Pregnancy labels

[KATS2020]

I'm just over two months pregnant and while I battle internally on whether I'm obsessing because it's my first pregnancy and still very early on, or whether I have legitimate claim to feel angry, I am pregnant and I have had enough.

Since I've found out there is a strawberry-sized baby inside of me I've tried my best to stay clear of "dangerous" foods. I've completely altered my weekly shop as, for example, the Waitrose branded cheese does not say if it's pasteurised or not. I've stopped going to Pret as no one can tell me if the mayo has raw egg in it. I've been told opposing information at my favourite restaurants on different occasions. HOWEVER, they can all tell me if it's vegetarian or vegan friendly.

Now, I have nothing against vegetarians or vegans; my sister has been the latter for years and I massively admire her efforts to find alternatives to cheese - her favourite food ever. I do, however, take issue with supermarkets, restaurants, etc going to the effort of knowing if something is v/v but cannot tell me if the cream on the pasta has raw egg or pasteurised milk and could potentially damage my unborn child.

I've only had a month of knowing I'm carrying a baby and I couldn't be happier. At the same time, I'm furious, frustrated and would love to have answers to these simple questions. All these establishments know what they are putting into their food, why can't it just be label as such?

In the kindest possible way, you are overreacting a bit. Most of the things you mention you're avoiding are safe - you can eat all cheese pasteurised or unpasteurised except soft mould-ripened and soft blue cheeses. You can also eat raw eggs if they have a lion stamp, so just not eggs from local farms etc - Pret mayo will be safe. It's like expecting Pret to label that the eggs in their mayo are chicken eggs not duck eggs.

I'd suggest a book called Expecting Better which gives you evidence-based information on foods in pregnancy and the reasons why. It might put your mind at rest a bit.

I'm afraid I agree with lewk - follow the NHS guidelines and you'll be fine.

Large chains are (largely) very safe places to eat, no way would they take the risk of putting random unpasturised raw egg in their mayo, or using raw cows milk.
I'm saying this as someone who works in food safety across a large range of brands & chains.

I do, however, agree that there should be a way to tell a customer exactly what's in a product and this is going to be a huge push going forward.

Pregnancy is exciting and new, and we all get a little bit obsessed first time around I hope it goes well!

You'd probably be better off eating a vegan diet during pregnancy anyway, considering all the food they tell you to avoid is animal based

You're over reacting. Switching cheeses is no biggie surely.
But it took me 5 years of ivf to have children so perhaps 💐 didn't care that I could not have a pret egg sandwich 🙄

I only ever worried if I ate at a place at the side of a road or from a food truck. Even then I asked if they had brand mayo or homemade. Every time they were more than happy to tell me it certainly wasn't homemade mayo and I was ok to eat it.

I just avoid brie and whatever else the nhs says to avoid (although I miss brie so much I have had some, usually with roast potatoes).

I definitely think there is an over reaction here, as well as a misplaced sense of entitlement. We aren't entitled to special treatment like food labelling just because we are pregnant!

Isn't a lot of food poisoning (which is the main risk) from things like bagged salad anyway? I think pregnancy in general is a matter of weighing up the risks and deciding what's right for you - for me, eating a Pret baguette is pretty much the lowest of the low risk things I could do so I happily eat them.

You're being ridiculous.

The Lion stamped British eggs that a large chain would be using are fine raw anyway.

"Furious" is a total overreaction.

Furious, frustrated and FUming 😤

Yeah, I would relax a bit or it's going to be a very long nine months! Unless you are buying artisan cheese crafted by shepherds in the Himalayas, it will be pasteurised. Cheddar from Waitrose and mayo in chain sandwich shops will 100% be pasteurised.

You're going to starve for the next 9 months if you continue being this dramatic , pregnant women shop / eat in these places every day.

Because it can be so challenging to get pregnant in the first place I don't think it's too much to ask for people to know if they are using pasteurised ingredients. With the current push on allergen awareness I just think it's a good time to add this kind of information, too.

