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Can I eat cocktail shrimp while pregnant?

Check Doola Scan's answer in the United States

Cocktail shrimp, the pre-cooked shrimp sold chilled or frozen to eat cold, shows Check in Doola Scan in the US, UK and Canada and Avoid in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland. Heated until steaming hot, or cooked fresh and eaten hot, shrimp shows Check in all six countries. The check is the heat, and the weekly amount of fish: the FDA lists shrimp among its Best Choices, 2 to 3 servings a week.

Checked against Doola Scan's pregnancy rules · Updated

  • Cocktail shrimp eaten cold, from a ring, bag or platter

    CheckUnited StatesUnited KingdomCanadaAvoidAustraliaNew ZealandIreland

  • Shrimp heated or cooked until steaming hot: grilled, fried or in garlic

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

Cocktail shrimp while pregnant: what each country says.

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

  • United States

    Check
    • FDAFish is recommended but amounts limit mercury exposure.Source
    • FDAPreviously cooked seafood is lower risk when reheated to 165°F; partially cooked shrimp and crab are higher risk.Source
    Raw shrimp and shrimp ceviche
    • FDAPeople at higher risk, including pregnant women, should avoid raw shellfish and their juices.Source
    • FoodSafety.gov (HHS)Avoid raw oysters, clams and scallops.Source
    • 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
    • NHSChilled ready-to-eat seafood can carry listeria.Source
    Raw shrimp and shrimp ceviche
    • NHSRaw shellfish can carry bacteria, viruses or toxins.Source
    • 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 shrimp and shrimp ceviche
    • CPSAvoid raw shellfish such as oysters and clams.Source
    • Health CanadaAvoid raw oysters, clams and mussels; eat only when cooked until shells open.Source
    • CPSAvoid raw fish in pregnancy.Source
    • Health CanadaAvoid raw seafood such as sushi; cook seafood to 74 °C (165 °F).Source

  • Australia

    • Cocktail shrimp eaten cold, from a ring, bag or platterAvoid
    • Shrimp heated or cooked until steaming hot: grilled, fried or in garlicCheck
    • 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
    • NSW Food AuthorityDo not eat ready-to-eat chilled peeled prawns.Source
    • NSW HealthDo not eat chilled ready-to-eat prawns.Source
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Do not eat pre-cooked prawns.Source
    • Better Health Channel (Victoria)Avoid cooked, chilled seafood such as peeled prawns unless cooked again.Source
    • FSANZAvoid chilled cooked prawns; eat freshly cooked or reheated steaming hot.Source
    Raw shrimp and shrimp ceviche
    • Better Health Channel (Victoria)Avoid raw oysters and other raw seafood.Source
    • FSANZAvoid raw oysters and other chilled raw seafood.Source
    • NSW Food AuthorityDo not eat raw seafood.Source
    • NSW HealthDo not eat raw seafood.Source
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)No raw oysters or other raw seafood.Source
    • 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
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)No raw or ready-to-eat fish such as sashimi and sushi.Source

  • New Zealand

    • Cocktail shrimp eaten cold, from a ring, bag or platterAvoid
    • Shrimp heated or cooked until steaming hot: grilled, fried or in garlicCheck
    • Health NZMost commonly eaten NZ fish can be eaten freely; low-mercury species need no restriction.Source
    • Health NZAvoid cooked ready-to-eat prawns.Source
    Raw shrimp and shrimp ceviche
    • Health NZAny raw shellfish, including marinated raw mussels: don't eat.Source
    • Health NZUnsafe for pregnant people: raw oysters, sashimi, sushi and other chilled seafood.Source

  • Ireland

    • Cocktail shrimp eaten cold, from a ring, bag or platterAvoid
    • Shrimp heated or cooked until steaming hot: grilled, fried or in garlicCheck
    • HSEAvoid clams, oysters, scallops, prawns, mussels - risk highest if pre-cooked.Source
    Raw shrimp and shrimp ceviche
    • HSEAvoid clams, oysters, scallops, prawns and mussels.Source
    • HSEAvoid raw or smoked fish, including sushi.Source
What to check

Before you eat cocktail shrimp.

  1. Heat pre-cooked shrimp to 165°F

    The FDA says previously cooked seafood is lower risk when reheated to 165°F, and the NHS asks for cold, pre-cooked ready-to-eat prawns to be cooked until steaming hot. By those lines, thawed cocktail shrimp stirred into a hot pan, pasta or stir-fry until it steams is reheated; shrimp laid on top cold is not. FDA

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

    Health NZ advises against cooked ready-to-eat prawns, and Pregnancy, Birth and Baby says not to eat pre-cooked prawns. Ireland's HSE says the risk from prawns is highest if they are pre-cooked. Health NZ

  3. Count shrimp in your fish for the week

    The FDA asks pregnant women to eat 2 to 3 servings a week from its Best Choices, shrimp included, 4 ounces each. In Australia, Pregnancy, Birth and Baby suggests most fish and seafood no more than 2 to 3 times a week, in 150 g serves. FDA

Questions

About cocktail shrimp
in pregnancy.

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

A cocktail ring is sold as cooked shrimp, so once thawed and eaten cold it is pre-cooked shrimp, with the same verdict as other cocktail shrimp. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby says not to eat pre-cooked prawns, and the NHS asks for them cooked until steaming hot.

In the US, the FDA's Best Choices, shrimp among them, are 2 to 3 servings a week of 4 ounces each. Australia suggests most seafood no more than 2 to 3 times a week. Health Canada sets no weekly amount for low-mercury fish such as shrimp.

Fried, grilled and garlic shrimp all show Check in all six countries when served hot. The check is the weekly amount, and cooking the shrimp through until it is firm and opaque.

The FDA lists shrimp among its Best Choices for pregnancy and says fish supply protein, vitamin B12, vitamin D and selenium, along with nutrients that support a baby's brain development.

En Doola Scan, el camarón cocido y servido frío tiene Check en Estados Unidos, Reino Unido y Canadá, y Avoid en Australia, Nueva Zelanda e Irlanda. El camarón caliente, recién cocinado, tiene Check en los seis países.

Raw shrimp and shrimp ceviche show Avoid in all six countries. FoodSafety.gov asks pregnant women to avoid raw sushi, sashimi and ceviche and to cook seafood to 145°F.

None of these countries' pregnancy food lists names cocktail sauce. Doola Scan reads ketchup and horseradish, its usual base, as No known issues, so the verdict on a shrimp cocktail comes from the shrimp.

Prawn cocktail is the UK, Irish and Australian name for the same dish, and Doola Scan reads it the same way: Check in the US, UK and Canada and Avoid in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland.

Yes. Take a photo of the platter, the bag or the menu, and Doola Scan checks it against your country's pregnancy guidance, with what to ask, such as whether the shrimp is served hot. 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.