Foods to avoid in pregnancy (and what's still on the menu)

You're at the chippy counter, or stood in front of the cheese aisle, and you can't remember which of the rules you skim read in week five applies to this. Everyone at work has an opinion. Half of them are out of date.

So here's the NHS list as it reads today, in plain words, with the fish and chips question first because it's the one that brings most people to this page.

The NHS's own opening line is that most foods and drinks are safe in pregnancy. The avoid list is short. Most of the rest is "cook it properly" and "eat it before the use by date".

Key facts

• Caffeine: no more than 200mg a day. The NHS's figures are 100mg in a cup of instant coffee, 75mg in a cup of tea, 40mg in a can of cola and 80mg in a 250ml can of energy drink (NHS, foods to avoid in pregnancy).
• Fish: no more than 4 cans or 2 tuna steaks a week, and no more than 2 portions a week of oily fish (salmon, trout, mackerel, sardines, herring). No swordfish, shark or marlin at all.
• Cheese: hard cheese and pasteurised soft cheese are fine. Brie, camembert, chèvre and soft blue cheeses must be thoroughly cooked, and any cheese cooked until steaming hot is fine.
• Eggs: hen eggs with the red British Lion stamp, or from the Laid in Britain scheme, can be eaten raw or runny. Every other egg, well cooked.
• Alcohol: the NHS says it's safest to avoid it altogether.

Can I eat fish and chips while pregnant?

Yes. Battered cod or haddock is cooked fish, and cooked fish is the first thing on the NHS's safe list. Chips are chips. Mushy peas and curry sauce are fine too.

The NHS's weekly fish limits are about tuna and oily fish, because of the mercury and other pollutants they can carry. Cod, haddock and pollock are white fish and aren't on either list.

If you'd like a second portion of fish in the week, the NHS suggests 2 portions a week with 1 of them oily, up to the 2 oily portions limit (NHS, have a healthy diet in pregnancy).

Salmon on a Tuesday, chippy on a Friday.

Two things at the chippy do need a thought. Homemade tartare sauce or mayonnaise made with raw egg needs British Lion or Laid in Britain eggs, which is the NHS's rule for anything made with raw egg. And a prawn cocktail is cold ready to eat prawns, which the NHS says must be cooked until steaming hot first, so that one's a no as it comes.

Which fish to avoid or limit

This is the NHS's fish and seafood list, as it reads today.

The NHS's reason for the raw and cold smoked rule is listeria, which can cause listeriosis. Its reason for the tuna and oily fish limits is pollutants, including mercury. Different problems, same page.

Which cheeses to avoid in pregnancy

Fewer than you'd think. The old version of this post said soft cheeses were out and hard cheeses were in, and that's roughly right, but the NHS's list today is more useful than that.

The reason is listeria. The NHS says unpasteurised or soft ripened dairy foods may contain it, and that listeriosis can cause miscarriage or stillbirth, or make a newborn baby very unwell. That's why the rule is cook it or skip it, not "a little bit is fine".

The old post said stilton was safe as a hard cheese. The NHS page doesn't name stilton, and it does say soft blue cheeses need cooking, so I'd treat any blue cheese as a cook it cheese until you've read the label and the page yourself.

Milk, yoghurt and ice cream

Pasteurised milk, butter, yoghurt, cream and ice cream are all safe, including sheep's and goats' milk. Unpasteurised versions of any of them are on the avoid list. The NHS's tip is that most dairy in supermarkets is pasteurised, and the packaging tells you.

The farm shop and the holiday cottage are where you check. Supermarket ice cream is fine.

Can I eat runny eggs when pregnant?

If they're British Lion eggs, yes. The NHS says hen eggs with the red British Lion stamp, or produced under the Laid in Britain scheme, can be eaten raw, partially cooked with a runny yolk, or well cooked, as long as you eat them before the use by date. Look for the red lion on the shell or the Laid in Britain logo on the box.

Hen eggs that aren't from either scheme should only be eaten well cooked. Duck, goose and quail eggs are the same: well cooked, never raw or runny.

The same rule covers anything made with raw egg. Mayonnaise and mousse are fine if they're made with British Lion or Laid in Britain eggs, and not otherwise.

The reason is salmonella. The NHS says it's unlikely to harm your baby, but food poisoning can make you seriously unwell, and being seriously unwell while pregnant is its own problem. When you're eating out, asking whether the eggs are Lion eggs is a normal question and kitchens are used to it.

Meat, pâté and cold cured meats in pregnancy

The safe list is longer than the avoid list. Thoroughly cooked chicken, pork, lamb, turkey and duck are fine, with no trace of pink or blood. Minced meat, burgers, sausages and black pudding are fine cooked through with no pink. Any tinned meat is fine.

The NHS treats a whole steak and a burger differently. Whole cuts of beef and lamb, such as steaks or cutlets, are on the safe list once they've been thoroughly cooked on the outside. A burger has to have no pink anywhere. Raw or undercooked meat is on the avoid list either way, and a rolled joint must be cooked all the way through.

The reason is toxoplasmosis. The NHS calls the risk small, and says it can cause miscarriage, which is why the advice is firm.

