Is string cheese safe during pregnancy?

What does the evidence say about string cheese during pregnancy?

1. String cheese is made from mozzarella, and standard mozzarella sold in the US is produced from pasteurized milk, the starting point that keeps the finished cheese in the lower-risk category for pregnancy. 1
2. During mozzarella manufacturing, the curd is stretched in hot water running from about 60 to 69 degrees Celsius, a heat step shown to reduce Listeria counts by roughly 4 to 6 log, on top of the earlier pasteurization step. 2
3. A review of cheese-related risk assessments found that hard cheese and semi-soft cheese generally don't support listeria growth, and specifically grouped pasteurized mozzarella with processed and hard cheeses in the lower-risk category, distinct from high-moisture soft cheeses like queso fresco, feta, brie, and camembert. 3
4. High moisture content is what lets listeria multiply in cheese, and string cheese's firmer, lower-moisture texture compared with fresh soft cheeses is part of why it carries less risk. 1
5. Listeriosis can cause diarrhea, fever, muscle pain, and headache, and during pregnancy it raises the chance of miscarriage, preterm delivery, and serious newborn infection, which is why food-safety guidance is more cautious for pregnant people than for the general population. 4

Is string cheese safe in each trimester?

• First trimester. String cheese is a normal, safe snack from the very start of pregnancy. It's a convenient source of calcium and protein if food aversions are making bigger meals harder to manage early on.
• Second trimester. As appetite often improves in the second trimester, string cheese stays an easy, portable snack, whether from a lunch box, a diaper bag, or your own bag between errands. No special handling beyond normal refrigeration is needed.
• Third trimester. Keep favoring sealed, individually wrapped string cheese over anything left sitting out at room temperature for long stretches, since your immune system is less able to fight off listeria all the way to delivery. Standard US string cheese made from pasteurized milk stays a fine choice.