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Can I eat crab legs while pregnant?

Check Doola Scan's answer in the United States

Crab legs heated until steaming hot, steamed or boiled, show Check in Doola Scan in all six countries, for the weekly fish amount. Served cold, as on a seafood platter, crab shows Check in the US, UK and Canada and Avoid in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland, where the guidance on chilled pre-cooked seafood is stricter. The FDA lists crab among its Best Choices, 2 to 3 servings a week, and says previously cooked seafood is lower risk when reheated to 165°F.

Checked against Doola Scan's pregnancy rules · Updated

  • Crab legs steamed, boiled or heated until steaming hot

    CheckIn all six countries

  • Cold crab legs on a platter or buffet

    CheckUnited StatesUnited KingdomCanadaAvoidAustraliaNew ZealandIreland
Doola Scan checking a plate
What each country says

Crab legs while pregnant: what each country says.

Each country's own pregnancy guidance on crab legs, 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

  • 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

  • Canada

    Check
    • Health CanadaLow-mercury fish encouraged with no weekly amount; limit only fresh/frozen tuna, shark, swordfish, marlin, orange roughy, escolar.Source

  • Australia

    • Crab legs steamed, boiled or heated until steaming hotCheck
    • Cold crab legs on a platter or buffetAvoid
    • 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

  • New Zealand

    • Crab legs steamed, boiled or heated until steaming hotCheck
    • Cold crab legs on a platter or buffetAvoid
    • 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

  • Ireland

    • Crab legs steamed, boiled or heated until steaming hotCheck
    • Cold crab legs on a platter or buffetAvoid
    • HSEAvoid clams, oysters, scallops, prawns, mussels - risk highest if pre-cooked.Source
What to check

Before you eat crab legs.

  1. Heat crab legs until steaming hot

    The FDA says previously cooked seafood is lower risk when reheated to 165°F. Health Canada's chart gives 74°C (165°F) for shellfish. FDA

  2. In Australia, New Zealand and Ireland, skip cold crab

    Pregnancy, Birth and Baby says not to eat pre-cooked prawns, Health NZ advises against cooked ready-to-eat prawns, and Ireland's HSE says the risk from shellfish is highest if it's pre-cooked. Doola Scan applies this to cold crab and shows Avoid in these three. HSE

  3. Count crab in your weekly fish

    The FDA puts crab on its Best Choices list and asks pregnant women to eat 2 to 3 servings a week from it, 4 ounces each. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby says most fish and seafood no more than 2 to 3 times a week. FDA

Questions

About crab legs
in pregnancy.

Cold crab shows Check in Doola Scan in the US, UK and Canada and Avoid in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland. The NHS says chilled ready-to-eat seafood can carry listeria. Heated until steaming hot, crab legs show Check in all six countries.

The FDA's Best Choices list crab without naming the kind, and none of these countries' pregnancy food lists separates snow crab from king crab. What changes the verdict is whether the legs are hot or cold.

FoodSafety.gov says not to buy or eat premade seafood salad from delis in pregnancy, and Pregnancy, Birth and Baby asks you to avoid pre-prepared salads. If it's made with imitation crab, that shows Check in the US, UK and Canada and Avoid in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland.

In the US, the FDA's Best Choices, crab included, are 2 to 3 servings a week of 4 ounces each. Australia says most fish and 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 crab among its Best Choices for pregnancy and says fish supply protein, vitamin B12, vitamin D and selenium, and nutrients that support a baby's brain development.

The guidance is the same in every trimester. Hot crab legs show Check from the first weeks to the last, and cold crab has the same verdict all the way through.

Crab legs kept steaming hot show Check in all six countries. Crab legs on ice are cold crab: Check in the US, UK and Canada, Avoid in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby asks for seafood eaten straight away after cooking.

Yes. Take a photo of the plate or the menu, and Doola Scan checks each item against your country's pregnancy guidance, hot or cold. 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.