Cold cured meats and pâté

Salami, pepperoni, chorizo and prosciutto are cured, not cooked. The NHS says they should be cooked until steaming hot before eating, so chorizo in a stew or pepperoni on a pizza is fine, and the sliced packet on a cheese board isn't.

Cold pre cooked meats like ham or sliced chicken are a "be careful": keep them chilled and eat them before the use by date. The same goes for pre packaged sandwiches and salads with meat in.

Pâté has moved. The advice most of us remember was no pâté at all. The NHS page today lists meat pâté, and vegetable or vegetarian pâté, under foods to be careful with: keep chilled and eat before the use by date. The exception is anything with liver in it, which is a straight no.

Liver and game

Liver and liver products are on the avoid list: liver pâté, liver sausage, anything with liver in it. The NHS's reason is vitamin A, which liver has a lot of and which can harm your baby. The same reason is why the NHS says not to take cod liver oil or any supplement containing vitamin A while you're pregnant (NHS, pregnancy vitamins and supplements).

Game meats such as goose, partridge, pheasant and venison are also on the avoid list, because they may contain lead. That's a newer line than the liver one, so it's worth knowing before a country pub Sunday lunch.

Can I eat peanuts when pregnant?

Yes. The NHS says peanuts and other nuts are safe to eat in pregnancy unless a doctor or midwife has told you not to, or you have an allergy yourself. The old advice to avoid them changed years ago, and the page is plain about it now.

Peanut butter on toast is one of the better snacks going when you're sick of everything else.

Salad, fruit and pre packaged food

Most fruit and vegetables are safe. The NHS's one rule is to wash them thoroughly, including salad vegetables like lettuce and tomatoes, because soil can carry bacteria that make you unwell.

A few specifics from the page: enoki mushrooms must be cooked thoroughly. Pre cut fruit such as melon, pre packaged sandwiches and salads, and vegetable pâté all get the same line: keep chilled and eat before the use by date. The reason, again, is listeria.

Caffeine and alcohol in pregnancy

You don't have to give up coffee. The NHS limit is 200mg of caffeine a day, and its estimates are 100mg in a cup of instant coffee, 75mg in a cup of tea, 40mg in a can of cola, 80mg in a 250ml can of energy drink, and less than 25mg in a 50g bar of dark chocolate.

Filter coffee and coffee shop coffee can have more than the instant figure, which is the one that catches people out. Two instant coffees is your day. One large flat white might be most of it.

The NHS's reason is that too much caffeine has been linked to a higher chance of miscarriage and stillbirth. Decaf is the obvious swap, and if you're a tea drinker the tea in pregnancy post has the herbal ones one by one, including the NHS's line of no more than 4 cups of herbal tea a day and nothing with liquorice root.

Alcohol

The NHS says it's safest to avoid alcohol altogether, because drinking in pregnancy can cause long term harm to your baby. That's the whole of the advice, and there's no amount on the page that counts as fine.

If you've already eaten something on the list

You will. Everyone does, usually in the weeks before the test. The NHS's line is that if you've had a small amount of a food or drink that should be avoided in pregnancy, it's unlikely to affect your baby if you didn't get ill.

Talk to your midwife or a GP if you're worried or have any symptoms. Get help from 111 if you feel unwell after eating something on the list, if you've had food poisoning symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhoea for more than 48 hours, or if you have symptoms of listeriosis or toxoplasmosis.

The rules don't change by trimester. It's one list for the whole pregnancy, and the same list when you're trying.

Questions we get asked

Can I eat prawns when pregnant?

Cooked prawns, yes: they're on the NHS's safe list along with crab, lobster, squid, mussels, scallops, clams and cockles. Cold ready to eat prawns must be cooked until steaming hot first, so a prawn sandwich or a prawn cocktail is out as it comes. Raw shellfish is a no.

Can I eat halloumi when pregnant?

Yes. Halloumi is on the NHS's list of pasteurised soft cheeses that are safe in pregnancy, alongside mozzarella, feta, paneer and ricotta. There's a halloumi burger in our pregnancy recipes post.

Can I eat mayonnaise when pregnant?

Made with British Lion or Laid in Britain eggs, yes, the NHS says so directly. Made with any other raw egg, no. For a jar, the label tells you what the egg is.

Can I eat smoked salmon when pregnant?

Only cooked. The NHS says cold smoked and cured fish like smoked salmon must be cooked until steaming hot, so it's fine stirred through hot pasta and not fine cold on a bagel. Its reason is listeria.

Is pâté safe in pregnancy?

Meat pâté and vegetable pâté are "be careful" on today's NHS page: keep chilled and eat before the use by date. Liver pâté is a no, because of the vitamin A in liver. If you remember the old blanket ban, this is one of the lines that has changed.

Do the foods to avoid change in the second trimester?

No. The NHS publishes one list for the whole pregnancy, and nothing on it is dated by week. What changes in the second trimester is your appetite and, later, the room you've got for a full meal, not the rules.

Next: the eight pregnancy recipes are all built inside this list, the cravings post has what people actually want to eat, and the due date calculator tells you which week you're in.