Is it safe to eat cured meats during pregnancy?

If you want to eat cured meats during pregnancy, it's safest to cook them thoroughly first. Ready-to-eat cured meats, such as chorizo and salami, are sold uncooked and may carry bacteria or parasites that can cause food poisoning. During pregnancy your immune system is suppressed making you more likely to get ill. Some of the germs may also harm your unborn baby. That's why it's safest to use your favourite chorizo as a pizza topping or add it to a pasta sauce and cook it thoroughly before eating.

Can you eat chorizo when pregnant?

There’s a small chance that you’ll get food poisoning from eating cured meats such as chorizo and salami, even if you buy them chilled and keep them refrigerated (FSA 2014). That’s why the NHS says to be careful with cured meats in pregnancy, unless they are cooked thoroughly (NHS 2023).

If you enjoy cured meat, you can still eat it safely as a pizza topping or in a pasta sauce, so long as you cook it thoroughly first until it is piping hot.

What can happen if you eat salami in pregnancy?

Ready-to-eat cured meats, such as salami, are sold uncooked and may carry bacteria or parasites that can cause food poisoning (BDA 2021, NHS 2020, 2023). The main risks are:

• Salmonella, a common bacterial infection that often causes food poisoning (FSA 2023a). It is unlikely to harm your unborn baby, but it can be very unpleasant for you (MD 2016, Willacy 2022).
• Toxoplasmosis, a common parasitic infection that is usually mild and harmless. But if you get it for the first time in pregnancy it can harm your baby (NHS 2022).
• Listeriosis, a rare bacterial infection that is often mild, but may make you very ill in pregnancy and can be dangerous for your baby (FSA 2023b).

Listeriosis and toxoplasmosis may cause you to have mild flu-like symptoms a few weeks after you’ve been infected, so it’s hard to pinpoint the cause (CDC 2023, MD 2016). Salmonella food poisoning tends to have more obvious symptoms, such as diarrhoea and vomiting, within a day or two of eating the contaminated food (MD 2016, Willacy 2022).

Listeriosis and toxoplasmosis are usually both fairly mild illnesses, but they can cause serious illness in pregnancy (CDC 2023, MD 2016). Sadly, in rare cases they can cause miscarriage, or even stillbirth (FSA 2016, NHS 2020). Although it's very rare, if you catch toxoplasmosis for the first time during pregnancy and it spreads to your baby, it may cause birth defects or other problems after they are born (NHS 2022).

I'm pregnant and ate chorizo, what should I do?

Try not to worry if you’ve already eaten cold cured meats, such as chorizo, in pregnancy. Listeriosis and toxoplasmosis very rarely cause serious problems in pregnancy and the risk to your baby is low (FSA 2023b, NHS 2022, 2023). If you develop symptoms of food poisoning or signs of listeriosis or toxoplasmosis infection, contact NHS 111, or call your midwife or doctor for advice (NHS 2023).

Eating cured meats that are cooked is fine, as cooking them thoroughly will kill bacteria and parasites (NHS 2023).

Read more on looking after yourself in pregnancy:

• Watch: five tips for a healthy pregnancy.
• Learn how to avoid food poisoning when you’re pregnant.
• Find out which cheeses are safe to eat in pregnancy.