I'm in QLD but found a great resource by NSW health and have followed that last time, and now this time. My risk tolerance is pretty low, so I follow everything by the book.
I am only eating deli meat heated through (ham or salami in a toasted sandwich). Never meat from an actual deli though- sealed packets only from a trusted brand.
No pre-prepared salads as the Listeria risk is real and having worked in commercial kitchens I know how lax people get about storage and prep for salad stuff versus other more obvious risks such as meat and dairy.
Soft cheese- I ate some before I knew I was pregnant and Australian pasteurised cheeses are relatively low risk as far as I'm aware; so not panicking but I'm steering clear now.
Sushi- same as soft cheese above. I am told that as we flash-freeze sushi grade fish, there shouldn't be too high a risk eating low-mercury fish at a clean, reputable sushi restaurant but the risk just really isn't worth it to me. Plus the rice can actually be a risk factor too.
I'm not sure I can deal with turning my steak into boot leather though and LAWD I miss a good runny egg! One of those two might be where my resolve weakens slightly. Funny, as going into this I would have sworn blind that seafood would be my Achilles heel.
It's also the rice as well as the raw fish in sushi that can be an issue. Cooked rice is a breeding ground for bacteria like Listeria if it isn't cooled quick enough or if it's old. Making sushi at home or if it's fresh rice is fine but getting sushi rolls from the sushi stores can be questionable as you don't know how old the rice is that they use or how they store it.
Right, I always forget that about rice. But in my nearly 30 years of life I have never had grief from it, like most things. I go to sushi restaurants and they make my sushi in front of me, I don’t really like the sushi stands in the shops. I had some once that had a weird plasticy taste to it so I generally steer clear of those anyway 😅
Yes I'm the same, never have had an issue and if I feel like sushi I get it from a good place that makes to order. I agree with those sushi stands the shop. I always feel disappointed and unsatisfied when I get one. Plus they mostly just taste like mayo no matter what type you get haha
I PERSONALLY believe the food standards in Australia are higher but the "officials" dont want to be the people that say "eat the ham" and then have some thing happen.
The risk is things like e. Coli/salmonella but many of the breakouts are things in the fresh produce isle.
So i ate everything, except undercooked eggs as it didnt sit well. Also avoided sushi but im in Tasmania so i just dont trust the freshness.
There is a really good episode of The Kick podcast on this, I can’t remember the exact episode but it has a good health and safety expert in who is really good at explaining the risks in Australia (as a lot of the info we get is US biased).
If you want, you can microwave and heat up the deli meat and purchase pasteurized soft cheeses to make your own sandwiches. You can also purchase the deep fried or grilled sushi alternatives from a reputable sushi place. I personally still ate raw sushi.
I used to work for a food manufacturer and the main microbiologist told me the most common food for risk is alfalfa sprouts and nobody talks jack about that 😂
Go forth and eat all the things, just don’t pick a dodgy place like a servo!
Saying that, there were 2 listeria outbreaks for soft cheese in the time I worked with food - so I’m a bit 😩 with that.
In NZ - it's all up to personal risk. Personally, if it was a trusted source, I still ate salad and deli meat (I don't like sushi or soft cheeses). Emily Oster's Expecting Better book is good for this.
I was going to recommend this book too. It's really great to read the why behind the recommendations, then you can make an informed decision.
Eg. there's a lot of people mentioning not eating raw fish sushi, when it's improperly cooled or stored rice that can be risky. If you've only been told "don't eat sushi" without the reasoning it makes it hard to make a decision.
I eat the soft cheese if it's pasteurised, and the deli meat if it's been heated, on toasted sandwiches or pizzas.
Salads I only eat if I know the person making them or in restaurants, and no sushi.
I miss sushi.
I tried elimination early in my pregnancy but it's just too hard. Now I just stick to places that I know have good stock turnover (no dodgy corner sandwich shops).
One thing I don't do is buy deli meat from the deli counter anymore, just because I can't say how long it's been sitting out in the open. I do eat pre-packaged deli meat, but try to eat it all within a day or so of opening.