From the feedback here it sounds like I've just been unlucky in hearing too many horror stories and have allowed that to turn into slight paranoia...

Afraid I have to agree with PP... I know it's an exciting and worrying time in equal measure but you need to chill out! You'd probably think me negligent but I was in Paris 3 times for work during my pregnancy and I had some Brie each time as well as a glass of champagne... and I have a beautiful son I'm feeding now. Obviously that's my choice but I think you can make sensible decisions without having to drastically change your diet.... there's not really that much you can't eat. I think the big one is cutting down tea and coffee (and alcohol obviously but that's easier than coffee when you are shattered)

Good luck with your pregnancy x

Second the recommendation for the excellent book 'Expecting Better'. It's a really sensible - stats based take on advice given to pregnant women and it's highly readable

I haven't heard of a single woman getting listeria. Ever. Just be sensible.

If something is using unpasteurised milk, it will generally say that on the label. The default is pasteurised. If something contains raw (unpasteurised) milk, then it must have a label on saying.

What horror stories 🙄have you heard about pret egg sandwiches?

I'm going to be honest. I never avoided any food during pregnancy. The only thing I stopped was alcohol.

I cooked all seafood myself and switched some things to low fat.

Did this through both my pregnancies and never had any issues

But they do have to label products with a health warning or contains raw milk so your worrying over nothing. if the product doesn't say it contains raw milk then it doesn't. You can look it up with the food agency. You can eat lion stamped eggs raw and there are very few overall restrictions. years ago it may have been different but the new guidelines really aren't as restrictive as people think unless you survive on liver, swordfish and alcohol. As pp have said use the bus website and ignor everyone telling you what you can and can't do. I get told almost daily how restrictive my diet must be but only thing I've ditched is alcohol and reduced caffeine

nhs not bus!

I did have a minor freak about food but not mayo.

Expecting Better by Emily Oster, which I'm reading now is good. Even though she's an economist, not a health professional (maybe this is why it is better) she offers done guys advice.

Some of the advice shouldn't be made out to be as dire as what it is. It is more about making choices based on risk, most of which are small.

Take Listeria. Obviously it happens and it is pretty dire fur the baby when it hits But according to Oster it isn't easy to predict. One outbreak was caused by celery, the other by ham or something.

So just wash the veg and keep away from certain deli meats or anything left hanging around in the fridge for too long.

What she says about raw eggs is that you shouldn't worry. They carry as much risk to you now as they did before you are pregnant.

I very much doubt random mayo is going to give you good poisoning. Your neighbour's chicken's egg might. But i imagine that most manufactured mayo will... Probably contain less egg and more chemicals to be honest.

The only thing i really regret not being able to eat was beef tartare and rare steak. Argh. As that is one thing she does recommend you avoid.

Another nod for Expecting Better. The only thing I've generally avoided (apart from booze, the fags I've never touched anyway, ibuprofen and reducing my caffeine) is bagged/pre-prepared salad even though that isn't on any list, because I know/perceive it is a sneaky causer of upset stomachs even if not full food poisoning so following my mindset of if in doubt, steer clear.

Its not that you have been unlucky in hearing too many horror stories, there are plenty about, its whether you use your common sense and realise that the horror stories make up such a small percentage of pregnancy stories. You just need to be sensible, lower your caffine intake, avoid blue cheese, limit alcohol etc etc. If you carry on like you are, youre going to be a nervous wreck and malnourished by the time baby is here! Congratulations on your pregnancy, try not to let paranoia take hold and enjoy.

YABU

The slightly funny thing about your post is you could eat the vegan food that you know would definately be pregnancy friendly if you were really that worried.

I would say you’re overthinking it; I didn’t find the food restrictions difficult at all when I was pregnant apart from missing pate at Christmas. If you’re not happy about something then avoid it; I know it’s easy to say but it’s only for a short period of time.
I would also say that pret is unlikely to have mayo with raw egg in it. I was told just to avoid home made mayo.