The great soft cheese debate

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Speaking of cheese, what's the thought on queso served at restaurants?

I never thought about it, and have eaten it a few times. As for the cheeses Ive avoided feta from the salad bar to be safe, but eat LOTS of bagels with cream cheese...

[Anonymous]

Queso is totally fine....that stuff is really, really pasteurized!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What everyone else said. And just to quibble with your subject -- it shouldn't be a debate, unpasteurized cheese can cause listeria in pregnant women and should be avoided during pregnancy. Anyone who thinks that is just overreaction is risking their pregnancy. But as everyone said, most cheeses are pasteurized. Also don't worry about cantaloupe -- listeria in produce is really rare, it is much more common in processed meats (hot dogs, deli meats) and unpasteurized milk and cheese.

I couldn't find any evidence that this is accurate. I compiled this list from a google search for listeria outbreaks -- not a single case of listeria from (validly) unpasteurized dairy:

2011 Colorado Jensen Farms Cantalope
2011 Publix Spinach Dip
2011 Dole Bagged Salad
2010 Texas SanGar Celery
2010 Louisiana Veron Hog Head Cheese and Sausage (head cheese is not cheese, it's meat)
2008 Canada Cold Cuts
2007 Massachusetts Whittier Farms Pasteurized Milk
2002 Pilgrim's Pride Chicken
1998 Canada Abbott Pasteurized Cheese
1998 Chicago? Sara Lee Hot Dogs and Cold Cuts
1985 California Jalisco Pasteurized Cheese (questionable past. process)

And if you go to this CDC database, http://wwwn.cdc.gov/foodborneoutbreaks/Default.aspx and limit the search to listeria, you get a list of mostly deli meat, a few cases of unpasteurized queso fresco (which is currently illegal in the US), and a few misc others.

I also came across this interesting blog post on the FDA's crackdown of raw cheese. http://www.grist.org/food-safety/2011-02-10-what-will-the-fda-do-about-the-60-day-aging-rule-for-raw-milk
The author found, through a search of the CDC's website, *NO* U.S. illness from raw or pateurized cheese from 1973-1999, and 350 illnesses from raw milk from 2000-2009, and 247 illnesses (including 1 death) from pateurized milk during the same period. (Note this excludes the 1985 CA outbreak and other unpasteurized queso fresco cases because the cheese wasn't legal to begin with.)

Also regarding cheese laws in the US -- federal (not state) law prohibits the transportation of raw milk (and thus cheese) across sate lines when packaged for consumers. Sate law governs the sale of raw milk inside each state's borders, about half allow it in some form. http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm232980.htm

I also found several references to a 60-day federal rule regarding the aging process, after which the cheese is no longer considered to be raw milk, and is thus legal for transport across state lines, but I couldn't actually find this on the FDA's wesite.

Personally, I avoid deli meat and unpasteurized queso fresco, and any food that doesn't appear to have been handled safely (had to use my own judgment here). I ate most all cheeses and washed produce. And while not a listeria risk specifically, I also ate freshly prepared sushi from reputable restaurants (not buffets, grocery stores, or food courts).a