Fish & seafood
Albacore & yellowfin tuna
Limit the amount
Limit to one 4-oz serving in a week.
These are FDA/EPA Good Choices. If you eat a serving, do not eat other fish that week. Cook fresh tuna thoroughly.
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Read each answer together with its preparation or serving guidance. Different varieties of the same food may have different advice.
Try a shorter food name or clear the category filter. A food missing from this guide is not automatically safe or unsafe. Ask your care team if you are unsure.
Fish & seafood
Limit to one 4-oz serving in a week.
These are FDA/EPA Good Choices. If you eat a serving, do not eat other fish that week. Cook fresh tuna thoroughly.
Drinks
Avoid alcohol during pregnancy.
There is no known safe amount or safe time to drink alcohol during pregnancy. This includes wine, beer and spirits.
Drinks
Count tea toward the daily 200 mg caffeine limit.
Both black and green tea contain caffeine.
Dairy & cheese
Choose pasteurized versions and heat to 165°F or steaming hot.
CDC lists heated pasteurized soft cheese as a safer choice. Avoid soft cheese made from unpasteurized milk.
Meat & poultry
Cook ground beef and pork to 160°F.
Check the center with a food thermometer. Ground chicken and turkey need 165°F instead.
Eggs, snacks & more
Use pasteurized eggs for uncooked dressings and sauces.
Check the ingredients in homemade Caesar dressing, mousse and eggnog; raw unpasteurized eggs are a riskier choice.
Fish & seafood
Choose a low-mercury species and check the label.
CDC lists canned seafood and shelf-stable smoked fish as safer options. The fish species still determines the weekly allowance.
Fish & seafood
Choose canned light tuna, including skipjack.
An FDA/EPA Best Choice. Count it toward a combined 2–3 servings (8–12 oz) of Best Choices fish each week.
Dairy & cheese
Choose hard cheese made with pasteurized milk.
CDC’s examples include Cheddar, Parmesan, Swiss and Asiago. Deli-sliced cheese needs reheating.
Meat & poultry
Cook all poultry to 165°F.
This includes whole cuts and ground chicken or turkey. Use a food thermometer rather than appearance alone.
Eggs, snacks & more
Include its caffeine in your daily 200 mg total.
Dark chocolate generally contains more caffeine than milk chocolate.
Drinks
Keep total caffeine to no more than 200 mg a day.
Count all sources, not just coffee.
Drinks
Count caffeine toward the daily 200 mg limit.
Check the caffeine content and serving size.
Eggs, snacks & more
Cook until both the white and yolk are firm.
CDC recommends fully cooked eggs. Runny or raw eggs are a riskier choice.
Fish & seafood
Cook fish to 145°F.
Choose a variety of lower-mercury fish. FDA/EPA recommends 2–3 servings from its Best Choices list per week, totaling 8–12 oz.
Fish & seafood
Cook shellfish thoroughly before eating.
Crab, lobster, clams, oysters and scallops are FDA/EPA Best Choices. Include them in your combined weekly fish allowance.
Dairy & cheese
Choose products made with pasteurized milk.
CDC lists pasteurized cream cheese and cottage cheese as safer choices.
Fruit & vegetables
Keep cut melon refrigerated and use within 7 days.
Discard cut melon left out over 2 hours, or over 1 hour above 90°F.
Meat & poultry
Heat to 165°F or until steaming hot.
Avoid eating deli meat cold. Reheating is the important step, rather than simply eating a smaller portion.
Dairy & cheese
Heat to 165°F or until steaming hot.
CDC lists unheated deli-sliced cheese as a riskier choice during pregnancy.
Dairy & cheese
Choose feta made with pasteurized milk.
Check the label. CDC lists pasteurized feta as a safer cheese choice.
Fruit & vegetables
Wash thoroughly before eating.
Unwashed fruit is a riskier choice. CDC lists washed fruit as safer, and washed then cooked fruit as safest.
Drinks
Check the ingredients with your care team.
Research is limited. Avoid teas containing licorice root.
Fish & seafood
Avoid the FDA/EPA highest-mercury choices.
These include shark, swordfish, king mackerel, marlin, orange roughy, bigeye tuna, and tilefish from the Gulf of Mexico.
Meat & poultry
Heat to 165°F or until steaming hot.
Heat hot dogs thoroughly before eating, even when the package says they are already cooked.
