Food safety during pregnancy

Most foods are safe for pregnant women and their babies. But you will need to use caution or avoid eating certain foods. Follow these guidelines:

~> Clean, handle, cook, and chill food properly to prevent food-borne illness, including listeria and toxoplasmosis .
~> Wash hands with soap after touching soil or raw meat.
~> Keep raw meats, poultry, and seafood from touching other foods or surfaces.
~> Cook meat completely.
~> Wash produce before eating.
~> Wash cooking utensils with hot, soapy water.

Do not eat:

• Refrigerated smoked seafood like whitefish, salmon, and mackerel.
• Hot dogs or deli meats unless steaming hot
• Refrigerated meat spreads.
• Unpasteurized milk or juices.
• Store-made salads, such as chicken, egg, or tuna salad.
• Unpasteurized soft cheeses, such as unpasteurized feta, Brie, queso blanco, queso fresco, and blue cheeses.
• Shark, swordfish, king mackerel, or tile fish (also called golden or white snapper); these fish have high levels of mercury.
• More than 6 ounces per week of white (albacore) tuna.
• Herbs and plants used as medicines without your doctor's okay. The safety of herbal and plant therapies isn't always known. Some herbs and plants might be harmful during pregnancy, such as bitter melon (karela), noni juice, and unripe papaya.
• Raw sprouts of any kind (including alfalfa, clover, radish, and mung bean).