Foods to avoid when pregnant

Some types of cheese

Avoid eating mould-ripened soft cheese, such as brie, camembert and chevre (a type of goat’s cheese) and others with a similar rind. You should also avoid soft blue-veined cheeses such as Danish blue or gorgonzola. These are made with mould and they can containlisteria, a type of bacteria that can harm your unborn baby. Although infection with listeria (listeriosis) is rare, it is important to take special precautions in pregnancy because even a mild form of the illness in a pregnant woman can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth or severe illness in a newborn baby.

You can eat hard cheeses such as cheddar, parmesan and stilton, even if they’re made with unpasteurised milk. Hard cheeses don’t contain as much water as soft cheeses so bacteria are less likely to grow in them. Many other types of cheese are okay to eat, but make sure they’re made from pasteurised milk. They include cottage cheese, mozzarella, cream cheese, paneer, halloumi, goat’s cheese and processed cheeses such as cheese spreads.

Pâté

Avoid all types of pâté, including vegetable pâtés, as they can contain listeria.

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Raw or partially cooked eggs

Make sure that eggs are thoroughly cooked until the whites and yolks are solid. This prevents the risk of salmonella food poisoning. Avoid foods that contain raw and undercooked eggs, such as homemade mayonnaise. If you wish to have dishes that contain raw or partially cooked eggs you should consider using pasteurised liquid egg.

Raw or undercooked meat

Cook all meat and poultry thoroughly so it is steaming hot and there is no trace of pink or blood. Take particular care with poultry, pork, sausages and minced meat, including burgers.

Avoid rare meat. Toxoplasmosis is an infection caused by a parasite that can be found in meat, soil, cat faeces and untreated water. If you are pregnant the infection can damage your baby, but it’s important to remember that toxoplasmosis in pregnancy is very rare.

If you feel you may have been at risk, discuss it with your doctor, midwife or obstetrician. If you are infected while you’re pregnant, treatment for toxoplasmosis is available.

Wash all surfaces and utensils thoroughly after preparing raw meat. It’s also important to remember to wash and dry your hands after touching or handling raw meat. This will help to avoid the spread of harmful bugs such as salmonella, campylobacter and E. coli O157 that can cause food poisoning.

Liver products

Don’t eat liver or liver products such as liver pâté or liver sausage, as they may contain a lot of vitamin A. Too much vitamin A can harm your baby.

Supplements containing vitamin A

Don’t take high-dose multivitamin supplements, fish liver oil supplements or any supplements containing vitamin A.

Some types of fish

Don’t eat shark, marlin and swordfish, and limit the amount of tuna you eat to:

• no more than two tuna steaks a week (about 140g cooked or 170g raw each), or


• four medium-sized cans of tuna a week (about 140g when drained).

These types of fish contain high levels of mercury that can damage your baby’s developing nervous system. Don’t eat more than two portions of oily fish a week. Oily fish includes fresh tuna (but not canned tuna), salmon, mackerel, sardines and trout.

Advice in Australia about avoiding mercury poisoning has been specifically developed for the Australian population. It is based on information about our diets, the fish we commonly eat and their mercury content. Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) advises pregnant women, and women planning pregnancy, to eat a variety of fish as part of a healthy diet. However, they should limit their intake of certain types of fish including:

• shark (flake), broadbill, marlin and swordfish to 1 serve per fortnight (with no other fish to be consumed during that fortnight)


• orange roughy (sea perch) and catfish to 1 serve per week (with no other fish being consumed during that week).

For more information visit Food Standards Australia.

Raw shellfish

Eat cooked rather than raw shellfish as they can contain harmful bacteria and viruses that can cause food poisoning and have a higher risk of listeria contamination.

Peanuts

If you would like to eat peanuts or food containing peanuts (such as peanut butter) during pregnancy, you can choose to do so as part of a healthy balanced diet, unless you are allergic to them or your health professional advises you not to.

Unpasteurised milk

If you have milk, drink only pasteurised or UHT (ultra-heat treated) milk – sometimes also called long-life milk. If only raw (unpasteurised) milk is available, boil it first. Don’t drink unpasteurised goat’s or sheep’s milk or eat food that is made out of them, such as soft goat’s cheese.

Avoid soft ice-creams while you’re pregnant as they have a higher risk of listeria contamination.

Foods with soil on them

Wash fruit, vegetables and salads to remove all traces of soil and visible dirt.

Caffeine

High levels of caffeine can result in babies having a low birth weight, which can increase the risk of health problems in later life. Too much can also cause miscarriage. Caffeine is naturally found in lots of foods, such as coffee, tea and chocolate, and is added to some soft drinks and energy drinks. Some cold and flu remedies also contain caffeine. Talk to your midwife, doctor or pharmacist before taking these remedies.

You don’t need to cut out caffeine completely but don’t have more than 200mg a day. The approximate amounts of caffeine found in food and drinks are:

• one mug of instant coffee: 100mg


• one mug of filter coffee: 140mg


• one mug of tea: 75mg


• one can of cola: 40mg


• one can of energy drink: 80mg


• one 50g bar of plain (dark) chocolate: around 50mg


• one 50g bar of milk chocolate: around 25mg.

So if you have, for example, one bar of chocolate and one mug of filter coffee, you have reached almost 200mg of caffeine. Don’t worry if you occasionally have more than this amount, the risks are quite small. To cut down on caffeine, try decaffeinated tea and coffee, fruit juice or mineral water instead of regular tea, coffee and cola.

Energy drinks

Energy drinks are not recommended during pregnancy as they may contain high levels of caffeine, and other ingredients not recommended for pregnant women.

Pre-packaged salads

Pre-prepared or pre-packaged fruit or vegetable salads, including those from buffets and salad bars have a higher risk of listeria contamination.

Sushi

Try to avoid chilled seafood such as raw oysters, sashimi and sushi, smoked ready-to-eat seafood and cooked ready-to-eat prawns which have a higher risk of listeria contamination.

The safest way to enjoy sushi is to choose the fully cooked or vegetarian varieties, such as those that include:

• cooked seafood, for example fully cooked eel (unagi) or shrimp (ebi)


• vegetables, for example cucumber (kappa) maki


• avocado – for example California roll


• fully cooked egg.

Cold cured meats

Cold cured meats include salami, parma ham, chorizo and pepperoni. In Australia we advise pregnant women to avoid eating cold cured meats or smoked fish as there is a small risk of these foods harbouring listeria, or the toxoplasma parasite that causes toxoplasmosis. These include:

• cold meats from delicatessen counters and sandwich bars, and packaged, sliced ready-to-eat meats


• cold cooked ready-to-eat chicken (whole, portions, or diced).

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Foods to avoid when pregnant