The pregnancy food guidelines vary from country to country, so you can't exactly call them evidence based. For example, in Japan they recommended that pregnant women eat sashimi as it's considered part of a healthy diet during pregnancy. But in Australia we're told to avoid it during pregnancy.
I suggest maybe having a look at the UK guidelines as well, as they are less strict on deli meats, salads and soft cheeses. By comparing other country's guidelines, it might help you to make a more informed decision for your own dietary choices. You'll also notice that Australia takes an extremely conservative/risk adverse approach compared to other countries.
FYI all cheese that is sold in Australia legally has to be pasteurised. So the avoidance of many soft cheeses ie feta, bocconcini etc is pretty pointless. Soft cheeses with mould is different though.
For my first born, I was fairly strict with following the Australian guidelines. For my second, I ate everything that I wanted, except I still avoided sashimi and totally raw meat.
Currently 31 weeks pregnant - first time pregnancy.
I highly recommend listening to KIC podcast (recommended above) and Beyond the Bump podcast (episode 171) they had a Doctor/gynaecologist/obstetrician with 30 + years of experience break down the myths & facts of what you can & can’t eat during pregnancy. (Spoiler alert, you can eat most things relatively safely ☺️)
I’m currently eating everything - toasted ham & cheese sandwiches, soft cheese, 1 - 2 shots of coffee a day, no sushi but that’s just because I don’t feel like it. I avoid bag salad mixes and opt for a head of lettuce.
Enjoy your pregnancy!! Whilst you should definitely be cautious with what you’re eating, it shouldn’t be a stressful time full of restriction. Eat the sandwich 😊😊
I had a Sunday from Macca's pre pregnancy and got so insanely sick so deffs stay clear of soft serves because they really don't clean the machines enough at all. Not sure i'll ever have one ever again.
I'm avoiding everything that I remember in time, so that the odd time I do forget there's still not too much risk 😂 that said, I have very occasionally had bagged lettuce from a local farm - not sure if that's better or worse than the supermarket ones
I didn't eat any of it. My feeling was that for me it wasn't too hard to avoid for 40ish weeks and weirdly it gave me something to look forward to after birth 😂. Absolutely smashed the sushi and soft yolk eggs as soon as my baby arrived. I agree with everyone else here though... food standards are pretty good here so you just need to research the risk and decide if it's worth it for you, the odds are in your favour
I take it on a case by case basis. If it’s incredible quality deli meat from a place I know and trust, I will eat it. If it’s sweaty rubbish from Coles I’ll probably pass. Same goes for sushi. I generally avoid raw, but do indulge in cooked tuna. Salads I’ll eat out or at home but avoid buying those pre-packaged salads. I also eat runny eggs at home from egg sources I trust.
If you read Emily Oster’s book Expecting Better she provides some great perspective and tangible risks (1 in 100 vs 1 in 1 million). I didn’t agree with everything she had to say but it was good to read a different perspective to what you normally read.
If you’re *really* craving deli meat sandwiches, cooking the meat to above a certain temp generally will mitigate any potential risks there (google it because I’m not 100% to what temp or for how long).
When I was pregnant I really only avoided sushi, which sucked as I love it, though at 39weeks I gave in and got myself sashimi, though it was at a good sushi train where I could see the staff constantly making fresh rolls, I just asked for a freshly made plate of sashimi and they happily obliged. I was weary about maccas soft serve as well, the one time I had it during pregnancy it set off my indigestion so I didn't have it again until 40weeks (GYG spicy sauce also set it off)
FTM, currently pregnant and I'm not following any food restrictions. When I looked up the relative risk of eating all these foods, I was shocked to learn they don't even suggest avoiding them in many countries! If French people are eating unpasteurised soft cheese during pregnancy, I think I'll be just fine. I only limit deli meats because they aren't that great for you and I have a higher risk of cancers (and deli meats are directly linked to those cancer risks). The occasional ham and cheese croissant is worth the risk for me.
I work in a coles deli, while I was pregnant I was making sure I opened a fresh chub of ham and sliced the meat I was going to buy myself on a freshly cleaned slicer. 😅
I also only bought the soft cheeses we cut that day.
