List of safe/unsafe foods

[HollyHobby]

Hi, I see lots of peeps unsure on what they can and can't have so copying this from my book.

FOODS TO DEFINITELY AVOID

* soft moulded-ripened cheeses, such as Camembert and Brie, and all blue-veined cheeses such as Stilton

* all fresh paties, including meat, fish and vegetable pates

* ready made meals that are not thoroughly reheated

* raw and undercooked meats

* unwashed vegetables and salad food

(Many adults are immune to listeria having listeriosis long ago. If you catch it you are unlikely to be very ill: you may have flu like symptoms and a sore throat, or you may feel quite well. But the bacteria can cross the placenta and affect your growing baby)

* wash vegetables thoroughly before cooking
* wash salads well
* reheat pre-cooked meals until they are piping hot
* cook meats well, cook chicken until no juices are pink, and check that barbecued sausages and beefburgers are cooked all the way through


SAFE TO EAT

* hard cheeses such as Edam, Cheddar, Cheshire, gouda and Wenslydale. Cottage Cheese, cream cheese, curd cheese and Mozzarella.

* most pre packed cheesecakes : most are made with cream or curd cheese (check pack)

* cooked moulded ripened cheeses, for eg. on pizzas, as long as they are piping hot

*parmesan and Gruyere
tinned or vacuum packed pates, pates in tubes (as long as not containing liver), meat, fish or vegetable pastes in jars

* ready meals that are reheated until piping hot.

*meats that are well cooked until no parts run pink

****You might want to avoid cold meats and smoked fish, although in the Uk the risk is low some countries tell you to avoid it.

RAW SHELLFISH
* It is safe to eat shellfish that is well cooked and served hot, any bacteria in shellfish are usually killled by proper cooking.

FISH
* AVOID shark, swordfish and Marlin
* SAFE white fish such as cod, haddock and plaice - mackerel, herring, pilchard, sardine, trout and salmon... TUNA IS OKAY BUT HAVE NO MORE THAN 2 MEDIUM SIZED 200G CANS PER WEEK (I've seen this linked to autism on Montel the other day from the mercury)

MILK / YOGHURT - AVOID - green top or unpasturised milk, including goats milk.... unpasturised yoghurt and other foods made from unpasturised milk
MILK / YOGHURT - SAFE - pasturised milk and UHT milk from both cows and goats.... ordinary yoghurts and other milk products made from pasturised milk.

FOODS TO AVOID INCASE OF SALMONELLA
AVOID -- raw eggs, any food containing raw or partially cooked eggs, such as home made mayonnaise, mousses, sorbets, soem home made ice creams, any custards and deserts made with eggs that are only partly set, undercooked poultry, and soft whip ice cream (as often sold from vans)

SAFE - eggs well cooked enough for the white to be solid (allow 7 mins for standard boiled egg, fry eggs on both sides), many pre packed mousses and deserts if they contain pasturised egg, pre- packed ice cream


LIVER - Too much vit A can harm your baby, these include liver and liver products such as pate

FOODS YOU MAY WORRY ABOUT BUT WHICH ARE CONSIDERED SAFE
Honey - Soya - Probiotics

CAFFEINE - 300MG A DAY (TEA, COFFEE, CHOCOLATE, COLA ETC)
PEANUTS - AVOID PEANUTS AS IT IS LINKED TO ALLERGY IN BABIES

 

[Jaidy]

Thanks HH, this has refreshed my memory from my first pregnancy thanks!!!

 

[HollyHobby]

hey youre welcome!

 

[nikkilovegrove]

Thanks for that post, it's really helpful. I just sent my OH a massive list after he served me runny eggs this morning.

 

[Happyfeet]

Just had to add here that peanuts are completely safe, guild lines have been revised as they found no higher risks of developing peanut allergy in the baby if the mother ate them. Great news if you crave peanut butter like I do!

Also, caffeine is now 200 mg a day (yet another revised guild line), which is roughly 2 cups of coffee and 2 1/2 cups of tea.

