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Can I eat caviar while pregnant?

Check Doola Scan's answer in the United States

Caviar served cold shows Check in Doola Scan in the US, UK and Canada and Avoid in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland, because Doola Scan reads it as a cured fish product, which can carry listeria. Pasteurized caviar shows No known issues in all six countries. The NHS asks for cured fish to be cooked until steaming hot, and Health Canada accepts smoked seafood that is canned or shelf-stable. Ireland's HSE, Health NZ and Pregnancy, Birth and Baby advise against ready-to-eat smoked fish, and Doola Scan applies that to cold caviar.

Checked against Doola Scan's pregnancy rules · Updated

  • Caviar served cold, from a chilled tin or jar

    CheckUnited StatesUnited KingdomCanadaAvoidAustraliaNew ZealandIreland

  • Pasteurized caviar

    No known issuesIn all six countries

  • Salmon roe (ikura)

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

Caviar while pregnant: what each country says.

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

  • United States

    • Caviar served cold, from a chilled tin or jarCheck
    • Pasteurized caviarNo known issues
    • Salmon roe (ikura)Check
    • FDAAvoid smoked fish unless reheated until steaming hot.Source
    • FDAFish is recommended but amounts limit mercury exposure.Source
    • FDAEat 2 to 3 servings (4 oz each) a week from Best Choices (salmon, sardines, herring, Atlantic mackerel); king mackerel is avoid.Source

  • United Kingdom

    • Caviar served cold, from a chilled tin or jarCheck
    • Pasteurized caviarNo known issues
    • Salmon roe (ikura)Check
    • FSAAvoid ready-to-eat cold-smoked or cured fish; cooked until steaming hot, or tinned, is a safer alternative.Source
    • NHSCold-smoked and cured fish can carry listeria.Source
    • NHSTrying for a baby or pregnant: max 2 oily fish portions (140g) a week; tuna max 4 cans or 2 steaks a week.Source
    • NHSOily fish can contain pollutants that build up in the body.Source

  • Canada

    • Caviar served cold, from a chilled tin or jarCheck
    • Pasteurized caviarNo known issues
    • Salmon roe (ikura)Check
    • CPSAvoid refrigerated smoked seafood and fish.Source
    • Health CanadaRefrigerated smoked fish/seafood fine only if cooked (e.g. casserole) or canned/shelf-stable.Source
    • Health CanadaLow-mercury fish encouraged with no weekly amount; limit only fresh/frozen tuna, shark, swordfish, marlin, orange roughy, escolar.Source
    • Health CanadaLow-mercury oily fish (salmon, herring, mackerel, trout) encouraged; no weekly cap.Source

  • Australia

    • Caviar served cold, from a chilled tin or jarAvoid
    • Pasteurized caviarNo known issues
    • Salmon roe (ikura)Check
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Do not eat ready-to-eat smoked salmon.Source
    • Better Health Channel (Victoria)Avoid smoked seafood that will not be further cooked.Source
    • FSANZAvoid smoked seafood unless freshly cooked or reheated steaming hot.Source
    • NSW HealthSmoked seafood only if cooked and served hot.Source
    • 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
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Fish not high in mercury no more than 2 to 3 times a week; no separate oily-fish limit.Source

  • New Zealand

    • Caviar served cold, from a chilled tin or jarAvoid
    • Pasteurized caviarNo known issues
    • Salmon roe (ikura)Check
    • Health NZAvoid smoked ready-to-eat seafood.Source
    • Health NZMost commonly eaten NZ fish can be eaten freely; low-mercury species need no restriction.Source
    • Health NZNo pollutant-based oily fish cap; farmed salmon and mackerel 3-4 servings a week, sardines and anchovy unrestricted.Source

  • Ireland

    • Caviar served cold, from a chilled tin or jarAvoid
    • Pasteurized caviarNo known issues
    • Salmon roe (ikura)Check
    • HSEAvoid raw or smoked fish.Source
What to check

Before you eat caviar.

  1. Look for pasteurized, tinned or shelf-stable roe

    The UK Food Standards Agency names tinned fish as a lower-risk choice than ready-to-eat cured fish, and Health Canada accepts smoked seafood that is canned or shelf-stable. Doola Scan shows No known issues for pasteurized caviar in all six countries, so check the label for the word. FSA

  2. Heat it in a dish until steaming hot

    The NHS says cold-smoked and cured fish can carry listeria and asks for it cooked until steaming hot. The FDA asks for smoked fish to be reheated until steaming hot. Roe stirred into a hot pasta sauce counts; a spoonful on a cold blini doesn't. NHS

  3. In Australia, New Zealand and Ireland, skip cold caviar

    Ireland's HSE asks you to avoid raw or smoked fish, and Health NZ to avoid smoked ready-to-eat seafood. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby says not to eat ready-to-eat smoked salmon. Doola Scan reads cold caviar under the same rule and shows Avoid in these three. HSE

Questions

About caviar
in pregnancy.

Pasteurized caviar shows No known issues in Doola Scan in all six countries. The guidance on cured fish is about ready-to-eat fish that hasn't been cooked or heated. If the tin doesn't say pasteurized, Doola Scan reads it as cold caviar.

Their guidance on smoked and cured ready-to-eat fish is stricter. The HSE lists raw or smoked fish as foods to avoid, Health NZ lists smoked ready-to-eat seafood, and Pregnancy, Birth and Baby lists ready-to-eat smoked salmon. In the US, UK and Canada the same foods show Check, met by heating until steaming hot.

Salmon roe shows Check in Doola Scan in all six countries, read as oily fish, so it counts towards the weekly amount. The NHS sets a limit of 2 portions of oily fish a week in pregnancy, and the FDA lists salmon among its Best Choices.

A dish heated until steaming hot meets the guidance: that's what the NHS asks for cured fish, and what the FDA asks for smoked fish. Caviar spooned on top after cooking is cold caviar.

Cold caviar shows Check in the US, UK and Canada and Avoid in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland. Pasteurized caviar shows No known issues in all six countries.

The guidance is the same in every trimester. Listeria guidance applies from the first weeks of pregnancy to the last, so cold caviar has the same verdict all the way through.

If you've eaten cold caviar and you're worried, talk to your midwife or doctor. They can tell you what to look out for.

Yes. Take a photo of the tin or jar, and Doola Scan reads the label, including whether it says pasteurized, 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.