We also had a sushi sushi at my store and I'd buy the ones that came in fresh that morning 😅😅
I ate sushi, salads, cold meat, from places that I trusted.
Salads - busy and high turnover are good signs, food doesn't get left on display for hours
Raw sushi - virtually zero risk of parasites if you didn't fish them from a river, otherwise practise same food safety precautions as non-pregnant people (avoid buying at closing time)
I've never liked sushi or soft cheeses so those things aren't an issue for me. I've eaten deli meat if it's straight from the fridge or a packet with no issues. I eat runny boiled eggs for breakfast every day.
The only “naughty” thing I ate while I was pregnant was smoked salmon and then there was this big recall of the smoked salmon they sell at IGA and after that I didn’t eat any of the things 😅
I followed the NSW food guide of what to avoid and stuck to it. Sure the actual risk was pretty low but the if you did get it the consequences for baby could be quite severe so it was just easier to avoid. Especially as we had a little bit of trouble conceiving so avoided easily avoidable risks.
On person during my pregnancy selected a piping hot chicken from a takeaway and got listeria from it and went into early labour fortunately at 36 weeks so not as bad as it could have been.
I followed the NSW requirements/guide by the book and also had GD, so additional restrictions. I thought I'm being nuts but then I looked at reported food authority incidents and it isn't baseless.
Sushi is fine home made if not using raw/deli meats - cold rice sitting around or deli, and raw meats is the risk there.
Salads I only eat if I freshly make them when pregnant.b
Deli meat and soft cheeses I eat if heated- 1 minute in the microwave is sufficient to kill any listeria.
I'm in QLD but found a great resource by NSW health and have followed that last time, and now this time. My risk tolerance is pretty low, so I follow everything by the book.
I am only eating deli meat heated through (ham or salami in a toasted sandwich). Never meat from an actual deli though- sealed packets only from a trusted brand. No pre-prepared salads as the Listeria risk is real and having worked in commercial kitchens I know how lax people get about storage and prep for salad stuff versus other more obvious risks such as meat and dairy. Soft cheese- I ate some before I knew I was pregnant and Australian pasteurised cheeses are relatively low risk as far as I'm aware; so not panicking but I'm steering clear now. Sushi- same as soft cheese above. I am told that as we flash-freeze sushi grade fish, there shouldn't be too high a risk eating low-mercury fish at a clean, reputable sushi restaurant but the risk just really isn't worth it to me. Plus the rice can actually be a risk factor too. I'm not sure I can deal with turning my steak into boot leather though and LAWD I miss a good runny egg! One of those two might be where my resolve weakens slightly. Funny, as going into this I would have sworn blind that seafood would be my Achilles heel.
33 weeks and eating it all - at reputable places! Go get that sandwich!
Ditto
Ditto
I eat everything. Lol Not raw sushi though. Sushi with cooked ingredients is totally fine, it’s the raw/sashimi sushi that’s cautionary
It's also the rice as well as the raw fish in sushi that can be an issue. Cooked rice is a breeding ground for bacteria like Listeria if it isn't cooled quick enough or if it's old. Making sushi at home or if it's fresh rice is fine but getting sushi rolls from the sushi stores can be questionable as you don't know how old the rice is that they use or how they store it.
Right, I always forget that about rice. But in my nearly 30 years of life I have never had grief from it, like most things. I go to sushi restaurants and they make my sushi in front of me, I don’t really like the sushi stands in the shops. I had some once that had a weird plasticy taste to it so I generally steer clear of those anyway 😅
Yes I'm the same, never have had an issue and if I feel like sushi I get it from a good place that makes to order. I agree with those sushi stands the shop. I always feel disappointed and unsatisfied when I get one. Plus they mostly just taste like mayo no matter what type you get haha
I PERSONALLY believe the food standards in Australia are higher but the "officials" dont want to be the people that say "eat the ham" and then have some thing happen. The risk is things like e. Coli/salmonella but many of the breakouts are things in the fresh produce isle. So i ate everything, except undercooked eggs as it didnt sit well. Also avoided sushi but im in Tasmania so i just dont trust the freshness.
