Eating at a friend's house when pregnant (but they don't know)

[verybookish]

Hello! I am in pretty early pregnancy (6 weeks). Before finding out we were expecting we had arranged to meet some uni friends for a sort of dinner/reunion. The alcohol thing should be no problem because I always give up alcohol during lent and my friends know this. But does any of you lovely mumsnetters have some wise words on how to avoid eating any food that's unsafe for pregnancy (undercooked meet, unpastorized cheese, cold cuts etc.) without a) being rude to the hosts or b) telling them that I am pregnant?
Any advice greatly appreciated! Thanks

The 'rules' on undercooked meat have changed recently I think. I'm sure you are allowed to eat a medium rare steak for example if all sides are seared correctly. Do please check this for yourself though.

Most cheese's are fine its just certain soft cheese you should avoid. Although I'm sure baked camembert has been deemed 'safe' recently too. I've never been told to avoid cold cuts.

Have a look at the recent advice about what not to eat. You will be surprised how much is over exaggerated and out-dated.

As for the meal itself, I would let them know before you got there that you had been feeling a bit under the weather. Nothing contagious, perhaps acid reflux? If a forbidden food is then served it could play havoc with your acid so its best to avoid that part of the meal so you can eat the rest in comfort

I'm not sure of the list of restricted foods but my friend said she'd had some IBS tummy troubles with certain things, when she didn't want anyone to know in advance. No one clocked it at all

Tummy troubles. Maybe say you ate something a few days before which hadn't agreed with you, so you're still being a bit careful with what you do eat. But remember to be really polite and overly enthusiastic about everything so they don't think you're being weirdly fussy!

Thank you so much for your help, everybody.

sarkymare: you're right about ever-changing dietry advice for pregnancy. I just checked on the nhs website though and it does specifically say that you should avoid cold cuts (smoked ham is fine) and undercooked meat. Lots of this advice is obviously on the very safe/ slightly paranoid (?) side and every woman can decide with how much salt she wants to take it.

KissingPotion & Cotherstone: excellent strategies! I will announce some weird tummy trouble. Wish me luck about not appearing weirdly fussy!

I did the tummy trouble story in similar circs. Told them id had food poisoning a few days before and was feeling fragile. In fact I texted the day before to 'explain' and 'check' what would be on the menu