Food question - help me not freak out

[e&tsmom]

Okay, so, typically pregnancy turns me into a pool of anxiety (somehting I do not suffer from normally). My first and 2nd pregnancies I watched everything I ate like a hawk and didnt eat anything that anyone said was detrimental to the baby or pregnancy. So,, I am 11 weeks pg and I have been eating pizza almost non stop. I really felt like I needed to lay off the pizza so I took my kiddos to panera bread. What did I get??? Well, not pizza. But, I wanted it so I got the tomato fresh mozzarella hot panini. SOOOOO close to a pizza - bread, tomato, mozz cheese. Loved it. But, when I finished eating the whole thing I realized that I probably should not have eaten the fresh mozzarella because it is a soft cheese. But, it was hot. So, should I shouldn't I have eaten it? Thoughts? Do I really have to worry about listeria for heated cheese? I know it wasnt heated to some super high degree, but it was melty. Please reassure me!!!

[caseykn]

What you want to avoid are soft cheeses with mold- like brie, bleu cheese, most goat cheese, etc. as well as any cheese made from unpastuerized milk. I'm sure the mozerella at Panera is made with pastuerized milk so you're fine!

[MaerynPearl]

Mozzerella is NOT a soft cheese.

What you have to watch out for are soft, unpasteurized (very hard to find them that way in the U.S.) cheeses, the sort you eat uncooked spread on crackers or crumbled over a salad or such.

You are fine.

[lillymonster]

blue cheese is fine - I love it and eat it all the time

It's unpasterized, which I am sure you can find in the US, if you are willing to look and pay extra for it from a specialty place, but Panera and grocery stores will not have it.

I know a lot of people drink raw milk and cheeses made from raw milk while pregnant, so it's an iffy thing on how people feel about it. But no, I wouldn't worry about Panera.

[Ola_]

I have some fresh mozarella in my fridge right now and just checked, they call it a semi-soft unripened cheese. The ingredients clearly state that it's made from pasteurized milk, and I agree that it would be tricky to find an unpasteurized kind unless you really try.

[WifeofAnt]

Yeah the US is REALLY picky about their unpasteurized dairy products. Most can't legally cross state lines (if intended for consumption) and it either has to be pasteurized or aged at least 60 days. Its illegal through the FDA to make, import, or sell unpasteurized and unaged cheese, even if its only for personal use!

If you're eating unpasteurized or insufficently aged cheese in this country you're either smuggling it or buying it out of the back of a truck.

[motherhendoula]

Frankly, see how much it would cost YOU, an average consumer to purchase UNpasteurized cheese...now consider, would a fast food chain like Panera Bread spend that kind of money???? Doesnt make economic sense!

[potatocraft]

I used to work at a Panera, you are fine. If anything I would worry about the sodium content of their soups and stuff, but that is just in general. That much sodium isn't good for anyone.
But the cheese is fine.