Food Safety and Pregnancy

Pregnant women often have questions regarding the safety of certain foods and drinks. Healthy eating during pregnancy involves more than making smart food choices — it also includes avoiding certain foods during pregnancy because of the risk of food borne illness and making sure you have safe food handling skills

In pregnancy, food-borne illness can make you sick, but also can affect your growing baby. While Canada has a very safe food supply, there are ways that bacteria, viruses and parasites can contaminate our food and cause illness.

Foods to avoid during pregnancy:

• All raw sprouts
  
  
• Deli meat
  
  
• Hot dogs — unless cooked until steaming
  
  
• Raw fish and shellfish, including oysters, sushi and sashimi.  In addition, some types of fish are high in mercury and should be avoided or only eaten rarely.
  
  
• Raw or undercooked eggs
  
  
• Refrigerated pate and meat spreads
  
  
• Soft cheeses such as Brie, Camembert, feta and blue-veined cheeses, if they are made from unpasteurized milk
  
  
• Unpasteurized milk products or juice, such as unpasteurized apple cider or raw milk

In addition, it is important to wash your hands well when you are cooking, use separate knives and utensils for raw and cooked foods and to make sure you cook meat, chicken and other foods to safe temperatures. To learn more about food safety, visit York Region's Food Safety Program.

Caffeine and Herbal Teas

Health Canada recommends limiting total caffeine intake to no more than 300 mg each day during pregnancy. Caffeine is most commonly found in coffee, tea, pop and chocolate, but is also found in products (most often energy drinks) that contain "guarana" and "yerba mate". Check the ingredient list if you are unsure.

There are several teas and preparations that are not recommended during pregnancy because they may cause side-effects such as pre-term labour, or they simply haven't been proven to be safe during pregnancy. If you want to drink a hot beverage, slice up lemon and ginger and pour hot water over. Let it steep like you are making tea. Add honey or sugar to taste.

To speak to a Registered Dietitian about eating safe foods during pregnancy, call EatRight Ontario at 1-877-510-5102.