Pregnancy-safe

What Is It?

A temporary dietary restriction during pregnancy (and often while breastfeeding). It’s not an allergy or a personal choice—it’s protection against Listeria, Toxoplasma, Salmonella, mercury, and alcohol—real risks to the fetus.

Avoid

• Raw or undercooked foods: sushi, sashimi, tartare, carpaccio, ceviche, steak tartare, rare hamburger, oysters, raw mussels, meat that’s pink in the center.
• Raw or undercooked eggs: homemade mayonnaise, mousse, tiramisu, hollandaise-style sauces, fried eggs with runny yolks, soft meringue whites.
• Unpasteurized dairy products: unpasteurized artisanal cheeses (Brie, Camembert, blue cheese, feta, fresh goat cheese, aged Manchego made from raw milk—read the label).
• Uncooked cured meats: Serrano ham, chorizo, salchichón, fuet, salami (risk of toxoplasmosis; cooking them to >65 °C makes them safe).
• Pâtés and foie gras: high concentration of Listeria + excessive vitamin A.
• Fish high in mercury: bluefin tuna, swordfish, pike, shark, king mackerel.
• Alcohol: zero tolerance, including alcohol not evaporated during cooking.
• Liver and vitamin A supplements.

Generally safe

Well-cooked meat and fish (≥65 °C at the center), low-mercury fish (salmon, hake, sole, sea bass), pasteurized dairy products, cooked eggs, cooked deli meats (ham, turkey).