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Can I eat asparagus while pregnant?

No known issues Doola Scan's answer in the United States

Asparagus isn't on the pregnancy food lists of the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand or Ireland, so Doola Scan shows No known issues for it, steamed, roasted, grilled or shaved raw into a salad, green or white. The one step that applies is the one for every vegetable: all six countries ask you to wash raw vegetables in pregnancy, and the NHS says soil can carry bacteria and toxoplasma. What can change the answer is the sauce: asparagus with hollandaise made from fresh egg yolks shows Avoid in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland, and Check in the US, UK and Canada.

Checked against Doola Scan's pregnancy rules · Updated

  • Cooked asparagus: steamed, boiled, roasted or grilled

    No known issuesIn all six countries

  • Raw asparagus, shaved into a salad

    No known issuesIn all six countries

  • White asparagus

    No known issuesIn all six countries
Doola Scan checking a plate
What each country says

Asparagus while pregnant: what each country says.

Each country's own pregnancy guidance on asparagus, with a link to it. Doola Scan uses your country's first.

  • No known issues

    None of the six countries' pregnancy guidance names asparagus.

  • United States

    No known issues
    Washing vegetables before eating
    • FDAAvoid unwashed fresh vegetables, including lettuce and salads.Source
    Asparagus with hollandaise sauce
    • FDAAvoid raw or undercooked eggs and foods containing them; foods made with pasteurized eggs are fine.Source
    • FDARaw eggs can carry salmonella.Source
    • FoodSafety.gov (HHS)Foods with raw or lightly cooked eggs only with pasteurised eggs.Source

  • United Kingdom

    No known issues
    Washing vegetables before eating
    • NHSSoil on produce can carry bacteria and toxoplasma.Source
    Asparagus with hollandaise sauce
    • NHSRaw eggs that are not Lion-stamped may carry salmonella.Source
    • NHSRaw-egg foods like mayonnaise and mousse fine if made with British Lion or Laid in Britain hen eggs.Source

  • Canada

    No known issues
    Washing vegetables before eating
    • Health CanadaRinse delicate produce under cool running water; scrub firm produce.Source
    Asparagus with hollandaise sauce
    • CPSAvoid raw egg and egg dishes with runny yolk.Source
    • Health CanadaAvoid raw-egg foods (homemade mayonnaise, batter, ice cream) unless made with pasteurized liquid eggs.Source
    • CPSAvoid raw egg and egg dishes with runny yolk, such as eggnog.Source
    • Health CanadaAvoid foods with raw egg: some dressings, sauces, cookie dough, cake batter, homemade eggnog (unless heated to 71 °C).Source

  • Australia

    No known issues
    Washing vegetables before eating
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Wash fruit, vegetables and herbs to remove soil (toxoplasma).Source
    Asparagus with hollandaise sauce
    • NSW Food AuthorityDo not eat raw egg in food (home-made mayonnaise, aioli, mousse, batter).Source
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)No homemade mayonnaise, aioli, mousse or raw cake batter; commercial mayo/custard OK.Source
    • FSANZSafer alternatives to raw egg dishes: pasteurised eggs, commercial custard and dressings.Source
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Commercially made products with egg (e.g. shop mayonnaise) are fine; not homemade mayonnaise, aioli, mousse or raw cake batter.Source

  • New Zealand

    No known issues
    Washing vegetables before eating
    • Health NZWash and dry all fresh fruit and vegetables well just before eating.Source
    Asparagus with hollandaise sauce
    • MPI (NZ Food Safety)Avoid raw eggs (smoothies, mayonnaise, mousse).Source
    • Health NZRaw eggs in eggnog, smoothies, home-made mayonnaise, mousse, tiramisu etc: don't eat; no pasteurised-egg exception.Source

  • Ireland

    No known issues
    Washing vegetables before eating
    • HSEWash all fruit, vegetables and pre-packed salads before eating.Source
    Asparagus with hollandaise sauce
    • HSEAvoid foods made with raw or under-cooked eggs, e.g. homemade mayonnaise; cook eggs thoroughly.Source
    • HSEAvoid foods made with raw or under-cooked eggs, such as homemade mayonnaise.Source
What to check

Before you eat asparagus.

  1. Rinse the spears under running water

    Rinse asparagus under running water before you cook or slice it, and cut away any damaged parts. The FDA says not to wash produce with soap, detergent or commercial produce wash. The NHS asks you to wash vegetables thoroughly in pregnancy, because soil on them can carry bacteria and toxoplasma. FDA

  2. Wash raw asparagus most carefully

    Shaved raw asparagus in a salad isn't cooked, so washing is the only step. Health NZ asks you to wash and dry fresh vegetables just before eating, and Health Canada asks you to rinse produce under cool running water. Health Canada

  3. Ask how the hollandaise is made

    The FDA lists hollandaise sauce among foods made with raw eggs to avoid, and says commercial sauces contain pasteurised eggs. With asparagus in a restaurant, ask whether the sauce is made with fresh yolks or is a pasteurised or bought sauce. FDA

Questions

About asparagus
in pregnancy.

Asparagus isn't named in the pregnancy guidance of any of these six countries, so Doola Scan shows No known issues for it. All six ask you to wash vegetables before eating, so rinse the spears first.

Raw asparagus shows No known issues in Doola Scan in all six countries, as cooked asparagus does. Because it isn't cooked, wash it well under running water before you shave or slice it.

The NHS asks for at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables a day in pregnancy, and says they provide fibre, which helps digestion and can help prevent constipation. Asparagus counts towards them; the NHS doesn't single it out.

The guidance doesn't change by trimester. Asparagus isn't named at any stage of pregnancy, and the washing advice applies from the first weeks to the last.

Hollandaise made in a kitchen with fresh egg yolk shows Avoid in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland, and Check in the US, UK and Canada. The FDA says commercial sauces contain pasteurised eggs, so a jarred or packet sauce is read differently; check the label.

White asparagus shows No known issues, as green does. Doola Scan doesn't read pickled or jarred asparagus as a name of its own yet; scan the jar's label and it reads each ingredient.

Yes. Take a photo of the plate, the menu or the label, and Doola Scan checks every ingredient against your country's pregnancy guidance, including the sauce on the asparagus. Food scans are free, 3 a day.
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Doola shows what official guidance says; it never diagnoses. No known issues means none of these countries' pregnancy guidance names it, not a promise that a food is safe.