Yes, cottage cheese sold in the United States is pasteurized. Federal regulations require both the skim milk used to make the curds and the creaming mixture added later to undergo pasteurization before the product reaches store shelves. If you’re buying cottage cheese from a regular grocery store, it has been heat-treated to kill harmful bacteria.
How Cottage Cheese Gets Pasteurized
Cottage cheese actually goes through pasteurization at two stages during production. First, the skim milk used to form the curds must be pasteurized no more than 24 hours before production begins. Federal standards require heating every particle of milk to at least 161°F for no less than 15 seconds, or holding it at a lower temperature for a longer period (such as 30 minutes at a slightly lower heat). Both methods achieve the same result: destroying dangerous bacteria while preserving the milk’s ability to form curds.
After the curds are formed, they’re mixed with a cream dressing to give cottage cheese its familiar creamy texture. This creaming mixture must also be pasteurized under federal food safety rules. Once pasteurized, the cream and cheese dressing are quickly cooled to 40°F or lower, which helps extend the product’s shelf life.
Why the Label Might Not Say “Pasteurized”
Here’s something that surprises many shoppers: federal regulations don’t actually require manufacturers to print the word “pasteurized” on cottage cheese packaging. The law mandates that the product be pasteurized, but it doesn’t mandate that the label say so. This means a container of cottage cheese can be fully pasteurized without that word appearing anywhere on it. If you don’t see “pasteurized” on the label, that doesn’t mean the product is raw. It almost certainly isn’t.
That said, many brands do voluntarily include “pasteurized” on their labels, especially those marketing to pregnant women or health-conscious consumers. If you want extra reassurance, look for it on the ingredient panel or product description, but its absence isn’t a red flag on a mainstream grocery store product.
Live Cultures in Pasteurized Cottage Cheese
Pasteurization kills bacteria, so you might wonder how some cottage cheese brands advertise live and active cultures. The answer is timing. Bacterial starter cultures and probiotic strains are added after the milk has already been pasteurized. This is explicitly allowed under federal regulations, which note that “heat labile ingredients, such as bacterial starters, may be added following pasteurization.”
Some manufacturers go a step further by adding specific probiotic strains as adjuncts during production. These added bacteria survive in the finished product and continue to be active during refrigerated storage. So a cottage cheese can be both fully pasteurized and contain live cultures. The two aren’t contradictory. The pasteurization kills whatever was in the raw milk, and the beneficial bacteria are introduced in a controlled way afterward.
Raw Milk Cottage Cheese
A small number of artisan producers and farms do sell cottage cheese made from raw (unpasteurized) milk. This is a niche product, not something you’ll find at a typical supermarket. It will always be clearly labeled as raw or unpasteurized, because regulations require that distinction.
Raw milk can carry bacteria including Salmonella, E. coli, Listeria, and Campylobacter. Soft, high-moisture cheeses like cottage cheese are particularly risky when made from unpasteurized milk because their texture and water content create a hospitable environment for bacterial growth. The FDA specifically warns that raw milk products pose serious risks for pregnant women, young children, older adults, and anyone with a weakened immune system. Listeria, which is commonly found in raw milk, can cause miscarriage or severe illness in newborns.
Most healthy adults who get sick from raw dairy recover within a few days, experiencing vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, or flu-like symptoms. But in some cases, the illness can become chronic or life-threatening. If you’re specifically seeking out unpasteurized dairy, cottage cheese is one of the riskier choices because of its high moisture content compared to aged hard cheeses, where the aging process itself reduces bacterial survival.
Pregnancy and Immune Concerns
If you’re pregnant or immunocompromised and wondering whether cottage cheese is safe, standard grocery store cottage cheese is fine. It’s pasteurized by law, and the pasteurization process eliminates Listeria and other pathogens that pose the greatest risk during pregnancy. The only cottage cheese to avoid is the explicitly labeled raw or unpasteurized variety, which you’d typically only encounter at farmers’ markets, specialty stores, or direct farm sales.