Is it really so bad to eat Pate ?

[FoghornLeghorn]

I have a slab of Pate in my fridge and it is just calling me - Is it really so bad ?

TBH, I haven't really gone for all of this 'don't eat this don't eat that' nonsense through my other pregnancies, I've avoided the things that are harmful to the baby not things that carry a risk of me getting ill which then has a knock on effect to the baby

[CloudAtlas]

I'd eat it, I scoffed loads of stinking festering seeping cheese in my second pregnancy. I think that prawns are fine as long as they're cooked, as if you'd eat raw ones!

[LadyOfWassail]

OMG, I am craving it now! I think avoid liver pate, that's kinda 2 in 1 of no no things to eat, but, I daresay I will eat some over Christmas. It's the only time of the year I ever eat pate, and it's only ever about 2 slices. With lovely crumbly pate spread over it [drool]

[nosnikrap]

Am I the only one with an egg problem? its all pate this and peanuts that, . The only precaution I take is buying fresh free range organic eggs, happy hens are healthy hens! btw I have never had, or known anyone who has had food poisoning. Just don't eat food off the floor thats what I say!

[MassiveMollyfloss]

Apparently as long as the eggs have the little red lion stamp on them they are ok as that means they are pasteurised and salmonella free.

[DaisyMoo]

You can't pasteurise whole eggs

The red lion means that they come from birds vaccinated against Salmonella - not a guarantee, but should reduce the risks

[Cosmoieva]

Ok, this post is almost 10 years old but I'd like to add that I've had beef liver pate almost every day of my pregnancy and now is week 37 and all is good. I had never paid much attention to the 'dont eat this or that' lists because it seems like a nonsense, it excludes almost all the foods that I live and thrive on. And tell me, are pregnant women in Japan refusing to eat sushi for 9 months? Do French stop eating their Brie and Camembert? I don't think so. Buy good quality stuff and eat it fresh and you'll be grand! :)

[CityMole]

Recent advice is that Sushi is not off the menu - so long as the fish has been properly frozen first to kill any worms which might otherwise casue anisakidosis

The issue with pate is the risk of too much Vit A, so it's not really down to where you buy it or how good quality it is- in fact, if anything, the shit quality stuff with low liver content is probably lower risk.

I hear what you're saying, but I don't think there's any need to be gung ho, or to mock those who are more risk averse than me. I'm of continental stock, so I've been eating rare steak and drinking the odd glass of red wine regularly throughout my pregnancy, as is normal in my culture- a lot of the advice people in Britain are given comes- not from scientific evidence- from a public health point of view which regards our culture as one typified by a lack of restraint/impulse control, couples with poor education as to what is sensible or constitutes moderation.

Having said that, there are still risks to consider, even with a moderate lifestyle. I have only had pate a couple of times, because there IS a minute risk that Vit A toxicity can cause fetal abnormalities, and I've steered clear entirely from unpasteurised cheese too because it is just too much of an unknown for me to be able to feel comfortable at quantifying and accepting that risk.

[Mummyme87]

Pate was the only thing I didn't eat due to the high vitamin A content and potential to cause birth defects.

Listeria are low risks but massive consequences. Advice on foods is there for a reason

[bluemoonday]

If anyone is interested in whether or not to eat pate, drink coffee, have a glass of wine, any of that stuff, I highly recommend 'Expecting Better' by Prof Emily Oster. Fantastic book that takes a look at the research and evidence (or lack thereof) behind the scaremongering.

There's a nice article about her research here, if anyone is interested.

[eurochick]

I wouldn't eat it because I think pate is minging. It's also a "double risk" - high levels of vit A from the liver, plus the listeria risk. I did eat some higher risk foods when pregnant, such as runny eggs, when fresh and home cooked, as that was a risk I was prepared to take and assessed it to be a very small risk. You have to make up your mind whether you are happier eating the pate or if you will drive yourself mad with worry if you do!

[CityMole]

Mummy, I totally agree with the spirit of your post but I would challenge blindly trotting out comments like "Advice on foods is there for a reason". Yes, the reason is to discourage you from eating it, but I am suspicious of some of the motives. Some advice is not based on any evidence-led studies, and more often than not conjecture and social policy contribute to 'advice' as much as anything else. And even where there are scientific studies to support certain advice, not all of them are terribly convincing!

Still, there is nothing quite as contentious as what a pregnant woman should or shouldn't do with her body, and I am increasingly of the view that 'get informed on the actual facts and then make a decision that you are comfortable with' is perhaps the best advice to intelligent and informed women.

[CityMole]

bluemoonday that's an interesting article. Just to focus on alcohol as one example, I've seen several studies which have noted that there is no greater risk in moderate drinking compared to abstinence during pregnancy, and other studies which suggest increased IQ amongst test groups who did drink alcohol compared to those who had none Commentary on these studies suggests that women from a higher socio-economic group are extremely unlikely to binge drink but much more likely to have the odd glass of wine rather than abstain altogether- and this category of women generally have babies with higher on average IQs, so that might explain the study. But who knows! The problem is that nobody seems to know at what point 'moderate' drinking tips into the dangerground that can give you a baby with FAS or other similar problems. Because of this, no medical advisor is going to stake their career on trying to define that line in the sand, so it is better all round for the advice to be that 'we can't say what amount is safe so it's better to abstain'. It is such a shame that our litigious society means that this advice can then be manipulated into scaremongering horror stories, that are sometimes used with the objective of controlling women and their bodies.

[cocothomas1234]

The chances of getting lysteria from pate is around 1 in 40,000. You're more likely to fall down the stairs or crash your car driving to get the damn stuff. And as for the vitamin A content, as high as it is, you'd have to eat a hell of a lot. I think that rule is more there for people who are craving it and eating a massive slab each day (I can understand that as it's a big craver!). I ate pate through both my pregnancies prob once every couple of weeks or so and both my babies are just fine. Just be sensible about it, if you go to party and it's been hanging around at the buffet table don't touch it (along with the salad or anything else). Waitrose do brussels smooth pate which is sealed in sections so you are always opening a fresh pot, just have a little slither now and then rather than the entire tub and you'll be fine.