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Can I eat bacon while pregnant?

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

Bacon cooked until crisp and steaming hot shows Check in Doola Scan in all six countries: the check is that it is cooked through and eaten hot. Bacon is a cured meat, and the NHS asks for cold cured meats to be cooked until steaming hot, while Pregnancy, Birth and Baby asks for them cooked to 75°C and eaten straight away. Cooked bacon eaten cold shows Check in the US, UK, Canada and Australia and Avoid in New Zealand and Ireland, which advise against cold cured and processed meats.

Checked against Doola Scan's pregnancy rules · Updated

  • Bacon fried, grilled or baked until crisp and steaming hot

    No known issuesIn all six countries

  • Canadian bacon or turkey bacon, heated through

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

Bacon while pregnant: what each country says.

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

  • No known issues

    None of the six countries' pregnancy guidance names bacon.

What to check

Before you eat bacon.

  1. Cook it until crisp and steaming hot

    The NHS says there's a small risk of toxoplasmosis from raw, undercooked or cured meat, and asks for cold cured meats to be cooked until steaming hot before eating. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby's number for cured meats is 75°C. NHS

  2. Eat it straight from the pan

    Pregnancy, Birth and Baby asks you to avoid cold cured meats unless they're cooked to 75°C and eaten straight away. By that line, bacon cooked earlier and left to cool on a plate or in a sandwich no longer counts as hot. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby

  3. In New Zealand and Ireland, don't eat it cold

    Ireland's HSE lists cold cured meats as foods to avoid in pregnancy, and New Zealand's MPI asks you to avoid processed meats such as ham and salami. Doola Scan shows Avoid for cold cooked bacon in both, and Check once it's heated until steaming hot. HSE

Questions

About bacon
in pregnancy.

The guidance is the same in every trimester. Bacon cooked until crisp and steaming hot shows Check in all six countries from the first weeks of pregnancy to the last, and the advice on cold cured meat applies all the way through.

Cooked through and eaten hot, bacon meets the cured meat guidance of all six countries, and Doola Scan shows Check. The NHS pregnancy food list doesn't name bacon itself; Doola Scan reads it with the guidance on cured meats.

Cooked bacon eaten cold shows Avoid in New Zealand and Ireland and Check in the US, UK, Canada and Australia, where the check is heating it until steaming hot. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby asks for cured meats eaten straight away after cooking.

Canadian bacon heated until steaming hot shows Check in all six countries. Sliced and eaten cold, Doola Scan reads it as cold cured meat, with Avoid in New Zealand and Ireland.

Turkey bacon cooked until crisp shows Check in all six countries, the same as pork bacon. Doola Scan reads both with the guidance on cured and processed meats, so the check is the same: cook it through and eat it hot.

El tocino bien cocinado, crujiente y muy caliente, tiene Check en Doola Scan en los seis países. Frío, tiene Avoid en Nueva Zelanda e Irlanda, que piden evitar las carnes curadas frías.

Bacon cooked until crisp and steaming hot shows Check in all six countries. Eaten cold, it shows Avoid in New Zealand and Ireland and Check in the US, UK, Canada and Australia.

Yes. Take a photo of the plate, the menu or the pack, and Doola Scan checks each item against your country's pregnancy guidance, with what to ask, such as whether the bacon is cooked to order. Food scans are free, 3 a day.
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Not sure about a meal? Scan it.

Point Doola at a plate, a menu or a label. It checks every ingredient against your country's pregnancy guidance and shows its sources. 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.