Food worry!

[Hopehope20]

Hey, I am 39 weeks and have always been over cautious (borderline irrational) about what I can and can't eat which has been draining. But I have always been very careful because of this. I have just eaten smoked mackerel Patè from a posh hotel as part of afternoon tea....and am worrying. Looking online...it looks like smoked mackerel is ok...but that ALL types of Patè should be avoided because of listeria risk. Would you worry about this or am I being silly?! Thank you for reading x

I wouldn’t worry, the risk is tiny.

The risk really is teeny tiny. Yes it's still a risk, otherwise it wouldn't be part of the guidance, but it really is so very, very small.

Also I'd imagine at a posh hotel the pate would be made fresh, so I think even less risk (I make my own at home and its basically smoked mackerel, creme fraiche, and spring onions - I'd happily eat that when pregnant). Please don't worry!

I think there's a book called "Expecting Better" that explains how the guidelines for food / drink for pregnant women is totally OTT based on the actual risk, might be worth a look if you are still worrying!

Listeria risk is extremely low yes you should avoid all pate but worrying about it after the event isn't going to help much.

Posh hotel is likely to have made their own pate and it wasn't liver based either

It won't have offal in it.

Thank you everyone. I need to remember the risk is small. Just kicking myself!

Mackerel pate is completely fine - it’s not actually pate as such so stop worrying!