Foods to Avoid During Pregnancy: The Complete Safety Guide
If you’ve Googled “foods to avoid when pregnant” at 11 p.m. after realizing you ate something you might not have been supposed to eat, you are definitely not alone.
Pregnancy nutrition advice can feel like a LOT, and some of it can seem downright contradictory. One website tells you not to eat sushi, another says some sushi is fine, your friend ate deli meat through her entire pregnancy, and suddenly you’re questioning the turkey sandwich you had for lunch.
Here’s the good news: you don’t have to spend your whole pregnancy worrying about every bite you take.
In this article, I’ll walk you through which foods to avoid during pregnancy, which ones you just need to handle a little differently, and why these recommendations matter.
My goal is to give you practical tips you can actually use, so you don’t have to stress over every meal. If you’d like even more personalized support with pregnancy nutrition and gaining a healthy amount of weight during pregnancy, I’m here to help. You can learn more about my pregnancy nutrition coaching.
Key Takeaways
If you’re short on time, here are the big things to remember:
Avoid raw or undercooked meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs during pregnancy, and cook all foods to their recommended safe internal temperatures.
Skip fish with the highest mercury levels, but don’t avoid fish altogether. The FDA and EPA recommend 8–12 ounces of lower-mercury fish per week during pregnancy (which equals about two to three servings per week.)
Heat up deli meats, hot dogs, and similar refrigerated ready-to-eat meats to 165°F or until steaming hot before eating them.
Avoid unpasteurized milk and dairy products, raw sprouts, unwashed produce, and unpasteurized juice or cider.
The CDC says there is no known safe amount of alcohol during pregnancy, while ACOG recommends keeping caffeine below 200 mg per day.
Pregnancy increases your folate needs, so fortified foods with folic acid can be an important part of your diet alongside your prenatal vitamin.
What Actually Makes a Food “Risky” in Pregnancy?
Pregnancy changes how your immune system functions, which makes you more susceptible to some foodborne illnesses. In fact, the CDC reports that pregnant women are about 10 times more likely to develop a Listeria infection than other people. Foods can also expose you to organisms such as Salmonella and Toxoplasma or, in the case of certain fish, higher levels of mercury.
Please remember, the goal of this article isn’t to scare you, nor does it mean food is suddenly off-limits or scary. It just means taking a few extra food-safety steps is worth it while you’re pregnant!
High-Mercury Fish to Skip (and What to Eat Instead)
One of the biggest myths I hear is that you have to skip fish completely during pregnancy. The type of fish you eat is much more important than avoiding fish altogether. In fact, fish actually gives you protein, omega-3s, vitamin D, iodine, iron, zinc, choline, and other nutrients that are especially helpful while you’re pregnant. The real concern is mercury, not the fish itself.
Mercury occurs naturally in the environment, but larger fish that live longer and eat other fish tend to accumulate more of it within their bodies. Too much mercury exposure can be harmful to a developing baby’s brain and nervous system.
The FDA and EPA recommend that people who are pregnant eat 8–12 ounces, or approximately two to three servings, of lower-mercury fish each week.
Here’s a simple way to think about your fish choices:
A four-ounce serving is roughly the size and thickness of an adult palm. And yes, canned light tuna is considered a “Best Choice.” Just remember that canned light tuna and albacore or white tuna are not the same when it comes to mercury levels.
❗ If you accidentally eat a serving of higher-mercury fish, don’t panic. The FDA says it’s okay - just choose lower-mercury options next time instead of worrying that one meal caused any harm.
Raw and Undercooked Meat, Poultry, Fish, and Eggs
This is where some of the foods you might miss the most during pregnancy show up: sushi, a medium-rare steak, runny eggs, or even licking the raw cookie dough spoon.
