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Home » Food Safety Tips for Pregnancy

Food Safety Tips for Pregnancy

November 16, 2022 by Bridget 8 Comments

 Pregnant? You Should be Concerned about Food Safety

Food safety during pregnancy is super important. Read more at www.eatrightmama.com.

Listeria is in the news again–and this is one bad bug you should pay attention to!

Food-borne illness outbreaks are big news on prime-time TV, and odds are that you’ve had a case of food poisoning yourself. During pregnancy, you’re more susceptible to food-borne illness—and it can hurt your baby too. Listeria is especially dangerous during pregnancy because it can cause miscarriage.

But, with some food safety knowledge and safer food handling, you can keep yourself and your baby healthy. See more about Listeria below.

Food poisoning refers to more than just eating “bad” food. Most food-borne illness is spread through poor hand hygiene, keeping food at room temperature too long or not cooking it to a hot-enough temperature. Many bugs are passed from hand-to-hand contact (especially in crowded places like cruise ships) and hand-to-food contact. For example, bacteria can be spread from infected workers who don’t wash their hands properly.

#Pregnant? Make sure it's clean where you swim, or you could get sick. More food safety advice here. bit.ly/2cj4W0v

Water you come in contact with while swimming could put you at risk for illness if the water has a high level of bacteria.

Also, some illness is spread through contaminated water that you might come into contact with. For example, at your local swimming pool, lake, the beach or through contaminated drinking water. No surprise: produce or seafood that comes into contact with water with sewage can also cause serious illness. However, this is more of a problem in undeveloped countries.

Cooking is Key!

Illness-causing bacteria, viruses and even parasites—can be killed by cooking to a proper internal temperature. That includes common bugs like Salmonella, Campylobacter, E. coli, Clostridium, Staph, Strep, Toxoplasma, Hepatitis A, Rotovirus and Norovirus. Some bacteria are hard to kill—and one bacteria—Listeria—can survive refrigeration. Let’s talk about two really bad “bugs” to get while pregnant.#Pregnant? Get important #FoodSafety advice here. bit.ly/2cj4W0v Share on X

Kick these bad bugs to the curb with food safety tips!

Listeria Monocytogenes

Listeria is a stubborn little bacteria that can grow and thrive in your fridge. You can get sick from any uncooked food you eat that has bacteria. It’s even more likely to happen with Listeria. Listeriosis causes flu-like symptoms but if listeria is passed on to a fetus, it can cause you to have a miscarriage, premature birth, or give birth to a stillborn baby. Find all the info about current and past Listeria outbreaks from the CDC here. Prevent Listeriosis by following these food safety tips from the CDC:

Meats and Deli FoodsHot dogs are a no-no unless heated to steaming. But honestly they are not a great choice during pregnancy. See more at www.eatrightmama.com

  • Do not eat hot dogs, cold cuts, other deli meats (e.g., bologna), or fermented or dry sausages unless they are heated to an internal temperature of 165°F / 75°C or until steaming-hot just before serving.
  • Avoid getting fluid from hot dog and lunch meat packages on other foods, utensils, and food preparation surfaces, and wash hands after handling hot dogs, lunch meats, and deli meats.
  • Do not eat refrigerated meat or vegetable pâté or meat spreads from a deli or meat counter or from the refrigerated section of a store, unless heated to steaming. Foods that do not need refrigeration, like canned or shelf-stable pâté and meat spreads, are safe to eat. Refrigerate after opening.

Milk and Cheeses

  • Don’t eat raw (unpasteurized) milk and foods that are made with it.
  • Cheeses made from unpasteurized milk are more likely to harbor Listeria whether it’s made from cow, goat or sheep milk.
  • Only eat cheese with PASTEURIZED MILK in the ingredient list.
  • Read why it’s important to avoid raw milk here.

Smoked Seafood

Smoked salmon and lox are best avoided during #pregnancy. More #foodsafety advice here. bit.ly/2cj4W0v

Smoked salmon like this is a no-no during pregnancy unless heated to steaming!

  • Do not eat smoked seafood, unless it is contained in a cooked dish, or unless it is a canned or shelf-stable product, or  it is heated to steaming.
  • Refrigerated smoked seafood, such as salmon, trout, white fish, cod, tuna, and mackerel, is most often labeled as “nova-style,” “lox,” “kippered,” “smoked,” or “jerky.” These fish are often found in the refrigerator section or sold at seafood and deli counters of grocery stores and delis and should be avoided, unless heated to steaming.
  • Canned and shelf-stable packets of tuna, salmon, and other fish products are safe to eat.

