A prawny problem...

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Hi,

I was wondering what everyone thought about eating prawns when pregnant...I know the government advice says seafood is ok when eaten cooked as part of a hot meal, but I was wondering if prawns (i.e. my fav in a packet from M&S) were ok to eat? Surely I have less chance of getting food poisoning from them cold than from raw prawns I've cooked up myself at home?

What does everyone think?

Thanks!

i just stayed away from prawns. could never remember the guidelines so it was easier.

the worst ever food poisoning i ever got was from an M&S prawn curry that I had heated up pretty well.

Depends how you would react if anything went wrong? If you're so confident that they are safe then go ahead. I ate a prawn cocktail a week before I m/c and for some time I was very unhappy that the m/c was my own fault. Didn't have any food poisoning, but I wasn't entirely rational at the time. I now know that the two things were completely unrelated but I could have done without the guilt trip at the time.

I ate prawns throughout all my pregnancies - hot and cold - and generally thought I stuck to all the guidelines. I wouldn't think they are any more risky than eating chicken, surely?

I wouldn't think twice about eating them (and have, all through this pregnancy). But like LadyintheRadiator, I also eat runny eggs, rare steak and the occasional glass of wine (not ice cream from a van, but that's because I make my own and it's much better!).

ditto LadyintheRadiator

I had a mad day about 6 weeks ago where halfway through my prawn sarnie I realised I hadn't actually cooked the prawns... I thought they'd not teasted quite "right" but just couldn't put my finger on it. D'oh!

I fed the rest to the dogs and they polished them off no bother - I figured if they'd been bad the dogs wouldn't have touched them. I did feel queasy the rest of the day - for the worry. Not a touch of tummy or bum trouble.

I cooked the remainder the following week and they were lovely.

Honestly, how often do you get food poisoning? Do you have an overly sensitive tummy normally? I can eat bloody anything me.

I am prawn mad, one of my fav foods! And I ate them all through first pregnancy and am 30 weeks into second and have eaten them this time too.
I havent bought and cooked my own, just the cooked and peeled version but then like others on here I've eaten a runny egg, pink beef and various other things and never had any bother.
I wont drink though but only coz one glass is never enough :-) and weirdly I go completely off pate even though I normally love it
Do what you feel is best

i'm with lady, the only thing i have cut out is mussels and oysters (and binge drinkling)

Prawns are absolutely fine, enjoy!

I can see nothing wrong with cooked prawns (although I don't like them in particular)

I haven't been eating them because I'm never 100% sure how they have been prepared/cooked. My midwife was very vague and just told me to 'make a judgement but not take risks'.

Ive cut out alcohol, caffeine, rare meat, unpasturised cheese, runny eggs, deli meat and all other shellfish EXCEPT prawns (and Ive been fine).

I figure 1) government advice says its ok, 2) I tend to take off the shells before I cook them which I understand is where the parasites (if any) are 3) they are healthy, unlike a lot of my banned list...

I think there is probably too much hysteria and too much worry heaped on preggers women about what they eat. Your midwife cant tell you what to do - she can only follow government guidelines. Youve got to make the choices yourself. Good luck!

There are some things I'll eat, some things I won't. Prawns, for me fall into the happy to eat category. Sounds funny, but smell them, if they smell funny - don't touch them. There has to be some purpose for this heightned sense of smell.

I've been eating them, can never resist a prawn sarnie!

I think it's pretty clear whether prawns are properly cooked and okay, unlike say, mussels, where it can be nearly impossible to tell.

I'm carrying on eating them because as I don't eat meat and I've gone off a lot of fish, my diet is quite restricted.

I'm not eating mussels, oysters, scallops. Don't eat steaks anyway, but I wouldn't eat sushi now. And I'm trying to avoid runny eggs (though if they're Lion marked, they're safer), so I'm not exactly a risk taker.

I think you're far more likely to get food poisoning from a heated up ready meal than from a prawn sarnie.

skihorse uurgh!!

Fwiw, you do have to remember that how often you get food poisoning normally is irrelevant - when you are pregnant your immune system is suppressed plus what may not be very serious for you can be more serious for your baby.

Thanks for your advice - think I may take up my fav food again but well cooked and in moderation. It's the stir-fries I'm missing and seem to be craving any protein sources but don't eat red meat and really off turkey and chicken strangely!

I actually went as far as to email the Food Standards Agency about this! I have copied their answer below.

Thank you for your recent request for information regarding cooked cold prawns. Your query has been passed to me for reply.

The Food Standards Agency advises that food such as prawns should be cooked thoroughly reaching a temperature of 70ºC for 2 minutes, so that it is steaming hot throughout.

If not being consumed immediately, food should be cooled as quickly as possible, within 1-2 hours and then either refrigerated and consumed within 2 days or frozen. In answer to your question, it should be fine to consume cold prawns but you should ensure that the above advice has been followed.

If you intend to reheat the prawns, you should ensure that all food is cooked thoroughly reaching a temperature of 70ºC for 2 minutes so that it is piping hot throughout. Food should not be reheated more than once.