McDonald's ice cream

[sorintinkerbell]

Can anyone clear up if mummies to be are allowed McDonald's ice cream or milkshakes....seems to be a grey area.

Yes it's fine. It's not on the NHS avoid list. McDonald's will keep the equipment clean so no listeria issues

Yes you can
Soft ice creams should be fine to eat when you're pregnant, as they are processed products made with pasteurised milk and eggs, so any risk of salmonella food poisoning has been eliminated.
For homemade ice cream, use a pasteurised egg substitute or follow an egg-free recipe.

Direct from the nhs

Can anyone clear up if mummies to be are allowed McDonald's ice cream or milkshakes

You’re allowed anything you want. You won’t have the police to your door if you have a 99.

What?!? No fair! When I was pregnant (and wanted McFlurrys!) was told that soft ice cream was a no-no!
I know the advice on nuts had changed as I took part in a trial to eat them whilst pregnant.
Crazy how the advice changes!

It's up to you. There is a higher risk of listeria from that kind of ice cream than the more frozen stuff. I've also heard horror stories about the machines not being cleaned out properly. They are only inspected every so often and apparently it can be quite typical they get neglected in between those times. You would have to weigh up the risks for yourself, essentially, how much do you trust those mcdonalds staff!

I've read on other threads that the machines automatically do a cleaning cycle each night which makes them sterile. I maybe wouldn't get one from an ice cream van but I imagine McDonald's would be fine

I think soft ice cream is thought to be more of a risk from ice cream vans where they may not be as vigilant at cleaning their machines out as McDonald's. Apparently McDonald's clean theirs everyday so it shoulda be fine.

I'm 22 weeks and had an enormous strawberry shake today and polished off the rest of DS's cone today OP

Sorry dementedpixie, I've just realised I said everything you did!

I've heard the McDonalds ice cream turns itself off if it hasn't been cleaned when it's meant to? Which I can believe the amount of times the machines not been working when I've wanted one.

Yeap, if you want Mr Whippy-style ice cream then McDonald's is the safest place to get it. Def avoid icecream vans though.

You're not meant to have it because it's from inside one if those machines so not as hygienic as scooped ice cream, but somewhere like Mcdonalds will have high standards of hygiene. I've eaten it in pregnancy and been completely fine.

Well I was told no by my NHS midwife

I've had a fair few.

Midwives will say no because they wouldnt want to be blamed for anything. Risk averse.

I really feel sorry for anyone pregnant now, as the stress about what to eat and not eat grows by the day. This from someone who was encouraged to eat liver and drink stout and mine are 21 and 22. I completely understand that a lot of advice is based on good evidence but still.

I bloody hope so! I'm addicted

My DS is 2.5 and I never knew you weren't supposed to eat soft ice cream! I ate a lot of Mr whippy ice creams from the ice cream van when I was pregnant....

The NHS website list specifically says soft ice cream is fine.

That said, I did get food poisoning from an ice cream van once, I only buy wrapped ice cream from them now.

I won’t eat soft serve from an ice cream van while pregnant due to the listeria risk, but McDonald’s is far safer.
My friend worked there and says that their machines have to run a four-hour-long heat-cleaning cycle to kill any bacteria, every 24 hours.
You would be extremely unlucky to have any sort of problem.

I was told by midwife no. I don't think it's actually anything to do with soft ice cream itself but that they think the machines are unsanitary.

But the machines are cleaned every day. It is not on the NHS avoid list so it's fine

I work at McDonald’s, and although have no idea if it’s safe to have it when pregnant, I can vouch the machines clean themselves inside every night and we do the rest, once a week we do a thorough clean where it is all taken apart and cleaned. If the machines not working it’s normally because it’s failed a clean (normally due to temperature) and has to go in again and again - probably making it more sanitary. The mix runs out regularly so it’s not sitting in the machine for days (at least at my place) and even then the machines are kept at the correct temperature for it to be safe, if it ever goes above the right temperature it doesn’t work and we can’t serve! Congratulations on your pregnancy x

I'm on pregnancy number 4 and I've eaten loads of mcflurrys 😱 I've never heard they're potentially harmful before?! Sounds pretty ott. Surely they'd come with a health warning if there was anything in this and also not be for the consumption of children. X

I was told by my midwife to avoid mcdonalds icecream and Mr whippy style from vans due to possible bacteria in the nozzles.
To be honest I think it's just a case of they advise caution with anything that can sit around, such a salads on salad bars, all you can eat buffets etc etc. So many people will blame their health care team if something goes wrong and they've not been warned.
It's personal choice what potential risks are of value to you though as we each have different opinions on it. Risks are very small and some people will happily eat various cured meats, cheeses etc and others won't.
I tend to avoid as I'm not a massive fan anyway so the possible risk however small isn't worth it for the enjoyment I'd get from it.

I was told to avoid it, it's not the ice cream itself but the fact it comes out of a pump where Listeria can breed. For me it wouldn't be worth the risk, buy a big tub instead

But the pipes are cleaned and sterilised so listeria will not be present. NHS says it is ok