Can you eat feta while pregnant?

What to avoid

• Level E FDA: Soft cheeses made from unpasteurized (raw) milk, such as: Feta, Brie, Camembert, Blue-veined, Queso fresco (chart «Do not eat», Cheese row (list items joined)) FDA, Food Safety for Pregnant Women and Their Unborn Babies (booklet), accessed 2026-10-12
• Level E CDC: Any type of cheese when made with (raw) unpasteurized milk (table «Safer Food Choices», column: Avoid) CDC, Preventing Listeria Infection, accessed 2026-10-12

Safer choices and when it is OK

• Level E FoodSafety.gov: Cottage cheese, cream cheese, string cheese, feta, and mozzarella, when made with pasteurized milk FoodSafety.gov, People at Risk: Pregnant Women, accessed 2026-10-12
• Level E FDA: Hard or processed cheeses. Soft cheeses only if they are made from pasteurized milk. («Make Safe Menu Choices», Lower Risk) FDA, Food Safety for Pregnant Women and Their Unborn Babies (booklet), accessed 2026-10-12
• Level E CDC: CDC recommends that everyone choose pasteurized milk and dairy products. CDC, Listeria and Soft Cheeses, accessed 2026-10-12

Why the advice exists

• Level E CDC: Soft cheeses, which are high in moisture, are more likely to be contaminated than hard cheeses. CDC, Listeria and Soft Cheeses, accessed 2026-10-12

Word-for-word quotes from official US sources. Level E means the position of an expert body. How we grade evidence.

• Level C About one soft cheese sample in forty carried Listeria in a pooled estimate, and the studies disagreed enough that the authors warn against using the global number for risk assessment. J Food Prot, 2019
• Level C In pregnancy the same organism lands mostly in the third trimester, and that is the reason the advice about soft cheese exists at all. BJOG, 2022
• Level E For people at higher risk of Listeria, CDC lists feta as a safer choice when it is made with pasteurized milk. Preventing Listeria Infection, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Safer Food Choices

Levels: A is a meta-analysis of trials, B a randomized trial, C an observational study, D lab or animal work, E an expert position. How we grade evidence.

Check the label for the word pasteurized. CDC lists feta made with pasteurized milk as a safer choice for people at higher risk of Listeria (Level E), while FDA lists feta made from raw milk among cheeses to avoid. If the label does not say, ask, or pick one that does.

The reason for the caution is Listeria in soft cheeses. About one soft cheese sample in forty carried it in a pooled worldwide estimate, though the studies varied widely (Level C). In a review of listeriosis in pregnancy, 66% of cases came in the third trimester and 3% in the first (Level C). Agency advice still covers the whole pregnancy.

One ounce of feta has 105 mg of calcium.

Evidence behind this note

1. Level E For people at higher risk of Listeria, CDC lists feta as a safer choice when it is made with pasteurized milk. Preventing Listeria Infection, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Safer Food Choices
2. Level C About one soft cheese sample in forty carried Listeria in a pooled estimate, and the studies disagreed enough that the authors warn against using the global number for risk assessment. J Food Prot, 2019
3. Level C In pregnancy the same organism lands mostly in the third trimester, and that is the reason the advice about soft cheese exists at all. BJOG, 2022

Written from the agency positions and data on this page, reviewed by the Bioma editorial system. How we verify.