Food to avoid when in France while pregnant...advice pls!

[dune2003]

Hi All,

I'm currently 24 weeks p/g and due to go on holiday to France soon.

Does anyone have an advice for food to avoid while out there please while pregnant?

Is most French cheese & butter pasteurised? Do pregnant French women avoid the same food? I don't plan on eating my body weight in cheese but would like to tuck into some, if safe.

I did read (quite an old) article about France having issues with toxoplasmosis outbreaks and to avoid beef - is this true?

Thanks in advance!

Hi. I live in France and currently pregnant too. The only real difference I've come across between UK and French guidance is that here eggs should be fully cooked (not runny.)
Other than that I do the same as in the UK or avoiding raw blue/ soft cheeses washing fruit and veg. I'd be a bit careful about cheese directly from farms too. They might well be fine but I've seen first handsome of the hygiene and it doesn't inspire confidence so not something I risk while pregnant. That could just be local to me though.

With beef just be aware it might not be cooked through in burgers etc.
We get tested monthly for toxoplasmosis here so maybe it is more prevalent.i don't know... They like to test regularly for a lot of things!

Thanks for the advice!

as the UK don’t test routinely for toxo as the French do, I was wondering if it seems more prevalent in France simply because they test regularly throughout pregnancy.

And as most people who catch it don’t have symptoms, there must be women in the UK that unknowingly had it in pregnancy, unlike in France…?