Outbreak Linked to Soft CheeseUS governmentSecondaryPage dated 2026-08-26
- ACOG: Listeria and PregnancyProfessional societySecondaryIndependent check
- NHS: Foods to avoid in pregnancyUK governmentSecondaryPage dated 2026-06-15Independent check
- Moran et al. 2018: Nutrition and listeriosis during pregnancy, a systematic reviewUS governmentPrimaryPage dated 2018-09-24Independent check
- MacDonald et al. 2005: Outbreak of listeriosis among Mexican immigrants linked to Mexican-style cheeseUS governmentPrimaryPage dated 2005-03-01
- Jackson et al. 2011: Multistate outbreak associated with Mexican-style cheese made from pasteurized milkUS governmentPrimary
- Condoleo et al. 2025: Prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes in mozzarella, systematic review and meta-analysisUS governmentPrimaryPage dated 2025-09-25Independent check
- CDC: Maternal Diet and BreastfeedingUS governmentSecondaryPage dated 2026-08-25
- NHS: What to eat and drink when breastfeedingUK governmentSecondaryIndependent check
Last reviewed 2026-10-18
Independent check 2026-10-18
Not yet clinician-reviewed
Ask your provider about your situation.