Fruits &  Veggies with a Hard Skin like Melon

Fruits and veggies linked to many food-borne illness outbreaks. Read more at www.eatrightmama.com.

There have been big food-borne illness outbreaks linked to melon. Wash well!

  • Wash hands before and after handling whole melons like cantaloupe.
  • Scrub the surface of melons with a produce brush under running water. Sanitize brush after use.
  • Refrigerate melon that is not eaten right away; keep it no more than 7 days.

International Food Safety Advice to Prevent Food-Borne Illness

Canadian women get similar eating advice regarding how to best avoid Listeria. You will find different advice in other countries. In Australia, pregnant women are advised to avoid soft white cheeses, like brie and feta, pâté, oysters, pre-packed salads and soft serve ice cream.. Women in the UK are told to avoid mold-ripened soft cheeses such as brie, camembert, chèvre (goats’ cheese) and others with a similar rind; soft blue-veined cheeses, such as Danish blue, gorgonzola and Roquefort, unless heated to steaming, and all types of pâté, including vegetable pâté.. The advice in France is similar, with the addition of avoiding rillettes, foie gras, the crust of cheese, unpasteurized cheese, tarama (a fish roe salad) and raw germinated seeds.

#pregnant? Kick Listeria and other bad bugs to the curb with this #foodsafety advice. bit.ly/2cj4W0v Share on X

Toxoplasma Gondii

Cats carry a parasite called Toxoplasma gondii and it can also contaminate food. Toxoplasmosis may cause mild flu-like symptoms in pregnant women, but if the parasite is passed on to a fetus, it can cause preterm birth and stillbirth and can be the cause of learning, visual and hearing problems later in childhood. Toxoplasmosis can result from eating under cooked meat and poultry or unwashed fruits and vegetables, from cleaning a cat litter box, or from handling contaminated soil.

Wearing gloves when gardening and changing cat boxes can keep you away from #toxoplasmosis! Important if you're #pregnant! Read more here: bit.ly/2cj4W0v

Make sure to wear gloves when gardening and emptying cat boxes.

You can reduce how severe the disease is with antibiotics, but preventing it is best:

  • Avoid cleaning cat litter boxes if possible (or wear gloves.)
  • Don’t let cats on eating or food preparation areas. (Good luck with that one!)
  • Wash fruits and veggies well, and cook meat and poultry thoroughly.
  • Wear gloves when gardening, handling soil, sand or cat litter.
  • If you have a sand box for children to play in, keep it covered to keep cats out.
  • Wash your hands after handling animals, especially cats.

For more information on Toxoplasmosis, see the March of Dimes.

More pregnancy food safety advice at FoodSafety.gov.

Special eating tips for the holidays from the CDC.

More Food Safety Advice from EatRightMama.com:

4 Step Food Safety Guide

Food Safety Mistakes to Avoid

Filed Under: Food Safety, Pregnancy Tagged With: food borne illness, food safety, food safety during pregnancy, listeria, pregnancy, toxoplasmosis

Previous Post: « Buying Time with the Slow Cooker
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. shalawat nabi says

    October 12, 2016 at 1:32 pm

    thank you very much for post, this is very helpfull

    Reply
  2. Jodi Robinson says

    May 25, 2018 at 7:19 pm

    Great post! Every momma should know :).

    Reply
  3. Rebecca Adrianna Livingstone says

    May 28, 2018 at 3:18 pm

    Love this infographic! Great job there Bridget!

    Reply
  4. Whitney E, R.D. says

    May 29, 2018 at 9:31 am

    This is a wonderful post! You are filled with great information and very knowledgeable. Every pregnant woman needs to see this 🙂

    Reply
  5. Lindsey Pine says

    May 29, 2018 at 9:51 am

    Thank you for posting this! It’s super helpful!

    Reply
  6. Abbey Sharp says

    May 31, 2018 at 7:31 am

    Love that info graphic! Such important information, thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  7. Loraine L Cira says

    March 22, 2019 at 12:37 pm

    I teach GDM class. I am interested in the poster “Food Safety for Baby and Me”. Can you send me the link. Excellent educational piece.
    Thank you in advance

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Pregnant with Twins? Eat This! | Eat Right Mama says:
    October 24, 2022 at 2:55 pm

    […] Food Safety Tips for Pregnancy […]

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