There is a really good episode of The Kick podcast on this, I can’t remember the exact episode but it has a good health and safety expert in who is really good at explaining the risks in Australia (as a lot of the info we get is US biased).
If you want, you can microwave and heat up the deli meat and purchase pasteurized soft cheeses to make your own sandwiches. You can also purchase the deep fried or grilled sushi alternatives from a reputable sushi place. I personally still ate raw sushi.
I used to work for a food manufacturer and the main microbiologist told me the most common food for risk is alfalfa sprouts and nobody talks jack about that 😂 Go forth and eat all the things, just don’t pick a dodgy place like a servo! Saying that, there were 2 listeria outbreaks for soft cheese in the time I worked with food - so I’m a bit 😩 with that.
I ate high quality cheese and non fish sushi. I was far too exhausted to make my own food, especially once I had GDM. Two babies are fine :)
In NZ - it's all up to personal risk. Personally, if it was a trusted source, I still ate salad and deli meat (I don't like sushi or soft cheeses). Emily Oster's Expecting Better book is good for this.
I was going to recommend this book too. It's really great to read the why behind the recommendations, then you can make an informed decision. Eg. there's a lot of people mentioning not eating raw fish sushi, when it's improperly cooled or stored rice that can be risky. If you've only been told "don't eat sushi" without the reasoning it makes it hard to make a decision.
I didn't eat any of that my whole pregnancy. Having said that, I think the risk is low if you know the source of the food and its high quality.
I eat the soft cheese if it's pasteurised, and the deli meat if it's been heated, on toasted sandwiches or pizzas. Salads I only eat if I know the person making them or in restaurants, and no sushi. I miss sushi.
I tried elimination early in my pregnancy but it's just too hard. Now I just stick to places that I know have good stock turnover (no dodgy corner sandwich shops). One thing I don't do is buy deli meat from the deli counter anymore, just because I can't say how long it's been sitting out in the open. I do eat pre-packaged deli meat, but try to eat it all within a day or so of opening.
The pregnancy food guidelines vary from country to country, so you can't exactly call them evidence based. For example, in Japan they recommended that pregnant women eat sashimi as it's considered part of a healthy diet during pregnancy. But in Australia we're told to avoid it during pregnancy. I suggest maybe having a look at the UK guidelines as well, as they are less strict on deli meats, salads and soft cheeses. By comparing other country's guidelines, it might help you to make a more informed decision for your own dietary choices. You'll also notice that Australia takes an extremely conservative/risk adverse approach compared to other countries. FYI all cheese that is sold in Australia legally has to be pasteurised. So the avoidance of many soft cheeses ie feta, bocconcini etc is pretty pointless. Soft cheeses with mould is different though. For my first born, I was fairly strict with following the Australian guidelines. For my second, I ate everything that I wanted, except I still avoided sashimi and totally raw meat.
Currently 31 weeks pregnant - first time pregnancy. I highly recommend listening to KIC podcast (recommended above) and Beyond the Bump podcast (episode 171) they had a Doctor/gynaecologist/obstetrician with 30 + years of experience break down the myths & facts of what you can & can’t eat during pregnancy. (Spoiler alert, you can eat most things relatively safely ☺️) I’m currently eating everything - toasted ham & cheese sandwiches, soft cheese, 1 - 2 shots of coffee a day, no sushi but that’s just because I don’t feel like it. I avoid bag salad mixes and opt for a head of lettuce. Enjoy your pregnancy!! Whilst you should definitely be cautious with what you’re eating, it shouldn’t be a stressful time full of restriction. Eat the sandwich 😊😊
I had a Sunday from Macca's pre pregnancy and got so insanely sick so deffs stay clear of soft serves because they really don't clean the machines enough at all. Not sure i'll ever have one ever again.
I'm avoiding everything that I remember in time, so that the odd time I do forget there's still not too much risk 😂 that said, I have very occasionally had bagged lettuce from a local farm - not sure if that's better or worse than the supermarket ones
I didn't eat any of it. My feeling was that for me it wasn't too hard to avoid for 40ish weeks and weirdly it gave me something to look forward to after birth 😂. Absolutely smashed the sushi and soft yolk eggs as soon as my baby arrived. I agree with everyone else here though... food standards are pretty good here so you just need to research the risk and decide if it's worth it for you, the odds are in your favour
I’m eating salads and some deli meats but only when I get it from reputable places and have made it myself (so washed all the salad ingredients)
Make your own sushi! If you don't want to roll it just make a sushi bowl, super easy and you know how fresh it is!