 

[dyscochick]

Some brie and camembert are also safe, depends if they are made from pasturised milk, check the packaging.
Also many would argue that eggs from innoculated chickens (red lion stamped) are fine also, runny or otherwise. Remember that the risks from most of these are incredibly low, the key ones are well cooked meat, no liver, moderation of certain oily fish cos of heavy metals.

 

[Happyfeet]

Some brie and camembert are also safe, depends if they are made from pasturised milk, check the packaging.
Also many would argue that eggs from innoculated chickens (red lion stamped) are fine also, runny or otherwise. Remember that the risks from most of these are incredibly low, the key ones are well cooked meat, no liver, moderation of certain oily fish cos of heavy metals.

I totally agree with the eggs part, my Husband used to work on a farm that had about 100,000 egg laying chooks, they were inoculated fastidiously against salmonella. It's kept me being able to eat my chocolate mousse lol. Don't know how I missed that part!

 

[Babyhnumbertwo]

Can I check is semi skimmed milk ok? Just when it says avoid green top milk? Xx

 

[Happyfeet]

Yeah it's fine so long as it's pasteurised. I was like wtf? too lol xx

 

[Jessywoohoo]

Yeah when they say green top it's referring to unpasturised milk. Green semi skimmed supermarket milk is fine x

 

[CARNAT22]

Peanuts are fine unless you yourself (or immediate family - parent / sibling) have an allergy to them!

I find the NHS guildelines pretty useful.

xxxxxxxxxx

 

[specialmami]

The nuts thing confuses me. Some say its ok as long as not peanuts other say no.

MW say no baby might be allergic to them you wouldnt want to risk it. I crave salty nuts so would be nice if I could eat them.

Another that confuses me is sefood. Why cant we eat prawns, mussels, clams and things like that. Surely if their cooked there ok...arent they?

How about chorizo...I know we cant eat cured me but if its cooked in a dish like paella or soup or boiled is it then ok to eat?

Oh and heres a new one I read recently and was completley shocked...strawberries and ham!!!
When did these 2 things become harmful to eat during pregnancy???

 

[Happyfeet]

Whaaaat?!? Strawberries and ham?? How odd.

My literature from in the bounty pack says peanuts are ok now, and my midwife made a special point of telling me so.

I'd eat prawns if they were fresh and properly cooked by me, only way to tell really! I also eat chorizo too, I think as long as you're sensible and heat/cook it through properly then things like that are totally fine. Seems like we are becoming more and more like America with the guild lines, it'll be oppressive doctoring next.

As soon as they have a positive HPT they seem to rush straight to the Doctors for blood tests for hcg levels and progesterone and ultrasounds etc. They aren't even allowed to eat curry, it's against the 'advice' but I really don't understand why... It's just properly cooked meat, veg and spices? And when the babies are born, OMG, my friend out there takes her kids to the paediatrician for every little ailment, including a blocked nose for them to be tested for flu, ear/chest infections, strep throat and everything. It's not her fault, it's the greedy Doctors making them doubt their instincts and urging them to come in with every little tiny thing... Obviously I know not all American families are like this, but a lot seem to be.

Anyway, think I've ranted a bit too much on here, just dread our country becoming like that

 

[nikkilovegrove]

If you want chorizo on its own and don't want to grill or microwave it, try cutting it into 1cm cubes and steaming it in a little blackcurrant or grape juice, serve with crusty bread and a little balsalmic glazed rocket - very nice tapas dish I've had a lot in Spain, usually made with red wine.

Looked up the ham thing and they seem to be lumping it with deli meats like salami and pastrami. I might cut it out myself, unless it's cooked ham and gammon. Very good excuse for my OH to cook me some bacon instead for a sarnie hehe. Re strawberries all I could see was a load of rubbish from the States so if they're in something I'll eat it. It's not like they'll be in season while I'm pregnant anyway!