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Can I eat chorizo while pregnant?

Check Doola Scan's answer in the United States

Chorizo cooked until steaming hot shows Check in Doola Scan in all six countries; cured chorizo eaten cold shows Avoid in New Zealand and Ireland and Check in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. The NHS names chorizo among the cold cured meats to cook until steaming hot before eating, and Ireland's HSE lists cold cured meats such as chorizo as foods to avoid. Australia's Pregnancy, Birth and Baby asks for cured meats cooked to 75°C and eaten straight away.

Checked against Doola Scan's pregnancy rules · Updated

  • Cured chorizo, sliced and eaten cold, as on a tapas board

    CheckUnited StatesUnited KingdomCanadaAustraliaAvoidNew ZealandIreland

  • Chorizo cooked until steaming hot, fried or in a stew

    CheckIn all six countries

  • Chorizo baked on a pizza

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

Chorizo while pregnant: what each country says.

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

  • United States

    Check
    • FDAAvoid deli meats, fermented and dry sausage unless reheated until steaming hot.Source

  • United Kingdom

    Check
    • NHSCured meat may carry listeria or toxoplasma.Source

  • Canada

    Check
    • CPSOnly non-dried deli meats are listed; dried cured meats are not.Source
    • Health CanadaDried and salted deli meats such as salami and pepperoni are listed as SAFER alternatives (no cooking/freezing needed).Source

  • Australia

    Check
    • Better Health Channel (Victoria)Avoid ham, salami and fermented meats unless cooked or heated.Source
    • NSW Food AuthorityProcessed meats only if cooked to at least 75°C and eaten soon after.Source
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Avoid cold cured meats (salami, ham, luncheon meat) unless cooked to 75 °C and eaten straight away.Source

  • New Zealand

    • Cured chorizo, sliced and eaten cold, as on a tapas boardAvoid
    • Chorizo cooked until steaming hot, fried or in a stewCheck
    • Chorizo baked on a pizzaCheck
    • MPI (NZ Food Safety)Avoid processed meats (ham, pâté, salami, luncheon) in pregnancy.Source

  • Ireland

    • Cured chorizo, sliced and eaten cold, as on a tapas boardAvoid
    • Chorizo cooked until steaming hot, fried or in a stewCheck
    • Chorizo baked on a pizzaCheck
    • HSEAvoid cold cured meats such as salami, parma ham, chorizo and pepperoni.Source
What to check

Before you eat chorizo.

  1. Cook it until steaming hot

    The NHS asks for cold cured meats such as salami, pepperoni, chorizo and prosciutto to be cooked until steaming hot before eating. FoodSafety.gov gives 165°F for dry sausage. NHS

  2. Eat it straight after cooking

    Pregnancy, Birth and Baby asks you to avoid cold cured meats unless they're cooked to 75°C and eaten straight away. Fried chorizo left to cool on a platter no longer meets that. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby

  3. Ask how tapas chorizo is served

    Sliced cured chorizo on a board is cold; chorizo fried or cooked in wine is hot. Ireland's HSE lists cold cured meats such as chorizo as foods to avoid, and New Zealand's MPI asks you to avoid processed meats such as salami. HSE

Questions

About chorizo
in pregnancy.

Chorizo cooked until steaming hot shows Check in Doola Scan in all six countries. That's what the NHS asks for cold cured meats, and Australia's number is 75°C, eaten straight away.

Ireland's HSE lists cold cured meats such as salami, parma ham, chorizo and pepperoni as foods to avoid. New Zealand's MPI asks you to avoid processed meats such as ham and salami. Health Canada lists dried and salted deli meats among its "safer" choices, and Doola Scan shows Check for chorizo in Canada.

Fresh Mexican chorizo is raw sausage meat, so the sausage advice applies: cook it through with no pink, to 71°C in Health Canada's chart. Cooked until steaming hot, chorizo shows Check in all six countries.

Chorizo baked on a pizza shows Check in all six countries, and so does chorizo cooked into a paella or a stew until steaming hot. Slices added cold after cooking are cold chorizo.

Cooked until steaming hot, chorizo shows Check in all six countries. Cured chorizo eaten cold shows Avoid in New Zealand and Ireland and Check in the US, UK, Canada and Australia.

The guidance is the same in every trimester. Cook chorizo until steaming hot from the first weeks of pregnancy to the last.

Yes. Take a photo of the menu or the plate, and Doola Scan marks each dish against your country's pregnancy guidance, with what to ask, such as whether the chorizo is cooked. Menu scans are part of Premium.
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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.