Safe Food Guide For Pregnancy

Food Category

Food Type

Safety Precautions

Meat, poultry and seafood

Processed meats

Ham, salami, luncheon, chicken meat etc.

X Don’t eat

Raw meat

Any raw meat, raw chicken or other poultry, beef, pork etc

X Don’t eat

Poultry

Cold chicken or turkey, e.g. used in sandwich bars

X Don’t eat

Hot takeaway chicken

Purchase freshly cooked and eat while hot. Store leftovers in fridge to reheat and use within a day of cooking

Home-cooked

Ensure chicken is cooked thoroughly and eat while hot. Store any leftovers in fridge to reheat and use within a day of cooking

Pâté

Refrigerated pâté or meat spreads

X Don’t eat

Seafood

Raw seafood

X Don’t eat

Ready-to-eat chilled peeled prawns

X Don’t eat

Cooked fish and seafood

Cook thoroughly until steaming and eat while hot. Store leftovers in the fridge to reheat and use within a day of cooking

Sushi

Store-bought

X Don’t eat

Home-made

Don’t use raw meat or seafood, eat immediately

Cooked meats

Beef, pork, chicken, mince

Cook thoroughly, eat while hot

Dairy & eggs

Cheese

Soft and semi-soft cheese,eg brie, camembert, ricotta, fetta,

X Don’t eat

Processed cheese, cheese spreads, cottage cheese, cream cheese etc

Store in the fridge, eat within two days of opening pack

Hard cheese, e.g. cheddar, tasty cheese

Store in the fridge

Ice-cream

Soft serve

X Don’t eat

Fried ice-cream

X Don’t eat

Packaged frozen ice-cream

Keep and eat frozen

Dairy

Unpasteurised (raw)

X Don’t eat

Pasteurised, eg milk, cream, yoghurt

Check ‘best before’ or ‘use-by’ date. Follow storage instructions

Custard

Store-bought

Can be eaten cold if freshly opened. Store in fridge to reheat and use within a day of opening. Check ‘best before’ or ‘use-by’ date

Home-made

Cook thoroughly and eat while hot. Store in fridge. Always reheat and use within a day of making

Eggs

Cooked egg dishes eg fried eggs, scrambled eggs, quiche

Cook thoroughly. Don’t use cracked or dirty eggs

Raw in food eg home-made mayonnaise, chocolate mousse, aioli

X Don’t eat

In non-refrigerated commercial products eg mayonnaise, aioli

Check ‘best before’ or ‘use-by’ date
Follow storage instructions

Vegetables & fruit

Salads

Pre-prepared or pre-packaged salads including fruit salad, eg from salad bars, smorgasbords

X Don’t eat

Home-made

Wash salad ingredients well just before making and eating salads, store any leftover salads in fridge and use within a day of preparation

Fruit

Whole fresh fruits

Wash well before eating

Vegetables and herbs

Fresh vegetables and herbs

Wash well just before eating raw or wash
before cooking

Frozen vegetables

Cook, don’t eat uncooked

Bean sprouts

Alfalfa sprouts, broccoli sprouts, onion sprouts, sunflower sprouts, clover sprouts, radish sprouts,snowpea sprouts, mung beans and soybean sprouts

X Don’t eat raw or lightly cooked

Other foods

Leftovers

Cooked foods

Store leftovers covered in the fridge, eat within a day and always reheat until steaming hot

Canned foods

Tinned fruit, vegetables, fish etc

Store unused portions in the fridge in clean, sealed containers and use within a day

Stuffing

Stuffing from chicken or poultry

X Don’t eat unless cooked separately and eat hot

Hummus

Store-bought or home-made

Store in fridge, eat within two days of opening or making

Soy

All soy products, e.g. tofu, soy milk, soy yoghurt etc

Check ‘best before’ or ‘use-by’ date. Follow storage instructions