There’s a reason for this recommendation. Raw and undercooked animal foods can carry bacteria or parasites that are much riskier to consume during pregnancy. For meat and poultry, use a food thermometer rather than relying solely on the color of cooked foods. Current food-safety guidance recommends:
Whole cuts of beef, pork, lamb, and veal: Cook to at least 145°F and allow the meat to rest for three minutes.
Ground beef, pork, lamb, and veal: Cook to at least 160°F.
Chicken, turkey, and other poultry: Cook to at least 165°F.
Raw fish and shellfish: Skip sushi, sashimi, raw oysters, and other raw seafood during pregnancy and choose thoroughly cooked versions instead.
Eggs need a little extra attention, since they show up in more foods than you might realize. Avoid raw or undercooked eggs unless the product uses pasteurized eggs. That includes being extra mindful of foods like homemade Caesar dressing, homemade mayonnaise, homemade eggnog, raw cookie dough, and raw cake or brownie batter.
However, this does not mean you have to give up mayonnaise or Caesar dressing for your entire pregnancy! Most store-bought mayo, dressings, and eggnog use pasteurized eggs. If you’re not sure, just check the label!
If you’re a sushi lover, you still have options! Try ordering a cooked shrimp roll, a California roll without raw seafood, a veggie roll, or any other sushi roll that’s fully cooked.
Deli Meat, Hot Dogs, and Cured Meats: The Listeria Risk
Deli meat is probably one of the most confusing foods on the pregnancy “avoid” list because, unlike raw chicken or sushi, it doesn’t look undercooked. The issue here is a bacteria called Listeria.
Listeria can contaminate ready-to-eat foods even AFTER they have been cooked during manufacturing. Because pregnancy significantly increases your risk of becoming sick from Listeria, cold deli meats, hot dogs, cold cuts, and fermented or dry sausages are considered riskier choices.
The good news is, you don’t have to completely give up deli sandwiches until your baby arrives! The CDC recommends heating deli meat, cold cuts, hot dogs, and fermented or dry sausages to 165°F or until steaming hot before eating them. So, if you’re craving a turkey sandwich, just heat the turkey first, then build your sandwich. Or order a hot sandwich and make sure the meat is steaming when it arrives!
Refrigerated pâté and meat spreads should also be avoided. Shelf-stable versions sold in sealed containers that do not require refrigeration before opening are considered the safer option. This is why I always encourage understanding the reason behind a pregnancy food rule, instead of just memorizing a long list. You don’t always have to cut out a food… Sometimes you just need to prepare it differently.
Unpasteurized Dairy and Soft Cheeses
If you’ve heard “don’t eat soft cheese during pregnancy” and thought you had to say goodbye to feta for nine months, you’re not alone. Thankfully, it’s not that simple.
The primary concern is cheese made from unpasteurized, or raw, milk, because it can contain harmful germs such as Listeria. Many common cheeses sold in U.S. grocery stores are made from pasteurized milk, including plenty of soft cheeses.
At the end of the day, this is why reading labels can be so important!
There is one important exception here: current CDC guidance is especially cautious about queso fresco–type cheeses, including queso fresco, queso blanco, and similar fresh soft cheeses.
The CDC lists these as riskier even when made with pasteurized milk and recommends heated versions as the safer choice. For other cheeses, look for wording such as “made with pasteurized milk” on the label. If you’re eating at a restaurant and aren’t sure if the cheese is pasteurized, just ask. You’re not being difficult - it’s a totally normal question during pregnancy!
Raw Sprouts, Unwashed Produce, and Fresh-Squeezed Juice
Some foods that need extra caution during pregnancy are actually ones we usually think of (and can be) super healthy! No wonder pregnancy nutrition can feel confusing sometimes. 😝
🌱 Raw sprouts: Alfalfa, clover, mung bean, and radish sprouts can carry bacteria such as Salmonella or E. coli. The bacteria can get inside the seed before it even sprouts, which means washing sprouts doesn’t reliably eliminate the risk. Cook sprouts until steaming hot instead.
