Chinese buffet 8 weeks pregnant

[Luclou]

Hi all again,

I went out to a Chinese buffet for a birthday outing and I'm 8 weeks pregnant. After the meal I read up that buffets should be avoided as the food may contain Listeria from the way they are stored. I'm really scared that I'm going to get it and lose the baby.
Can anyone give me reasurrance please
Kind comments please

Is that on the NHS guidelines ? I don’t remember ever reading that. I wouldn’t worry x

Have you ever had listeria from a buffet before?
Honestly the odds are absolutely minuscule, and if it was meow than a few hours ago you’d probably know if you were going to be poorly by now.

I ate from a Chinese buffet about 3/4 times a week throughout most of my first pregnancy… it was the only thing I enjoyed and could keep down! DH used to drive me there and i’d fill a takeaway container to bring home!

Please try not to worry. Listeria is extremely rare. You aren’t at any more risk of catching it when pregnant, though it can be more dangerous if you do. How often have you had food poisoning from a buffet? I would guess not often at all.

I’m pregnant now too and I’ve never heard the buffet advice. I don’t think the NHS advises against buffet food. I would stick to their official advice, what applies in other countries may is not that relevant here because of differences in food safety laws etc.

It’ll be fine please don’t worry.

I was concerned about listeria at 15 weeks because I had what I thought was a stomach bug / food poisoning and I’d had paneer cheese, which incidentally is pasteurised.

I went to the hospital as I was pretty unwell and the doctor practically laughed at me when I mentioned listeria. He’d never seen it before in his whole career although he did agree to test me for it as I was so worried. The microbiologist who did the test only saw it every 15 years apparently.

Essentially listeria is very rare and if you are feeling okay I wouldn’t worry. The main thing is to be careful to not eat unpasteurised dairy products, but in this country the vast majority are pasteurised.

Best wishes for your pregnancy x

Unless you suspect restirnets very very poor food hygiene standards

Too soon!
Unless you suspect restaurant has very very poor food hygiene standards not washing salad and vegetables. Not heating meat etc even then it’s tiny risk of contracting anything.

The microbiologist who did the test only saw it every 15 years apparently

Thats so funny, I'm a microbiologist and we see listeria extremely rarely, probably spot on with that statistic!!

Thank you for all the reassurance everyone! I'll try to stop worrying about it all