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Can I eat calamari while pregnant?

Check Doola Scan's answer in the United States

Calamari, fried, grilled or stewed, shows Check in Doola Scan in all six countries: calamari is squid, and it counts towards your weekly seafood. The FDA lists squid among its Best Choices, 2 to 3 servings a week, and Australia suggests most seafood no more than 2 to 3 times a week. Health Canada and Health NZ set no weekly amount for low-mercury seafood. The NHS lists cooked shellfish, squid included, among the foods you can have in pregnancy, while raw squid as sashimi shows Avoid in all six.

Checked against Doola Scan's pregnancy rules · Updated

  • Fried calamari

    CheckIn all six countries

  • Grilled calamari

    CheckIn all six countries

  • Calamares, Spanish or Filipino style

    CheckIn all six countries
Doola Scan checking a plate
What each country says

Calamari while pregnant: what each country says.

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

  • Doola has no source from Ireland on this yet; its answer comes from the other countries' guidance.

  • United States

    Check
    • FDAFish is recommended but amounts limit mercury exposure.Source
    Raw squid (ika sashimi)
    • FDAPregnant people should avoid raw fish, partially cooked seafood and refrigerated smoked seafood.Source
    • FoodSafety.gov (HHS)Avoid raw sushi, sashimi and ceviche; cook seafood to 145°F.Source

  • United Kingdom

    Check
    • NHSTrying for a baby or pregnant: max 2 oily fish portions (140g) a week; tuna max 4 cans or 2 steaks a week.Source
    Raw squid (ika sashimi)
    • NHSRaw fish can carry listeria and parasites.Source

  • Canada

    Check
    • Health CanadaLow-mercury fish encouraged with no weekly amount; limit only fresh/frozen tuna, shark, swordfish, marlin, orange roughy, escolar.Source
    Raw squid (ika sashimi)
    • CPSAvoid raw fish in pregnancy.Source
    • Health CanadaAvoid raw seafood such as sushi; cook seafood to 74 °C (165 °F).Source

  • Australia

    Check
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Other fish or seafood no more than 2 to 3 times a week (150 g serve).Source
    Raw squid (ika sashimi)
    • Better Health Channel (Victoria)Avoid sashimi and sushi.Source
    • FSANZAvoid raw/chilled RTE seafood: oysters, sushi, sashimi, ceviche. PBB: safest sushi is homemade.Source
    • NSW Food AuthorityDo not eat store-bought sushi; home-made without raw fish is OK.Source
    • NSW HealthDo not eat raw seafood.Source
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)No raw or ready-to-eat fish such as sashimi and sushi.Source

  • New Zealand

    Check
    • Health NZMost commonly eaten NZ fish can be eaten freely; low-mercury species need no restriction.Source
    Raw squid (ika sashimi)
    • Health NZUnsafe for pregnant people: raw oysters, sashimi, sushi and other chilled seafood.Source

  • Ireland

    Check
    Raw squid (ika sashimi)
    • HSEAvoid raw or smoked fish, including sushi.Source
What to check

Before you eat calamari.

  1. Count calamari in your weekly fish

    The FDA asks pregnant women to eat 2 to 3 servings a week from its Best Choices list, and squid is on it. A serving is 4 ounces. In Australia, Pregnancy, Birth and Baby says most fish and seafood no more than 2 to 3 times a week. FDA

  2. Cook it through and eat it hot

    Pregnancy, Birth and Baby asks for fish and seafood cooked to at least 63°C and eaten straight away. Calamari left to go cold after cooking no longer meets that. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby

  3. Skip raw squid

    The NHS lists raw shellfish as a food to avoid in pregnancy, and cooked shellfish, squid included, as foods you can have. Squid sashimi shows Avoid in all six countries. NHS

Questions

About calamari
in pregnancy.

Cooked calamari shows Check in Doola Scan in all six countries, for the weekly seafood amount. Raw squid, as sashimi, shows Avoid.

Calamari is the menu name for squid, and Doola Scan reads them the same way: Check in all six countries when cooked.

Grilled calamari shows Check in all six countries, like fried. The NHS notes that frying can increase the fat content of fish and shellfish, and suggests steamed, baked or grilled instead.

The FDA puts squid on its Best Choices list, its lowest-mercury group. Health Canada limits only fresh or frozen tuna, shark, swordfish, marlin, orange roughy and escolar.

In the US, the FDA's Best Choices, squid included, are 2 to 3 servings a week of 4 ounces each. Australia says most seafood no more than 2 to 3 times a week. Health Canada and Health NZ set no weekly amount for low-mercury seafood.

The FDA lists squid among its Best Choices and says fish supply omega-3 fats, iron, iodine and choline, which support a baby's brain development, as well as protein, vitamin B12 and selenium.

Calamares, fried squid rings, show Check in all six countries, for the weekly seafood amount. Eat them hot, soon after frying.

Yes. Take a photo of the menu or the plate, and Doola Scan checks every ingredient against your country's pregnancy guidance. Food scans are free, 3 a day.
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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.