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No Cheese for Pregnant Woman, Says Grocery
Pregnant women are often made to feel like they need to spend nine months in a bubble to keep their unborn baby safe, but this is ridiculous.
UK shopper Janet Lehain was shocked when a deli server at her local grocery denied her request for unpasteurized cheddar cheese.
“I was very surprised,” Lehain told the BBC. “She went beyond telling me it was unpasteurised and insisted I should have a different type of Cheddar.”
Lehain insisted that because she was past her first trimester, the cheese was safe. But the stubborn clerk refused the sale until Lehain promised not to actually eat any of it. (Am I the only one who finds that hilarious? “Cross your heart you won’t it any?”)
The issue here isn’t whether or not the cheese is safe for pregnant women, it’s that pregnancy doesn’t alter a woman’s right to do what she wants. If she’d been buying a bottle of tequila, would the checkout clerk have stopped her on the grounds that she might drink it?
Furious, Lehain wrote a letter of complaint. “It’s the nanny state gone crazy,” she wrote. “Someone in Sainsbury’s is not a medical expert and so is not qualified to start handing out medical advice.”
The store has since apologized and insists they don’t have a policy in place that prevents pregnant women from buying what they want.
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Cheese Notes {weeks of Oct. 5 and 12} « Cheese + Champagne commented on Oct 13 09 at 2:12 am[...] No Cheese for Pregnant Woman, Says Grocery [...]
Top 5 Halloween Costumes for Grown-Ups | Strollerderby commented on Oct 14 09 at 12:31 pmAli commented on Oct 08 09 at 6:40 pmYes, but if she did get sick I bet she would run to a lawyer to sue that store saying they should not have sold it to her. This is not a Nany State problem but an over-litigation problem. People will sue if you look at them cross eyed.
NM commented on Oct 08 09 at 8:06 pmThat’s ridiculous. I went into liquor stores and bought booze while (obviously) pregnant. It was for my husband, or gifts for friends.
PlumbLucky commented on Oct 09 09 at 8:12 amIt would be one thing if she were ordering a triple shot of tequila at a bar, and even then, that’s suspect.
Erin commented on Oct 10 09 at 1:55 pmHow do they even know it was for her? Until it’s against the law, they had no right. I’m all too familiar with the looks you get when you’re pregnant – when I go with my husband to buy wine (usually to take to someone else’s house) I get those looks. Hint: it’s not for me.
Michelle commented on Oct 10 09 at 7:21 pmExactly Erin! I could be nine months pregnant, go buy a bottle of wine and tell you I’m going to drink it – and until it’s against the law for a pregnant woman to drink anything, then you can bite me! I’ve been pregnant 7 times and have never drunk anything while pregnant – but I can buy whatever I want.
mommiedear commented on Oct 11 09 at 10:46 amI think some types of cheeses will make you sick and I agree with that but I dont think a grocery store should deny anyone cheese….Even if they were sued it would be a moot subject because they cannot be responsible for anyhting voluntarily purchased by someone pregnant or not. On http://www.truuconfessions.com women have spoken out of the rights of consumers.
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