♥ List of safe food in pregnancy ♥

When you are pregnant, making safe food choices is very important.   
 Get to know what you can safely eat when you are pregnant.

You may like to print this page and keep it as a handy reference on the fridge, when shopping or dining out to ensure you have a safe pregnancy.

Food type		What to do
Breads and cereals
Breads	all types	OK to eat
Cakes, slices, muffins etc	plain	OK to eat
	with cream or custard	Don’t eat (unless cream is newly opened and custard is home-made and fresh)
Cereals	breakfast cereals, rice, pasta etc	OK to eat - refer to dairy products below for milk information
Dairy products
Cheese	soft unpasteurised (raw milk) cheese (eg, Roquefort)	Don’t eat or use
	soft pasteurised cheese (eg, brie, camembert, blue, ricotta, mozzarella etc)	Don’t eat unless heated until steaming hot
	hard yellow cheese (eg, cheddar, parmesan etc)	Buy in small quantities
	cottage cheese, cream cheese etc	Buy in sealed packs; eat cold or cooked within two days of opening pack; don’t eat leftovers
	feta cheese	Buy in sealed packs; eat cold or cooked within two days of opening pack; don’t eat leftovers
Butter	all types	Buy in small quantities; store in fridge; ideally eat within two days of opening
Cream	fresh, unwhipped or whipped, sour cream etc	Buy in sealed packs; eat within two days of opening pack; don’t eat leftovers
Custard	ready-made chilled (packaged)	Don’t eat unless heated until steaming hot
	home-made	Eat while hot immediately after cooking; don’t eat cold leftovers
Milk	pasteurised	Ideally drink or use within two days of opening
	unpasteurised (raw)	Don’t drink or use
Yoghurt	all types	Check use-by date; ideally eat within two days of opening
Eggs
Raw eggs	in egg flips, eggnog, smoothies, home-made mayonnaise etc	Don’t eat
Cooked eggs	well cooked (fried, scrambled, baked, poached, etc)	Cook well (firm yolks, firm scrambled eggs)
Meat and poultry
Cooked meats	beef, pork, chicken, mince, sausages etc	Cook thoroughly until steaming hot throughout, and until juices run clear; eat while hot; never eat rare or undercooked meats; don’t eat cold leftovers
Processed meats	ham, salami, luncheon, pâté, pastrami, biltong, or jerky (dried meat) etc	Don’t eat unless heated until steaming hot
Cold cooked poultry	any cold pre-cooked poultry (eg, chicken, turkey etc.)	Don’t eat unless heated until steaming hot
Raw meat	any raw meat, raw chicken or other poultry, beef, pork etc	Don’t eat; don’t taste, or touch face, mouth or eyes while preparing; wash and dry hands well after touching raw meats
Seafood
Oysters and Queen scallops	Oysters and Queen scallops	Don’t eat
Raw fish and seafood	any raw fish or seafood	Don’t eat
Smoked fish and seafood	chilled, pre-cooked fish, mussels, salmon etc	Don’t eat unless heated until steaming hot
Cooked fish and seafood	freshly cooked fish, mussels, crayfish, scallops etc	Cook thoroughly until steaming hot throughout; eat while hot
Vegetables, salads and fruits
Fruit	all fresh fruits	Wash and dry well just before eating
Vegetables	all fresh vegetables	Wash and dry well just before eating raw, or wash before cooking
	frozen vegetables	Cook; don’t eat uncooked frozen vegetables
Salads	ready-made salads and coleslaws from delis, salad bars etc	Don’t eat
	home-made	Wash and dry salad ingredients well just before making and eating salads
Parsley	home-grown and store bought	Don’t eat raw; can use in cooked dishes
Miscellaneous
Leftovers	cooked foods	Store uneaten leftovers covered in fridge; eat within two days; never eat cold leftovers - always reheat until steaming hot
Tinned foods	tinned fruit, vegetables, fish, seafood, meat, sauces etc	Eat immediately after opening tin (hot or cold); store uneaten leftovers covered in fridge and eat hot (never cold) within two days
Sauces and dressings	salad dressings (oil and vinegar), bought mayonnaise, tomato sauce etc	Store in fridge once opened
Sushi	store bought (all types - even without raw seafood)	Don’t eat
	home-made	Use freshly cooked rice, and don’t use raw meat or seafood; eat immediately; don’t eat leftovers
Stuffing	stuffing from chicken or turkey	Don’t eat unless stuffing is cooked separately (in a dish); eat hot; store uneaten leftovers in fridge and eat hot within two days
Hummus	store-bought or home-made	Don’t eat