Deli meat and pregnancy (2024)

Can I eat meat while I'm pregnant?

Yes. Meat is an important source of protein and iron and many women crave and enjoy eating meat during pregnancy. It's important to take some precautions, though. Certain types of meat, and meat that isn't properly cooked or handled, can pose a safety risk to you and your baby.

Meat and poultry can harbor parasites or bacteria – such as listeria, toxoplasma, and salmonella – that cause food poisoning. These conditions are particularly dangerous for pregnant women because pregnancy weakens your body's immune system and ability to fight disease. Unborn babies are also more susceptible to disease because their immune systems are still developing.

To keep yourself and your baby safe, follow safe food handling guidelines. These include:

• Storing and preparing your meat safely (For example, never store raw and cooked meat together, or place cooked meat on a cutting board of plate that previously held raw meat).
• Cooking your meat well
• Reheating meat properly before eating
• Not eating raw or undercooked meat, poultry, or fish while you're pregnant
• Refrigerating meat, poultry, and seafood promptly after cooking or purchasing (within 2 hours, or 1 hour if the room temperature is over 90 degrees F).

By taking these precautions, you can avoid exposure to the following dangerous pathogens:

Listeria

Most people don't get sick when they eat food contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. But healthy pregnant women are more likely than other healthy adults to get listeriosis and are more likely to become dangerously ill from it.

You can pass listeriosis to your baby while you're pregnant, too. This can cause problems such as miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth, low birth weight, and life-threatening infections like bacteremia (bacteria in the blood) and meningitis.

Toxoplasma

This is a microscopic parasite that causes an infection called toxoplasmosis. Most people don't notice when they have it, but if you get infected during pregnancy, the illness can be severe, causing miscarriage, stillbirth, long-term neurological damage, or other devastating effects.

Salmonella

These bacteria are more likely to cause serious illness when you're pregnant. In rare cases, the high fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and dehydration that can result could cause preterm labor or even a miscarriage.

How can I make sure my meat is safely cooked?

Use a food thermometer. You can't always tell if meat is properly cooked by looking at it.

• Cook cuts of beef, pork, veal, lamb, and seafood to at least 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Allow your food to stand for 3 minutes after removing it from the heat source to allow cooking to complete.
• Cook poultry to at least 165 degrees F.
• Cook ground beef, pork, veal, and lamb to at least 160 degrees F.
• Heat all leftovers to 165 degrees F.
• When cooking in a microwave, cover the meat and rotate for even cooking (you can rotate the dish by hand once or twice during cooking if there isn't a turntable).

Why can't pregnant women eat deli meat?

It's best not to eat deli or lunch meats while you're pregnant, unless the food has been heated until steaming (165 degrees F) right before serving. These meats can harbor bacteria, which can continue to grow even when refrigerated.

Meats to avoid include:

• Deli meats (such as turkey, chicken, roast beef, ham, prosciutto, and bologna)
• Dry sausages (such as salami and pepperoni)
• Refrigerated pâtés and meat spreads
• Smoked meat
• Foods that you've cured yourself

You can slow the growth of bacteria in these meats by keeping the temperature in your fridge at 40 degrees F or colder. But to kill the bacteria, you'll still need to heat the food until steaming before you eat it.

Eating canned or shelf-stable foods is safe, like canned chicken or ham or shelf-stable smoked seafood.

Craving your favorite deli sandwich while pregnant? Here are some options to try:

• Microwave your sandwich before eating (check that it's steaming hot)
• Heat the deli meat in the microwave before adding it to your sandwich.
• Try a vegan meat alternative in your sandwich, or replace the meat with cheese and veggies.

What about hot dogs and bacon during pregnancy?

Like deli meats, hot dogs and bacon can harbor listeria and other pathogens. Heat these meats until they're steaming hot or 165 degrees F before eating. Once the package is open, toss it after a week in the refrigerator.

Another concern with these and other processed meats is the presence of preservatives called nitrates and nitrites. Frequent consumption of meats containing these chemicals is tied to an increased risk of cancer. Research also suggests that eating food containing nitrates could increase the risk of preterm birth in women who also take a type of drug (called nitrosatable drugs) during pregnancy.

Lastly, hot dogs and bacon are packed with sodium and saturated fat, which are important to eat in moderation.

Is it safe to eat grilled or blackened meat during pregnancy?

Eating an occasional serving of char-grilled or blackened food is probably safe, and there's no particular risk for pregnant women. But don't overdo it. Studies show that people who eat a lot of well-done or blackened meat or fish tend to have higher rates of certain cancers.

When animal proteins are grilled or pan-fried over an open flame, they produce cancer-causing chemicals called heterocyclic amines (HCAs).

And when the juices drip into the fire and produce flames, it creates another type of cancer-causing chemical, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which then adhere to the surface of the food.

You might try these techniques to reduce the risk of creating these chemicals when cooking meat:

• Precook the food in a microwave for a couple of minutes to reduce the grilling time
• Avoid exposing the food to an open flame, or directly to hot metal
• Keep the grill temperature moderate to minimize flare-ups
• Turn the food frequently
• Cut away charred portions of the food before serving
• Don't make gravy from meat drippings

Is it safe to eat meat from livestock that were given antibiotics?

Only if the meat is handled and cooked properly.

The amount of antibiotic that gets to your baby when you eat meat is extremely small, so it's unlikely your child would be harmed that way.

But antibiotic-laced meat or poultry could contain antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which has been shown to develop in animals treated routinely with antibiotics. If this meat isn't handled or cooked properly, you could contract an antibiotic-resistant infection from the meat. These infections can cause severe illness or death.

Most livestock in the United States are treated with antibiotics. Only meat and poultry labeled organic or "no antibiotics added" comes from livestock raised without these drugs.

To avoid getting sick from antibiotic-laden meat (or any meat), always follow food safety guidelines.