Before You Eat That: Pregnancy and Food Safety

4 little-known things expectant moms should know about the threat of common foods.

Food safety is an important consideration during pregnancy. For example, foods contaminated by Listeria monocytogenes, bacteria which are widespread in our environment, can cause listeriosis, which is especially dangerous for pregnant women and may even cause abortion. To prevent listeriosis, the following steps should be taken:

1. Mind certain meats. For your safety, avoid hot dogs, luncheon or deli meats unless they are reheated until steaming hot.

2. Be critical with cheese. Soft cheeses such as feta, Brie, and Camembert, blue-veined cheeses, and Mexican-style cheeses such as "queso blanco fresco" should be avoided. Hard cheese, semi-soft cheeses such as mozzarella, pasteurized processed cheese slices, and cottage and cream cheese, however, can be safely consumed.

3. Safe spreads. Avoid pâté, meat spreads, and smoked seafood (unless it is an ingredient in a cooked dish).

4. Make sure it's well-done. Do not drink raw or unpasteurized milk or eat foods that contain unpasteurized milk. It is also wise to avoid raw meats, raw fish (e.g. sushi), raw poultry or eggs, as well as unpasteurized cider.

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“ Remember the golden equation for getting sick: Germ gets on hands, hands touch face, germ enters body, you get sick. ”

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