Steak?

[moomin35]

Probably a stupid question(!!) but can I eat steak when pregnant and if so how well does it need to be cooked? Usually I would ask for a rare to medium cooked steak but would this pose problems for me?

You are meant to have it cooked through for toxoplasmosis risk.

I don't though.

I normally have it medium-rare but I've relented on this one. The advice is no blood. It's only a few months and I don't eat steak often enough that it's a hardship.

I've been told that as any bacteria is on the outside of the meat, not the inside, that's steak is fine if sealed all over on the outside and is ok pink in the middle. I've eaten LOADS of steak this pregnancy as I've really craved it and all is well. I don't usually eat it rare though, at least medium, but that's my personal preference anyway. I've eaten it pink in the middle and it has been delicious and I've had no problems

I always buy meat from quality butchers etc. or in good restaurants, not cheapy/suspect stuff! (Snob lol)

The Food Standards Agency (but notably not the NHS!) used to advise that steak was fine as long as the outside was fully cooked - in line with what the poster above said.

However, that advice is currently under review. See here for explanation:

www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/foods-to-avoid-pregnant.aspx#Raw

Personally, I'll eat steak that is a still a bit pink, but not so much that there's blood.