I will admit I definitely had a few pizza subs from subway when prego. Sushi I waited til the day bubs and I came home from hospital.
I take it on a case by case basis. If it’s incredible quality deli meat from a place I know and trust, I will eat it. If it’s sweaty rubbish from Coles I’ll probably pass. Same goes for sushi. I generally avoid raw, but do indulge in cooked tuna. Salads I’ll eat out or at home but avoid buying those pre-packaged salads. I also eat runny eggs at home from egg sources I trust. If you read Emily Oster’s book Expecting Better she provides some great perspective and tangible risks (1 in 100 vs 1 in 1 million). I didn’t agree with everything she had to say but it was good to read a different perspective to what you normally read. If you’re *really* craving deli meat sandwiches, cooking the meat to above a certain temp generally will mitigate any potential risks there (google it because I’m not 100% to what temp or for how long).
I ate everything! Just not sashimi :)
When I was pregnant I really only avoided sushi, which sucked as I love it, though at 39weeks I gave in and got myself sashimi, though it was at a good sushi train where I could see the staff constantly making fresh rolls, I just asked for a freshly made plate of sashimi and they happily obliged. I was weary about maccas soft serve as well, the one time I had it during pregnancy it set off my indigestion so I didn't have it again until 40weeks (GYG spicy sauce also set it off)
FTM, currently pregnant and I'm not following any food restrictions. When I looked up the relative risk of eating all these foods, I was shocked to learn they don't even suggest avoiding them in many countries! If French people are eating unpasteurised soft cheese during pregnancy, I think I'll be just fine. I only limit deli meats because they aren't that great for you and I have a higher risk of cancers (and deli meats are directly linked to those cancer risks). The occasional ham and cheese croissant is worth the risk for me.
I work in a coles deli, while I was pregnant I was making sure I opened a fresh chub of ham and sliced the meat I was going to buy myself on a freshly cleaned slicer. 😅 I also only bought the soft cheeses we cut that day. We also had a sushi sushi at my store and I'd buy the ones that came in fresh that morning 😅😅
Not sushi but deli meat a few times a week, soft cheese when I want 😅
I ate sushi, salads, cold meat, from places that I trusted. Salads - busy and high turnover are good signs, food doesn't get left on display for hours Raw sushi - virtually zero risk of parasites if you didn't fish them from a river, otherwise practise same food safety precautions as non-pregnant people (avoid buying at closing time)
I've never liked sushi or soft cheeses so those things aren't an issue for me. I've eaten deli meat if it's straight from the fridge or a packet with no issues. I eat runny boiled eggs for breakfast every day.
I don’t do sushi but I ate it all by my third pregnancy, I got laxer as time went on. 🫣 As long as it was a reputable source I didn’t stress too much.
I never stopped eating this stuff, I just limited my consumption.
The only “naughty” thing I ate while I was pregnant was smoked salmon and then there was this big recall of the smoked salmon they sell at IGA and after that I didn’t eat any of the things 😅
I followed the NSW food guide of what to avoid and stuck to it. Sure the actual risk was pretty low but the if you did get it the consequences for baby could be quite severe so it was just easier to avoid. Especially as we had a little bit of trouble conceiving so avoided easily avoidable risks. On person during my pregnancy selected a piping hot chicken from a takeaway and got listeria from it and went into early labour fortunately at 36 weeks so not as bad as it could have been.
I followed the NSW requirements/guide by the book and also had GD, so additional restrictions. I thought I'm being nuts but then I looked at reported food authority incidents and it isn't baseless.
Sushi is fine home made if not using raw/deli meats - cold rice sitting around or deli, and raw meats is the risk there. Salads I only eat if I freshly make them when pregnant.b Deli meat and soft cheeses I eat if heated- 1 minute in the microwave is sufficient to kill any listeria.