I ate Salmon Gravalax and now freaking out

[SaraFood]

Hi everyone, I ate salmon gravalax at a wedding at the weekend and am now panicking about giving my baby listeria. I'm 5 months pregnant and kind of knew I wasn't supposed to eat it, but was lulled into a false sense of security at the wedding and felt eating half of it would be Ok. Now, of course, in the cold light of day, I'm freaking out. Apparently as the mother you might not even get sick but it could still be hugely dangerous to the baby. Has anyone else eaten Gravalax during pregnancy? How dangerous is it exactly? Apparently it's essentially raw fish... :/

I had cravings for gravadlax in both of my pregnancies and ate it. I wasn't aware you weren't supposed to. We all survived to tell the tale. I am sure your baby will be ok, OP

Well you can have sushi while pregnant if the fish was frozen beforehand. Also if the salmon was farmed salmon its ok to eat raw as well

It’s smoked salmon, and smoked salmon is fine to eat in pregnancy. Nothing to worry about.

Wouldn’t you have to have food poisoning yourself for there to be any risk to the baby?

Ah had a google and apparently only cured not smoked, but still fine if frozen before - which I can pretty much guarantee it will be, this kind of fish almost always is in this country because it’s frozen to be shipped in.

The listeria risk is TINY. Really really tiny, and you’re almost more likely to get it from things like veg being cross contaminated. Don’t worry about it.

Please don't panic OP. There is so much scaremongering nonsense in pregnancy guidelines. We seem as a society to take pleasure in terrifying pregnant women about these things when in reality the chance of a bit of smoked salmon or soft cheese harming your baby is vanishingly rare. Think instead of the valuable omega 3s you have ingested and give it no further thought, honestly. Your child will be fine x

I was quite young when I had my first child (21) and nine of my friends had children so had no advice from them. My mother was very angry with me so also gave no advice. Of course I knew not to drink any alcohol, but that was it. My son is a big strong man, over 6 ft talk and will be 35 soon

My eldest daughter will be 25 soon. Big changes in advice/maternity care when I had her. At the mid wife booking in appointment at 12 weeks I was handed a booklet about things to avoid, such as smoked salmon, ice cream made with raw eggs, foods made with fresh mayo, blue cheeses etc

This appointment was the Monday after I’d attended a food festival and had all of these things!!

You’ll sure to be fine as it’s now Tuesday and you’re ok. Just don’t make a habit of it.

What? Isnt smoked salmon ok?
I've been eating it throughout...

It’s smoked salmon - you’ll be fine:
www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/foods-to-avoid-pregnant/

It's fine. I ate so many smoked salmon bagels while pregnant. The main reason they advise against certain foods is that there's a slightly higher risk of food poisoning, not because they harm the baby directly.

There have been listeria outbreaks linked to things like lettuce and chicken, but it's not like the NHS would tell you to stop eating these things.

Gravlax IS NOT smoked salmon to all those claiming it it! Its cured using salt and sugar to remove the moisture and is essentially raw fish.

OP- try not to worry. You'd likely have had symptoms by now if you were going to get ill. Listeria is also rare. I'm not sure how only eating half the meal would make any difference though? Just keep an eye out for any symptoms and speak to your midwife if concerned.

Thanks everyone. Yes, Gravalax is very different to smoked salmon as it is essentially raw unfortunately. No form of heating at all! And yes, my logic of "only eating half" and therefore halving the risk was definitely flawed too. I've been googling loads and freaking myself out, but I know you can get a blood test to check for it and if you do have it, get antibiotics that would also help cure it in the baby. Apparently symtoms can be got up to weeks later, or the mother can have no symptoms at all, which is what's really worrying me. Tbh I might just ask for a blood text next time I'm in the doctor to make doubly sure I don't have it. Of all the places to get it I feel raw fish is probably up there! So stupid. It's amazing how in the moment you feel it's ok but then panic afterwards. I would never have ordered it, but when it was just given to me as the wedding starter I felt I ought to eat it, and that surely it would be fine. I need to be more disciplined. From now on, I will be!

Yes, definitely ate it in pregnancy. Also, ate soft cheeses and rare steak and runny eggs and even had a tiny bit of pate once or twice (and the rare glass of prosecco). More than likely you will be absolutely fine. If you've not had listeria yet in life, the chances of you suddenly being unlucky enough to get it in pregnancy are slim. That said, most of the major listeria outbreaks in recent years have been related to contaminated fruit and veg - and pregnant women aren't told to avoid these. I really would try not to worry about it.

I told you above that raw fish is ok to eat if it was frozen beforehand. Also that farmed salmon can be eaten raw without freezing first. I never said it was smoked salmon either

Thank you!

I would rather avoid soft serve ice cream but have the gravadlax 🤣
You would have been sick by now.

Thanks @dementedpixie. I've asked the venue if it was frozen first so that will be good to know. Where did you read about raw farmed fish being ok?

From nhs

Some fish used to make sushi, such as smoked salmon, doesn't need to be frozen before it's used because most smoking processes kill any parasitic worms in the fish. Other methods, such as salting or pickling, also make raw fish safe to eat.

It's usually safe to eat sushi and other dishes made with raw fish when you're pregnant. But depending on what fish the sushi is made from, you may need to make sure that it's been frozen first.

Certain farmed fish destined to be eaten raw in dishes like sushi, such as farmed salmon, no longer need to be frozen beforehand. This is because these particular types of farmed fish are very unlikely to contain parasitic worms because of the rearing methods used.

www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/pregnancy/is-it-safe-to-eat-sushi-during-pregnancy/

And its parasitic worms, not listeria that seems to be the issue with some raw fish

those arguing that regular smoked salmon is different because gravalax has only been cured, smoked salmon hasn't been cooked either, only smoked at a low temperature, from googling its between 25 and 37 degrees, that's between a warm room temp and body temperature!!

However, that is fine to eat in pregnancy, so by that thinking so is gravalax, so enjoy!

It’s best to stay off google OP because you tend to get a lot of American results and their food standards are completely different so the foods you can and cannot eat when pregnant differ quite a bit. For instance sushi is a big no because there’s no requirement for the fish to be frozen first, chickens aren’t routinely vaccinated against salmonella so you can’t have runny eggs but soft cheese are generally ok because even the stinky ones tend to be pasteurised. Stick to the NHS advice which I know doesn’t mention gravalax specifically but if sushi and smoked salmon are ok then by extension it must be too.

I wouldn't worry. Are all pregnant women in Scandinavia told not to eat gravadlax for the whole of their pregnancies

It will honestly be FINE. I understand that it's stressful but the salmon will almost certainly be farmed and most likely frozen also.

Please don't waste nhs resources on pointless blood tests for something you don't have.

Yes, Gravalax is very different to smoked salmon as it is essentially raw unfortunately. No form of heating at all!

Smoked salmon is also not heated - it's cold smoked. You'll be fine OP.