Should pregnant women be advised to avoid sausages?

[sneezecakesmum]

Completely horrified by this article in the daily mail.

daily mail-health

I can't see this being scaremongering but it really concerned me and perhaps maternity units should be made aware?

The Daily Mail loves to get its hands on shock headlines like this, and is known for blowing fairly weak studies way out of proportion.

I'm not going to worry about what I've already eaten, but possibly food for thought for the future.
Actually, I was vaguely wondering about sausages given that they contain all sorts of organ meat including liver, and we're advised to avoid liver products because of high preformed vitamin A content (though maybe the amount you get in sausages isn't a concern).

Surely it's a bit late for avoiding sausages

And everyone knows the DM is 60 pages of scary bullshit...

Hold on, most people don't cook sausages for more than 20 minutes on a high heat? Really? Do people eat undercooked sausages? Gross.

There were only 600-odd cases last year, and it's not entirely clear that all of those cases came were associated with sausages.

Not just pregnant women - everyone should avoid sausages

Hahahah I'm with the poster above! God only knows what's in sausages - even expensive, organic high quality ones.

The daily mail tends to over react about everything but just I'm case and for your own health and well being avoid them!

Aargh, I'm doing sausage casserole with mash for tea!

Having said that....I had never eaten a hot dog as I'd always been veggie and during my pregnancy I've eaten five hot dogs and a few sausages and I'm absolutely fine!

I would now avoid them but I think I just needed the B12. Now the thought of sausages turns my stomach...you can't win really.

We are not seriously trusting the Daily Mail are we!? This is the paper that has blamed every animal, mineral or vegetable matter on the planet for causing cancer at some time or other.

...although I think they sometimes find one that cures cancer too.....

Quick Everybody hide the sausage.

Oops. Too late!

Am I just being stupid or not... The article says to cook them at 70c?!

Nah, pregnant women should just avoid the daily mail.. They will report any random unsubstantiated study and make it sound like we should all be living in bubbles for 9 months. I do agree sausages are gross tho but then again I am a vegetarian so might be biased :)

It says sausages need to be cooked for 20 mins at 70 degrees c to kill the virus. Am I missing something, or is it just me that cooks most stuff at 180 degrees? Or is this oven temp not meat temp? Hopefully just Daily Fail scaremongering!

Frankly, pregnant women have to avoid so many things it's amazing they are allowed to eat or drink anything (I have gestational diabetes so am feeling particularly restricted). I can't cross sausages off the list as well, my life will be impossible.

Love a good sausage every once in a while ;) I'm not even reading it they just scare people. I don't eat enough sausages to cause damage. If I want a sausage sarnie ill have one !

Mmmmmmm. just enjoyed sausage casserole. Haven't read the article, but if the Daily Mail says I shouldn't eat sausages, I will make a point of eating them every day.

Who the hell cooks a sausage at 70 degrees C? Bet the cooking time at 180+ (ie the actual temperature most people cook at) is a lot less.

It means that the inner core of the sausage should reach 72 degrees for a certain amount of time to be cooked (usually about 2 mins minimum).

Sausages are the one thing I have completely gone off since being pregnant. I used to really enjoy them and hope this is only temporary while I am brewing my baby :)

Sausages give me horrendous heartburn

I wouldn't touch a supermarket sausage now if you paid me. Our butcher on the other hand makes them in the shop with actual meat (the kind one would otherwise use for casserole) and no offal. They don't go grey on the inside even if slowcooked for hours. Delicious.

A sausage pasta bake or casserole will be at a suitable internal temperature for long enough.

My casserole recipe is sausages, onions, leeks, carrots, a little chicken stock, a cup of apple juice or cider, a spoonful of grain mustard, and long slow cooking. Serve with mashed potato and peas.

It wasn't a Daily Mail study as they aren't sçientists!

It was DEFRA (department of environment, food and rural affairs) a government scientific department, who have reached this conclusion from a study in 2012. 10% of sausages are infected with this virus and 85% of pigs too.

A spokesperson said it was an emerging problem that would need to be looked at urgently.

To me pg women avoid other foods quite happily so it just seems like its best to avoid sausages. I would imagine now the BBQ season is over there is less likelihood of undercooked sausages.

I totally agree pg women should avoid the daily mail but not that they should take unnecessary risks......it's just a sausage after all!