Meat & poultry
Avoid liver and foods made with liver.
Liver contains high levels of vitamin A.
Dairy & cheese
Choose cheese made with pasteurized milk.
Pasteurized mozzarella and string cheese are included in CDC’s safer choices.
Drinks
Choose juice labeled pasteurized.
Pasteurized juice or cider is a safer choice than unpasteurized juice.
Dairy & cheese
Check that the milk is pasteurized.
Choose pasteurized milk instead of raw milk.
Eggs, snacks & more
Avoid if allergic or advised to by your care team.
Pregnancy alone is not a reason to avoid nuts.
Eggs, snacks & more
Avoid premade salads from the deli counter.
CDC lists homemade versions as safer alternatives to premade deli potato, tuna, chicken, egg salad and coleslaw.
Dairy & cheese
Choose pasteurized cheese and heat to 165°F or steaming hot.
Unheated queso fresco-type cheeses are riskier even when made with pasteurized milk.
Eggs, snacks & more
Cook to 160°F, or 165°F with meat or poultry.
Use a food thermometer to check egg dishes such as quiche, frittata and casseroles.
Eggs, snacks & more
Avoid raw or undercooked unpasteurized eggs.
For foods that will not be cooked, choose pasteurized eggs or egg products.
Eggs, snacks & more
Avoid ordinary uncooked dough and batter.
Raw flour and raw eggs can carry germs. Bake as directed, or choose a product labeled edible or safe to eat raw.
Fish & seafood
Avoid raw or undercooked seafood.
Raw oysters, clams and ceviche are riskier choices during pregnancy. Choose thoroughly cooked seafood instead.
Fruit & vegetables
Cook sprouts until steaming hot.
Avoid raw or undercooked alfalfa, bean, clover and other sprouts.
Meat & poultry
Avoid refrigerated pâté and meat spreads.
Choose a non-liver, sealed, shelf-stable spread that needs no refrigeration before opening. Avoid liver products during pregnancy.
Fish & seafood
Eat only as part of a cooked dish.
Cold refrigerated lox and smoked salmon are riskier choices. CDC lists smoked fish cooked into dishes as a safer option.
Meat & poultry
Heat to 165°F or until steaming hot.
Fermented and dry sausages should be heated before eating during pregnancy.
Meat & poultry
Choose non-liver products, sealed and shelf-stable before opening.
CDC lists shelf-stable spreads as safer than refrigerated ones. Avoid liver products during pregnancy because of their high vitamin A content.
Fish & seafood
Eat fully cooked shrimp.
Shrimp is an FDA/EPA Best Choice. Count it toward the combined weekly fish total of 2–3 servings (8–12 oz).
Meat & poultry
Cook whole cuts to 145°F, then rest 3 minutes.
Use a food thermometer. Raw or undercooked meat is a riskier choice in pregnancy.
Fish & seafood
Avoid raw fish and raw shellfish.
Choose a fully cooked alternative; raw seafood carries a foodborne illness risk.
Drinks
Choose pasteurized juice, or boil for at least 1 minute.
CDC lists unpasteurized juice and cider as riskier choices unless brought to a rolling boil.
Dairy & cheese
Avoid raw, unpasteurized milk.
Choose pasteurized milk and dairy products instead.
Fruit & vegetables
Wash thoroughly; washed and cooked is safest.
CDC lists unwashed vegetables and leafy greens as riskier choices.
Dairy & cheese
Choose yogurt made with pasteurized milk.
Check the label for pasteurization.
It means the food fits the linked guidance when you follow the preparation or serving instructions shown. It is not a guarantee for every product, recipe or personal health situation.
Raw and cooked versions, different fish species, and pasteurized and unpasteurized products may have different guidance. A broad search can show several results so you can choose the one that matches your food.
This is a guide to common questions, not a complete food database. Try another name for the food or ask your care team. No result does not mean a food is safe or unsafe.
Open the source link on a food card to read the agency’s guidance. Food detail pages also show when the sources were last checked. Guidance can change, so check the original source for updates.
Each answer links to the public guidance behind it. Preparation advice follows US CDC guidance and fish portions follow FDA/EPA guidance; selected additional entries cite the UK NHS.
Source information is available free on the linked agency websites. References to CDC, FDA, EPA or NHS do not imply that these agencies endorse Maya Medical or this tool.
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