Smoked fish in pregnancy?

[toddlerhip]

Eatwell.gov on pregnancy says smoked fish and meat is ok but other sites say no. Are they outdated? I love smoked salmon, mackerel and haddock and it's good for you too.

If you like smoked fish would you eat it in pregnancy?

[thehouseofmirth]

Smoked salmon and cured meats aren't cooked and personally I've decided I can wait a few months and then have a smoked salmon and Parma ham banquet. I think officially the jury's still out on that. But haddock ought to be Ok as surely you'd cook it?

[LUCIA22]

Apparently you can have smoked salmon if it has been frozen. I guess the freezing process does the same as cooking would have done. I have eaten smoked mackerel but I am sure it is ok as it must be hot smoked as its isnt raw like the salmon is. You cook smoked haddock before you eat it anyway so thats fine.
I found the tip about the smoked salmon a life saver last christmas as I love it!!

[mumof2222222222222222boys]

I am sorry I don't know, but I did enjoy both while pregnant. And both DS1 and 2 are fine. I had no idea you weren't supposed to eat parma ham until a bit too late. sure there are lots of other threads on this subject, but my view is that personal choice and moderation are a good start. My Doctor once told me that if I ate any eggs they should be hard boiled - no runny yolk at all. I didn't follow her advice. I am sure others did.

[thehouseofmirth]

I think eggs are quite different because the worst that could happen is that you'll get salmonella, which of course would be horrid while pregnant but wouldn't cause any long term problems. Whereas eating uncooked meat & fish does run the risk of exposing your baby to toxoplasmosis which while incredibly rare, can be very harmful to a devloping baby.

[toddlerhip]

Do you know if you've got toxoplasmosis or does it just go to the baby without you knowing?

[Polony]

I read a lot about toxoplasmosis because we got a kitten around about when I fell pregnant - theres loads of good information on the web, and that made me feel more comfortable with the whole thing. As far as I know you don't get it from fish, its warm blooded animals that carry it (which is why if your cat doesn't go outside the chances of him having it are so slim - its catching and eating little animals that gives it to cats before it is transferred in their faeces).
I also read that the issue with raw fish and pregnancy is a parasite which is killed in the feezing process, which restaurants would be doing. Smoking the fish also kills the parasite, so there is no need to freeze smoked salmon. The risk of listeria from raw fish is small enough that in the uk we're not told not to eat raw fish when pregnant.
I got this information from the Food Standards Agency.

[lovemuch]

I have not been made aware that there was a problem with smoked salmon and I eat lots of it. In fact it's one of the only things I could eat when I had terrible sickness. I have not been ill or been notified of any probs with my baby but I will ask my midwife and let you know if she thinks I should be being more careful with my food. I must also saymy doctor told me that even prawns are fine as long as you know where they've come from and are not out of date etc. I think sometimes they take out of proportion the foods that are not good during pregnancy, it is better to be safe than sorry tho and I have to admitt I go for the cheese and ham sandwiches over the prawn now to be safe.