🍓 Unwashed produce: Fruits, vegetables, and leafy greens can carry harmful germs and can also be contaminated with Toxoplasma or Cyclospora (as in the outbreak of 2026 in the US!) Wash produce thoroughly under running water before eating, cutting, or preparing it.
🍎 Unpasteurized juice and cider: Fresh-squeezed or unpasteurized juice and cider can contain bacteria such as E. coli or Salmonella. Look for the word “pasteurized” on the label. If you’re buying juice from a juice bar, farmers market, cider mill, or restaurant and aren’t sure, ask whether it has been pasteurized.
You definitely don’t need to avoid fruits and veggies during pregnancy. In fact, they are one of the healthiest options out there to support your pregnancy. Just make sure to wash them well first!
If you're looking for personalized support with eating well, managing food guilt, and navigating healthy weight gain during pregnancy, learn more about Strong with Sarah's pregnancy nutrition coaching .
Alcohol and Caffeine: What the Guidelines Actually Say
Let’s talk about two questions I get asked often: “Can I have a glass of wine?” and “Please tell me I can still have coffee!”
When it comes to alcohol, the CDC explicitly states that there is no known safe amount of alcohol during pregnancy and no known safe time during pregnancy to drink it. That recommendation applies to wine, beer, liquor, and all other alcoholic drinks.
Caffeine is a little different. The ACOG recommends keeping caffeine consumption to less than 200 mg per day during pregnancy. That’s approximately the amount of caffeine in one 12-ounce cup of coffee, although actual caffeine content can vary significantly depending on the coffee, brewing method, and serving size.
Here are some rough comparisons:
Remember that caffeine can also come from tea, soda, chocolate, energy drinks, certain medications, and other foods and beverages, so your coffee isn’t necessarily your only source. You don’t have to aim for exactly 199 mg every day. The main thing is to keep your total under about 200 mg most days.
Organ Meat and High-Vitamin-A Foods: Why Moderation Matters
Vitamin A is important during pregnancy, so you don’t want to cut it out completely. However, it can cause problems if you eat too much preformed vitamin A, which is found in animal foods and certain supplements. Liver and other organ meats are especially concentrated sources.
Excessive intake of preformed vitamin A during pregnancy can cause birth defects. For adults ages 19 and older, including during pregnancy, the tolerable upper intake level for preformed vitamin A is 3,000 mcg RAE per day.
That doesn’t mean you need to limit carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, or leafy greens. These foods have provitamin A carotenoids like beta-carotene, which don’t carry the same risks as an excess intake of preformed vitamin A.
If you eat liver or other organ meats often, check in with your prenatal care provider about how much is right for you. Remember, when it comes to pregnancy nutrition, more isn’t always better, even with nutrient-dense foods!
Also, check your supplements carefully. Your prenatal vitamin is designed with pregnancy in mind, but adding separate high-dose vitamin A or retinol supplements on top of it is generally not something to do unless your healthcare provider specifically recommends it.
Fortified Foods and Folic Acid: Why They Matter Right Now
Pregnancy nutrition isn’t just about what to avoid. What you add to your diet matters just as much! Folate is a B vitamin your body needs to make new cells, and adequate folate is especially important around conception and during early pregnancy because it helps reduce the risk of neural tube defects affecting the developing brain and spine.
During pregnancy, the recommended dietary allowance increases to 600 mcg of dietary folate equivalents, or DFE, per day.
You’ll naturally find folate in foods such as leafy green vegetables, beans, peas, citrus fruits, nuts, eggs, and other foods. But the U.S. food supply also includes fortified foods with folic acid, the synthetic form of folate. Since the late 1990s, folic acid has been added to enriched cereal grain products in the United States to help reduce the risk of neural tube defects.
Today, common sources include:
That’s why I like to think of fortified foods and your prenatal vitamin as teammates, not competitors. Eating fortified cereal or enriched bread doesn’t automatically mean you should ditch your prenatal. Your individual supplement needs should be discussed with your OB or other healthcare provider, particularly because folic acid recommendations can differ for people with certain medical histories or previous pregnancies.
