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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Food safety worries - driving myself mad!!!!

27 replies

hopejoy · 10/06/2004 16:09

Hiya - can anyone help - I'm driving myself insane (as seems to be usual when I'm pregnant) over what is safe to eat and what isn't. When I am at work or out for a meal I usually end up eating stuff I dont really want as they are the only things that seem safe!

My main queries are: Are jarred pesto pasta sauces (such as Sacla pesto) safe to eat (I worry because they mght have unpasteurised cheese in them!)

Also can I eat jarred meat spreads (like M&S and Shippams - the stuff you get off the shelf not fresh from the fridge).

Am I alright at home just to wash my salad veg (lettuce, tomatoes etc) in cold water or should I be doing something more?

There that's enough worries to be starting with

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

sponge · 10/06/2004 16:39

I would worry much less and just try to healthily.
The only thing I have avoided altogether is liver (no great hardship).
On the cheese front, avoid blue and the mould rinded ones (like brie) if they're unpasteurised. Hard cheeses are fine. Jarred sauces are fine. Avoid chiller cabinet pates but jars are fine as long as they're not liver based.
Washing salad, fruit and veg in cold water is fine.
Avoid raw or very runny eggs - so no fresh mayonnaise but again jars are fine.
Tuna has been in the news because of its mercury content but you need to eat a lot (more than 3 cans a week) for it to be a problem and I can't personally see how you could possibly want to eat so much.
Hope this helps.

aloha · 10/06/2004 16:53

Hopejoy, really, it's not that bad!! As has been said, it is perfectly safe to eat any cheese except blue cheese or soft cheese with a soft rind - ie brie or camembert. All hard cheeses are find, pasteurised or not, and anything in a jar that is stored on the shelf and not in the fridge (pesto, mayonnaise etc) is sterile (ie pasteurised) anyway. Meat spreads are fine. Pate is considered slightly risky partly because many are liver based and thus high in vitamin A, and partly because they may be contaminated with listeria bacteria. Washing your salad stuff in cold water is fine.
You can safetly eat anything at all that is piping hot all the way through (eg blue cheese on pizza or toast), except liver. And remember even if you stuffed yourself on blue cheese you would still be unlikely to get listeria poisoning - it's very rare. Any more questions??

aloha · 10/06/2004 16:54

I mean - all hard cheeses (eg parmesan or cheddar) are FINE - pasteurised or not.

dinosaur · 10/06/2004 16:56

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

Original poster

hopejoy · 10/06/2004 17:18

Sponge, Aloha - thanks for your messages. I'm going to have jar of pesto for dinner - so there. I know I over-worry. This only seems to happen when I'm pregnant. I certainly dont worry about what I eat and drink (Oh for a glass of cold white wine, oh for several glasses...) when I am not pregnant. But when pregnant I feel so responsible for someone else and since my last baby didnt make it I feel even more worried (though I didnt have listeria). Is everyone sure I can eat meat spread in jars? See I'm off again...

OP posts:

aloha · 10/06/2004 17:24

Anything in a jar is absolutely sterile. To be supersafe don't eat liver paste, but according to the pregnancy dietician I spoke to the risks associated with Vitamin A are unproven, but even if they exist, they don't apply after the first three months as everything is formed by then anyway! Mind you, I loathe liver, so it doesn't affect me.

aloha · 10/06/2004 17:25

BTW hopejoy, what are you concerned about re the potted meat? Listeria isn't an issue in anything in a jar which is sterile.

sponge · 10/06/2004 17:26

Yes, as Aolha said anything which is on a shelf (not refigerated) has been either pasteurised or sterilised (which is veen more rigorous), so providing there's no liver in the jar of meat you'll be fine. However once the jar has been opened be careful how long you leave it sitting around as then the sterility is broken. The jar will tell you how long it's safe to keep once opened.

Original poster

hopejoy · 10/06/2004 17:48

ok, thanks. I think my concern over meat paste was the fact that it is meat and it is cold and I had this idea that all meat had to be piping hot. I didnt realise that jars would be sterile (though now I think about it, it seems pretty obvious). I know that if you are being really cautious (or in US) you shouldnt eat cold meats (like ham and cold chicken) so I lumped meat spreads in with that category.

Is it true that I shouldnt eat shop bought coleslaw, potato salad etc as there is a listeria risk?

I am eating Heinz sanwich spread and salad cream for the first time in pregnancy as I emailed Heinz about it(why did I never think of that before!)

I know, I'm officially mad.

