Meat during pregnancy

Every meat 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.

• Raw meat

  Avoid

  Raw meat (including carpaccio and tartare) can contain harmful bacteria like salmonella, coliform bacteria etc. They will make you sick, and that can lead to further problems. Raw meat can also carry toxoplasma, which does cross the placenta and can reach your baby. Do not refuse meat — just cook it with the right temperature. Your healthcare provider will likely provide you with a list of approved foods and recommended cooking instructions. Use this tip from the FDA to cook meat properly: Beef, pork, veal, and lamb roasts, steaks, and chops to at least 145° F (63° C) with a 3 minute rest, Ground beef, veal, lamb, and pork to at least 160° F (71° C). All poultry, whole or ground, to 165° F (74° C).

• Meat pate

  Avoid

  It’s not safe to eat chilled pate during pregnancy, even vegetable pate! Pate can be contaminated with listeria bacteria. Listeriosis can cause mild, flu-like symptoms that can appear anything from several days to several months after you’ve been exposed to the bacteria. You may barely feel ill yourself and it can still reach the baby. That’s why the rule is strict. Canned pate is fine, and so is pate heated until steaming hot (165° F).

• Liver

  Avoid

  Surprised to see liver in the "Dangerous" category? Yep, that's it. Liver is rich in vitamins, minerals, and protein, but it contains high amounts of preformed vitamin A, or retinol. Too much of this type of vitamin A in your diet can cause birth defects in your developing baby, especially during the first months of pregnancy — the limit is 3,000 mcg a day, and one ordinary portion of liver can carry several times that. And don't forget that you are also taking supplements containing vitamin A! So leave liver alone while you're pregnant, and cod liver oil with it. You lose nothing: carrots, sweet potato, spinach and mango give you vitamin A as beta-carotene, which doesn't carry the same risk. Avoid liver pate too: it can be contaminated with listeria.

• Liver pate

  Avoid

  It’s not safe to eat chilled pate during pregnancy, the kind from the deli counter or the fridge — pate can be contaminated with listeria bacteria. Canned and shelf-stable pate is fine, and so is shelf-stable vegetable pate. Listeriosis can cause mild, flu-like symptoms that can appear anything from several days to several months after you’ve been exposed to the bacteria. Listeria can reach the baby even when you barely feel sick yourself, which is why the canned kind is fine and the chilled kind is not. Also, liver contains high amounts of preformed vitamin A, or retinol. Too much of this type of vitamin A in your diet can cause birth defects in your developing baby, especially during the first months of pregnancy.

• Steak — blue, rare or medium rare

  Avoid

  Steak with blood (so any steak that hasn't reached 145° F / 63° C in the middle) can contain harmful bacteria like salmonella, coliform bacteria etc. They will make you sick, and that can lead to further problems. Raw meat can also carry toxoplasma, which does cross the placenta and can reach your baby. Do not refuse meat — just cook it with the right temperature. Your healthcare provider will likely provide you with a list of approved foods and recommended cooking instructions. Use this tip from the FDA to cook meat properly: Beef, pork, veal, and lamb roasts, steaks, and chops to at least 145° F (63° C) with a 3 minute rest, Ground beef, veal, lamb, and pork to at least 160° F (71° C). All poultry, whole or ground, to 165° F (74° C).

• Cooked meat with blood

  Avoid

  Raw meat can contain harmful bacteria like salmonella, coliform bacteria etc. They will make you sick, and that can lead to further problems. Raw meat can also carry toxoplasma, which does cross the placenta and can reach your baby. Do not refuse meat — just cook it with the right temperature. Your healthcare provider will likely provide you with a list of approved foods and recommended cooking instructions. Use this tip from the FDA to cook meat properly: Beef, pork, veal, and lamb roasts, steaks, and chops to at least 145° F (63° C) with a 3 minute rest, Ground beef, veal, lamb, and pork to at least 160° F (71° C). All poultry, whole or ground, to 165° F (74° C).

• Deli meat

  Take care

  Deli meats (including jamon) are not the best products for pregnancy as they can be contaminated with listeria that causes lots of problems, sometimes even miscarriage — the CDC says about 1 in 4 affected pregnancies is lost. Listeria has the ability to cross the placenta and infect the baby — definitely no ok! But you don't have to give up the sandwich. Reheat the meat to 165°F (74°C) or until it is steaming — at that temperature listeria dies and can do no harm.

• Well-cooked meat

  Safe

  Meat cooked to the right temperature is okay to eat. It contains protein, zinc and iron, which are nutrients needed by you and your baby! Use this tip from the FDA to cook meat properly: Beef, pork, veal, and lamb roasts, steaks, and chops to at least 145° F (63° C), then rested 3 minutes, Ground beef, veal, lamb, and pork to at least 160° F (71° C). All poultry, whole or ground, to 165° F (74° C). Use a thermometer, not the color: 145° F on a whole cut is a medium steak, still faintly pink, and that is done.

• Sausages

  Safe

  Sausages are okay during pregnancy. Cook fresh ones to 160°F (71°C) — 165°F for chicken or turkey — and eat while hot. Cured ready-to-eat sausage like salami needs reheating to 165°F or until steaming. Store leftovers covered in the fridge, eat within 2 days and heat to steam before eating. Choose trusted producers and check they are fresh before buying!

• Steak — medium, medium well or well done

  Safe

  Steak with the temperature no lower than 145° F (63° C), rested 3 minutes, is okay to eat — that's a medium steak, still faintly pink. It contains protein, zinc and iron, which are nutrients needed by you and your baby! Use this tip from the FDA to cook meat properly: Beef, pork, veal, and lamb roasts, steaks, and chops to at least 145° F (63° C) with a 3 minute rest, Ground beef, veal, lamb, and pork to at least 160° F (71° C). All poultry, whole or ground, to 165° F (74° C).

• Canned meat

  Safe

  Canned meat is okay to eat and cook, make sure the cans are fresh, store in the fridge and eat within 2 days after opening. Canned pâté counts too — it's the chilled ones you skip.

Other categories

Back to the full food safety guide →