Feta cheese is safe to eat during pregnancy as long as it’s made from pasteurized milk. The CDC lists pasteurized feta as a “safer choice” for pregnant women. The concern isn’t feta itself but rather unpasteurized (raw milk) versions, which can harbor Listeria, a bacterium that poses serious risks during pregnancy.
Why Pasteurization Is the Key Factor
Pasteurization heats milk to at least 161°F for 15 seconds, which kills harmful bacteria including Listeria. Once feta is made from pasteurized milk, it carries no more risk than most other common foods. The vast majority of feta sold in U.S. grocery stores is pasteurized, and the label will say so.
Unpasteurized feta is a different story. Listeria can survive and even grow in feta’s salty brine environment, which surprises many people since salt is usually thought of as a preservative. The FDA specifically identifies soft-ripened cheeses like feta as foods that support Listeria growth when made from raw milk. Listeria also thrives at refrigerator temperatures, so cold storage alone doesn’t protect you.
How to Check the Label
Look for the words “made with pasteurized milk” on the ingredient list or front of the package. In the U.S., most commercially produced feta will state this clearly. If you’re buying feta at a farmers’ market, specialty shop, or importing it from abroad, ask directly whether the milk was pasteurized. When in doubt, skip it.
At restaurants, the sourcing is harder to verify. Chain restaurants almost always use pasteurized cheese. At smaller or farm-to-table restaurants, it’s reasonable to ask your server. Cooked feta (in baked dishes, for instance) is safer regardless of pasteurization status, since heating cheese to an internal temperature of 165°F kills Listeria.
Why Listeria Is Especially Dangerous in Pregnancy
About 1 in 25,000 pregnant women in the U.S. develop a Listeria infection each year. That number is small, but pregnant women are disproportionately affected compared to the general population because pregnancy naturally suppresses parts of the immune system to protect the developing baby. This same suppression makes it harder to fight off certain infections.
Listeriosis during pregnancy can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery, or serious infection in the newborn. For the mother, symptoms are often mild: fever, chills, muscle aches, diarrhea, or upset stomach. More severe cases can involve stiff neck, headache, confusion, or loss of balance. One of the trickiest things about Listeria is its long incubation period. Symptoms can appear as late as two months after eating contaminated food, making it hard to trace back to a specific meal.
Storing Feta Safely at Home
Even pasteurized feta needs proper handling. Listeria can contaminate food after production through cross-contamination in your kitchen or from sitting too long in the fridge. Keep feta in its original brine or in a sealed container, and use it within a few days of opening. Don’t leave it out at room temperature for more than two hours (one hour if it’s above 90°F outside).
If you’re adding feta to a salad or grain bowl, prepare it fresh rather than letting a dressed dish sit in the fridge for days. Listeria grows slowly but steadily at refrigerator temperatures, so shorter storage times reduce your risk.
Cooking as an Extra Safety Step
Heating feta to 165°F kills Listeria reliably. Baked feta pasta, spanakopita, stuffed peppers with feta, or any dish where the cheese gets steaming hot effectively eliminates the risk. This is a useful option if you’re ever uncertain about whether your feta was made with pasteurized milk. Crumbling feta over a cold salad doesn’t count, since the cheese never reaches a high enough temperature.
Other Cheeses to Watch
The same pasteurization rule applies to other soft cheeses: brie, camembert, queso fresco, queso blanco, and blue-veined varieties all need to be made from pasteurized milk to be considered safe during pregnancy. Hard and aged cheeses like cheddar, parmesan, and Swiss are lower risk even when made from unpasteurized milk, because their aging process (at least 60 days under federal rules) and low moisture content create a much less hospitable environment for bacteria.
Cream cheese, cottage cheese, and string cheese made with pasteurized milk are all safe choices as well. The general pattern is straightforward: the softer and wetter the cheese, the more important it is to confirm pasteurization.