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Pregnancy food safety · 18 entries

Desserts during pregnancy

Pudding is not off the table. Cakes, biscuits, chocolate, ice cream, jelly, pies and pastries are all fine in pregnancy. There's no safety problem here, just the ordinary business of not living on them. Two things to look at. Anything with raw egg that never gets cooked — a proper mousse, tiramisu, homemade ice cream, uncooked meringue — is worth asking about or skipping, because raw egg can carry salmonella. Shop-bought versions are made with pasteurized egg and are fine. And anything with cream or custard in it should stay cold: buy from a chilled cabinet, get it home to the fridge, eat it within a couple of days. Everything else is just dessert. Enjoy it.

Every desserts entry, with a verdict

Sorted with the ones worth knowing about first. Avoid means skip it entirely; take care means it depends on how it was prepared.

  • Meringues

    Avoid

    Usually home-made or restaurant-served meringues contains raw eggs that can be contaminated with salmonella. Made with pasteurized egg, or baked hard all the way through, they're fine — so ask, and if nobody knows, skip it. The packaged ones from the grocery store are fine.

  • Tiramisu

    Avoid

    Usually home-made or restaurant-served tiramisu contains raw eggs that can be contaminated with salmonella. Made with pasteurized egg it's fine, so ask — and if nobody knows, skip it. Supermarket tiramisu is made with pasteurized egg too, and the label will say so.

  • Mousse

    Avoid

    Usually home-made or restaurant-served mousses contain raw eggs that can be contaminated with salmonella. Made with pasteurized egg it's fine, so ask — and if nobody knows, skip it. Supermarket mousse is made with pasteurized egg too, and the label will say so.

  • Baklava and halavah

    Safe

    Enjoy it, but don't overdo it!

  • Honey

    Safe

    You can enjoy honey during pregnancy. In stores you can usually buy pasteurized honey, but you can also buy honey from farms as there are no studies on the safety of raw honey during pregnancy and there's no reason to believe it's unsafe. Unlike deli meat and some more products, unpasteurized honey doesn't carry the risk of listeriosis.

  • Bubblegum

    Safe

    There are no studies showing that chewing bubblegum can be dangerous during pregnancy, so enjoy, and blow your bubbles bigger!

  • Chocolate

    Safe

    Time for a happy dance: chocolate is not forbidden if you are pregnant! Moreover, a study from the University of Helsinki links women who eat chocolate when pregnant and happier more gregarious babies. The theory is that the serotonin, the happy hormone, is somehow passed on to the baby in the womb. This is not a proven fact for sure, but chocolate is okay to eat during pregnancy. Now you may think, great, it’s allowed, I will eat 10 bars a day. But chocolate is quite fattening and contains lots of sugar, it is not ok to overdo it with chocolate even if you are not pregnant. High levels of sugar in your blood can lead to health problems and extra weight make you more likely to have a caesarean, give birth to an overweight baby, or have complications in both pregnancy and birth.

  • Soft serve ice cream

    Safe

    Soft serve is fine — the mix is pasteurized, and neither the CDC nor the FDA asks you to avoid it. Just use the judgment you would use anyway: somewhere busy, with a machine that looks and smells clean (and if it doesn't, you didn't want it!)

  • Plain cakes, slices, muffins

    Safe

    It's okay to eat these, enjoy!

  • Jam

    Safe

    Tasty spread for your bread! Try to make jams yourself or choose the one that doesn't contain added chemicals and lots of sugar.

  • Candies and sweets

    Safe

    Enjoy eating candies, but don't overdo it, as it can lead to excessive weight gain, problems with teeth, and can increase the chances of getting gestational diabetes.

  • Pie

    Safe

    It's good to have a piece of pie with a cup of tea, right?

  • Ice cream

    Safe

    Enjoy eating packaged ice-cream, be sure to check the expiration date before eating, it should be fresh! Don't overdo it, ice cream usually contains TONS of sugar. If you make it yourself, use pasteurized milk.

  • Cakes, slices, muffins with cream or custard

    Safe

    These are fine — cream and custard sold in the US are pasteurized. Just keep them cold and eat within a day or two.

  • Sugar

    Safe

    Be careful with sugar during pregnancy — sweet things crowd out the food doing the work. But gestational diabetes is not caused by eating sugar: it comes from pregnancy hormones blunting your body's response to insulin, and it can happen to anyone. If you have it, follow your provider's plan.

  • Custard

    Safe

    Custard is tasty and safe — shop-bought custard is made with pasteurized milk and egg. It can spoil fast though, so if it's a ready-made chilled (packaged) custard, eat during 1-2 days after opening. If you cooked it yourself, take it to 160°F (71°C) and eat it hot right after cooking.

  • Pudding

    Safe

    Oh pudding, so great, even during pregnancy. So go ahead!

  • Pancakes

    Safe

    It's good to have some with a cup of tea, right?

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