A Realistic Way to Approach This List
Now that I’ve shared a lot of guidelines, I want to make one thing clear:
You don’t need to spend your pregnancy worrying that one bite of the “wrong” food will ruin everything.
Maybe you ate half a turkey sandwich before remembering the deli-meat recommendation. Maybe you had a bite of cheese at a party and later realized you never checked whether it was pasteurized. Maybe you ate sushi or had a glass of wine before you even knew you were pregnant. These recommendations are here to help lower your risk. They don’t mean that every single exposure will cause illness or harm.
From here, focus on what you can control:
Ask how meat is cooked when you eat out.
Heat your deli meat.
Wash your produce.
Screenshot the caffeine chart if it helps.
Keep a note on your phone with a few pregnancy-safe snacks and restaurant orders you already enjoy.
Avoid all alcohol, at all times.
You’re aiming to make choices that lower your risk most of the time… Not stress over doing pregnancy “perfectly” at every meal!
If you realize you ate something on this list, don’t spend hours spiraling through Google. Just make a safer choice next time, and reach out to your healthcare provider if you’re worried, have symptoms, or think you had a significant exposure.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
Yes. Fully cooked sushi can be a pregnancy-friendly option. Choose rolls made with cooked seafood, such as cooked shrimp or crab, or vegetarian ingredients such as avocado and cucumber. Skip sushi containing raw fish or shellfish, and make sure any fish you choose is from a lower-mercury category.
-
You don’t necessarily need to eliminate deli meat. The CDC recommends heating deli meats and cold cuts to 165°F or until steaming hot before eating them. So yes, you can still have your turkey sandwich - just heat the meat thoroughly first!
-
First, don’t panic! Eating a higher-risk food once during your pregnancy does not mean you will automatically become sick or that something will happen to your baby. Try to make safer choices moving forward. If you develop symptoms of foodborne illness, are concerned about a specific exposure, or simply need reassurance based on your situation, contact your OB or midwife.
-
ACOG recommends keeping caffeine intake below 200 mg per day during pregnancy. That’s approximately one 12-ounce cup of coffee, but caffeine content varies tremendously by brand and preparation. Remember to count other sources such as tea, soda, chocolate, energy drinks, and caffeinated medications toward your daily total.
-
Yes. Eggs are safe during pregnancy when cooked until the whites and yolks are firm. Foods made with pasteurized eggs or pasteurized egg products are also safer choices. That means many commercially prepared mayonnaise products and salad dressings are fine - you don’t automatically have to avoid them because they contain egg.
-
Yes! Fortified foods can contribute valuable folic acid and other nutrients, but they don’t automatically replace a prenatal vitamin. Pregnancy increases your folate needs to 600 mcg DFE per day, and nutrient needs extend well beyond folate. Always talk with your doctor or healthcare provider about the prenatal supplement that best fits your individual needs.
The Bottom Line on Foods to Avoid During Pregnancy
Pregnancy already gives you plenty to think about - Food doesn’t need to become another source of stress for nine months. Focus on the big things that really lower your risk: avoid raw and undercooked animal foods, pick lower-mercury fish, heat deli meats, wash your produce, choose pasteurized products, skip alcohol, keep caffeine under the recommended limit, and make sure you’re getting key nutrients like folate!
You don’t need to be perfect at every meal. What matters is having good information, a few practical habits, and making choices that stack the odds in your favor most days.
If figuring out what to eat during pregnancy still feels overwhelming, especially with nausea, food aversions, changing hunger, body changes, or just wanting to make sure you and your baby are getting what you need (and that you’re gaining a healthy amount of weight during pregnancy) - you don’t have to do it alone! Learn more about my pregnancy nutrition coaching if you want personalized, realistic support throughout your pregnancy.
