Can I eat feta / halloumi / prawns in Greece?

[Keepingbusyeating]

I feel sort of ok about the prawns if I ask for them to be really well cooked but I’m thinking about Greek salads and halloumi with honey 😭. I went on holiday when pregnant with DC1 but to a country that didn’t really have any foods I’d need to think about.

I’d eat all of those happily.

Yay!

You just need to do a bit of research and check whether Greek cheeses are generally pasteurised. They probably are - I think feta usually is - but you should check. Listeria is not fun and you're at higher risk when you're pregnant (baby, too).

I'd avoid things from market stalls/ street if they're not clearly labelled as pasteurised, or anything that looks like it may have been sitting out for a while.

Just ask if pasteurised I think

I would not eat prawns. I know more than one person who has had food poisoning after eating them. I would eat halloumi. I’m on the fence re. salads, but probably wouldn’t.

Prawns, depends on where they're from and what kind of area you're in. I probably wouldn't eat prawns from a street food stall in Athens, but if I was in a nice restaurant I'd let them know I was pregnant and to please cook them well.

Also only go to restaurants with good ratings - if you find yourself somewhere that seems a bit average and may not have the best hygiene, order something simple that's hard to get wrong.

All this advice applies to the UK too though!

Cheese - yes, the risk of listeria is very low as there is so much food safety regulation in the EU around cheese and charcuterie.

Seafood - no. I've had food poisoning twice from seafood on holiday (in Spain and both were nice restaurants).

I would eat all of those without a second thought