Food Safety During Pregnancy

With BBQs ramping up for the summer don’t forget these important food safety tips if you are expecting. (Food safety is important for everyone, but it’s especially important for expecting moms due to changes in your immune system that make you more susceptible to food-borne illnesses.)

Here are a few foods to watch out for at your next BBQ or family gathering:

AVOID

• Soft cheese, unless it clearly sates the cheeses are made from pasteurized milk

• Uncooked meats, like refrigerated pâtés or meat spreads

• Raw or undercooked meats, poultry and pork

• Deli meats and hot dogs, unless they are heated until steaming hot just before serving

• Raw eggs

• Raw cookie dough that contains eggs

• Raw fish

• Fish with high levels of mercury: Some types of fish have higher levels of mercury than others. Mercury is a metal that has been linked to birth defects. Do not eat bigeye tuna, king mackerel, marlin, orange roughy, shark, swordfish, or tilefish. Limit white (albacore) tuna to only 6 oz a week. You also should check advisories about fish caught in local waters.

• Smoked seafood

• Raw sprouts

• Raw unpasteurized fruit juice or unpasteurized dairy products

• Beverages containing sugar should be discontinued in pregnancy or consumed very sparingly, including sweet tea, soda, and energy drinks with sugar. These provide zero nutrition, can cause significant weight gain in pregnant women and fetuses, and can increase the chance of diabetes in pregnancy. 

LIMIT

• Caffeine (8-12 oz. of coffee per day is ok)

• Fish that doesn't have a lot of mercury, including shrimp, salmon, pollock, catfish and canned light tuna (see below)

Visit our Food Safety page to learn more about safe food handling and recommendations for eating fish while pregnant.