Can I eat salad

[OhChacha]

I haven't been eating salad because I read I shouldn't due to risk of bacteria. I actually have a friend who got sick form eating salad out.
Is it OK if I buy salad ingredients and make a home made salad at home by washing the veg in cold water. Does that kill bacteria on veg?

Yes it's fine assuming you're in the UK. There's very little you can't eat when pregnant. Go off the NHS advice not Google, because Google tends to bring up lots of American results which tell you you can't eat all sorts of things because their food safety standards aren't as stringent as ours.

Yes as long as it's washed thoroughly. So anything you make at home is fine. I wasn't over-cautious in pregnancy but I didn't eat the side salads in restaurants, as I've found them to be gritty in the past. Didn't fancy salad most of the time anyway!

Yes you can eat salad

I’m American and ate salad with all three of my pregnancies…when I wasn’t throwing my guts up anyway 😬

I had five pregnancies in the US and ate all sorts of food both at home and when out with no ill effects. Despite what google may tell you, the US is not the wild west where food standards are concerned.

I'm American and had my babies at a time when all they worried about was drinking and smoking. The babies are now healthy adults. Salad contains nutrients you and your baby need, and raw food, which still contains enzymes, is very good for you. Just make sure it's washed. Congratulations, OP, on your baby!

I have never heard of not being allowed to eat salad when pregnant

I've eaten sald through all 3 of my pregnancies. I've never heard you can't.

Of course. Only follow NHS advice, otherwise you'd never eat anything.

Salad was always my default lunch before I was pregnant. There was a salad bar next to my office. The only thing is you may find your sense of smell is heightened- I did get the odd salad from there when pregnant but the place suddenly was a riot of smells and a little unpleasant.

I also went off salmon and broccoli which were normally some my favourite and regularly consumed foods.

The GP suggested I should avoid reheated rice and pasta dishes and it would be safer to have something deep-fried when eating out, from a food safety perspective.

As it happened I really craved salty chips!

You're being a bit overcautious.

However you might want to read this - https://www.nicswell.co.uk/health-news/bagged-salads-pose-salmonella-risk-say-researchers

Basically bagged salad (the ones with loose salad leaves) has a slightly higher risk of salmonella, e.coli etc

This is because they're bagged, as the leaves are breaking down, the juice they release can breed bacteria.

So your risk is high if you're eating manky salad that is a week past its due date. Your risk is very low if you're eating fresh bagged salad. I'd imagine your risk is even lower if you're eating a salad made from an actual lettuce bought whole rather than a bag of leaves (baby spinach etc).

So people here saying it's fine - it's within guidelines but maybe a slightly higher risk than other foods. I don't buy bagged salad anyway as it goes off so fast - it's one of the foods with the highest wastage rate.

I think it's ok to eat salad while pregnant. If you're really worried then don't buy the bagged salad and make it from scratch at home. My mother used to wash all her salad veggies in cold water and a tablespoon spoon of white vinegar. She believed the extra acidity would make any grit fall off the veggies to the bottom of the washing bowl. I don't know how true it is but I still do it too. 🙂

Perfectly fine to eat salads when pregnant. I certainly did. Just make sure you have rinsed everything well, that's all.

Step away from Dr. Google in general. Just take your advice from the NHS website. Loads of others are alarmist and would probably have you eating virtually nothing.

A vinegar and water soak will help kill off bacteria lurking on fruit and veg. It doesn't have an effect on grit.

If that is a supermarket salad, I would assume it is 100% sterile both from pathogens and nutrients. As it is grown on hydroponic sponge (not soil) under the electric bulbs (not sun) watered with chlorinated mains water (not rain) with lab developed fertilisers (not manure).

Most bacteria and food poisoning happen due to the poor storage of salads in restaurants (raw meat liquid dripping on them).

I don't eat salad in the restaurant while I'm pregnant as I don't know how it's been kept and washed.

I eat salad all the time at home, I just wash them with water.

Yes. You can eat anything that's not on the nhs list.

In any case, lots of salad ingredients are cooked, or can be. Especially green beans, pulses, lentils, and I sometimes lightly fry mushrooms and tomatoes for 2-3 minutes, with garlic.