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Can I eat crab meat while pregnant?

Check Doola Scan's answer in the United States

Crab meat heated through, in a hot dish or a crab cake, shows Check in Doola Scan in all six countries, for the weekly seafood amount. Served cold, as in a crab salad, 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. Imitation crab (surimi) shows the same split. The FDA lists crab among its Best Choices, 2 to 3 servings a week.

Checked against Doola Scan's pregnancy rules · Updated

  • Crab meat cooked and served hot

    CheckIn all six countries

  • Canned, pasteurised or lump crab meat

    CheckIn all six countries

  • Cold crab meat, as in a crab salad

    CheckUnited StatesUnited KingdomCanadaAvoidAustraliaNew ZealandIreland

  • Imitation crab, crab sticks and surimi

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

Crab meat while pregnant: what each country says.

Each country's own pregnancy guidance on crab meat, 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
    Seafood salad from a deli counter
    • FoodSafety.gov (HHS)Don't buy or eat premade ham, chicken or seafood salad from delis.Source
    • FDADeli salads made on site may carry listeria.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
    Seafood salad from a deli counter
    • NHSPre-packaged sandwiches and salads: keep chilled and eat before the use-by date.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 meat cooked and served hotCheck
    • Canned, pasteurised or lump crab meatCheck
    • Cold crab meat, as in a crab saladAvoid
    • Imitation crab, crab sticks and surimiAvoid
    • 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
    Seafood salad from a deli counter
    • Better Health Channel (Victoria)Avoid pre-prepared salads that will not be reheated.Source
    • NSW Food AuthorityDo not eat pre-prepared or pre-packaged salads.Source
    • NSW HealthDo not eat pre-packed cold salads, including from buffets and salad bars.Source
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Avoid pre-prepared or pre-packaged salads, including from buffets and salad bars.Source

  • New Zealand

    • Crab meat cooked and served hotCheck
    • Canned, pasteurised or lump crab meatCheck
    • Cold crab meat, as in a crab saladAvoid
    • Imitation crab, crab sticks and surimiAvoid
    • 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
    Seafood salad from a deli counter
    • Health NZPre-packaged and deli/salad-bar salads and coleslaws: don't eat; home-made salads OK if washed.Source

  • Ireland

    • Crab meat cooked and served hotCheck
    • Canned, pasteurised or lump crab meatCheck
    • Cold crab meat, as in a crab saladAvoid
    • Imitation crab, crab sticks and surimiAvoid
    • HSEAvoid clams, oysters, scallops, prawns, mussels - risk highest if pre-cooked.Source
What to check

Before you eat crab meat.

  1. Heat crab meat 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 imitation crab and shows Avoid in these three. HSE

  3. Skip deli seafood salads

    FoodSafety.gov says not to buy or eat premade seafood salad from delis in pregnancy. A store-bought seafood salad shows Avoid in the US, Canada, Australia and Ireland and Check in the UK and New Zealand. FoodSafety.gov

  4. 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. The NHS notes that brown crab meat contains cadmium and sets no maximum for white crab meat. FDA

Questions

About crab meat
in pregnancy.

A crab salad is cold crab or cold imitation crab, which show Check in the US, UK and Canada and Avoid in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland. If it's from a deli counter, FoodSafety.gov says not to buy or eat premade seafood salad in pregnancy.

Canned, pasteurised and lump crab meat show Check in all six countries. Eaten cold, it is cold crab, which shows Avoid in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland; heated in a dish, it shows Check in all six.

Cold imitation crab shows Check in the US, UK and Canada and Avoid in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland. Heated until steaming hot, it shows Check in all six countries.

The NHS says brown crab meat contains cadmium, a substance that can affect bones and kidneys if you have too much, and sets no maximum for white crab meat.

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

Khekda is crab. Cooked and eaten hot, as in a crab masala, it shows Check in all six countries, for the weekly seafood amount. Cold crab shows Avoid in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland.

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

Yes. Take a photo of the plate, the menu or the label, 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.