OP posts:

bunny2 · 10/06/2004 17:59

hopejoy, you are not alone with this worrying. I wash my hands a thousand times a day incase I transfer some toxoplasmosis germ to my mouth unwittingly.

Marina · 10/06/2004 18:06

hopejoy, you're not mad. Been there, done the washing (hands and the salad as well bunny2!)
Please enjoy that glass of wine and pesto

highlander · 10/06/2004 18:42

I personally think your body kind of becomes hyper-sensitive to food that's bad for you in pregnancy.

I didn't even know I was preggers when I suddenly went right off tuna ( I was a 3 can a week girl)
I was happily guzzling 2-3 glasses of wine a week up until about wk 15 and I've gradually gone off that too.

And as for bags of salad - I eat salad every night, but I seem to have developed a sniffer dog nose for rotten leaves. I found one in the bottom of a new bag last week that to me was so bad it made me retch but DH couldn't even smell it. I can't go into Starbucks because the smell of warm milk makes me retch as well.

It's a funny old world........

aloha · 10/06/2004 19:18

I would certainly eat coleslaw and potato salad if I wanted. I would also eat ham. It is not considered to be a listeria risk in the UK.

Bronze · 10/06/2004 22:53

and if youre not sure check the packaging. i've been living off phillidelphia and lettuce sandwichs which though it is a soft cheese is fine as it is pasteurised. And to be honest the stress is probably more harmful than most of the banned foods, its just minimising the risks
Bron

sweetkitty · 11/06/2004 09:29

hi hopejoy sorry to hear you are having a hardtime worrying what to eat in pregnancy, the best place to get information is on the Food Standards Agency Website
www.foodstandards.gov.uk

I'm a food microbiologist and it even baffles me all teh conflicting advice. Your pesto is fine (as already said it is pasteurised in jar and also is very acidic which means Listeria cannot grow in it.

The only things I am personally avoiding is unpasteurised soft cheese. Philadelphia is OK your meat spreads are OK, as for salads I wash mine in salt and water. Undercooked eggs and pate are also on the best ot be avoided list. Anything from Heinz is fine as it's all pasteurised.

Remember the risk from Listeria or Salmonella is very rare I should know I used to test loads of foods for them.

Hope that helps a bit.

aloha · 11/06/2004 09:32

Bronze, soft cheese (eg cream cheese or cottage cheese) isn't risky at all. It's only the mould-ripened soft cheeses that you might want to avoid because of the risk of listeria contamination - that's brie and camembert and goats cheese. And yes, Philadelphia and other processed cheeses are all perfectly safe to eat.

Bronze · 11/06/2004 15:22

Aloha,
Thanks I'm not worrying at all. I'm fine with which things I could eat I just mentioned philadelphia as it seems to be a constant at mealtimes at the moment. I was just reassuring hopejoy that things she might not be sure about can be ok and that if shes not sure just to check the packaging.
Bron

Twinkie · 11/06/2004 15:24

My midwife said it is fine to eat liver now but only as part of a healthy balanced diet and the scare came from women craving it and eating loads of it and there being problems with their babies eyesight - in one case total blindness!!

sweetkitty · 11/06/2004 16:15

Or youy could adopt my approach to pregnancy health scares by surviving on a diet of chocolate!

Bronze · 11/06/2004 16:46

now that sounds good to me but sadly anything sugary has been making me ill
Bron

Original poster

hopejoy · 14/06/2004 16:52

sweetkitty - thanks for your comments!Feel reassured by you comments and will add salt to my salad washing ritual!

Can I ask - I wash fruit (like cherries, plums, grapes etc) in cold water but still worry. Firstly, remind me, what am I worrying about!!!? and is washing in cold water enough? I dont enjoy what I'm eating for worrying!

All your comments have help and are much appreciated. I really enjoyed my pasta a few nights ago!!
Hopejoy

OP posts:

aloha · 14/06/2004 17:22

Yes, what are you worrying about !! Fruit isn't a risky food by anyone's definition. The only possible risk from veg is contamination by toxoplasmosis from the soil, which obviously doesn't apply to fruit. Honestly! I rinse (when I can be bothered) because of possible grime and pesticide residue.

aloha · 14/06/2004 17:22

BTw no need for salt!! It doesn't destroy bacteria.

aloha · 14/06/2004 17:36

Oops, don't like to contradict a microbiologist!

aloha · 14/06/2004 17:37

And I mean, doesn't apply 'as much' to fruit. the advice is still to wash, but to get soil off really, if there is any soil. The vast, vast majority of toxoplasmosis cases (and it is rare) is from raw or undercooked meat.

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