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Can I eat crab while pregnant?

Check Doola Scan's answer in the United States

Crab cooked and eaten hot, steamed, boiled or as crab legs heated through, shows Check in Doola Scan in all six countries: the check is how much fish and seafood you eat in a week. Crab eaten cold shows Check in the US, UK and Canada and Avoid in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland, where the guidance advises against pre-cooked ready-to-eat shellfish. The FDA lists crab among its Best Choices, 2 to 3 servings a week, and in the UK the NHS sets no limit for white crab meat.

Checked against Doola Scan's pregnancy rules · Updated

  • Crab cooked and served hot: steamed crab or crab legs heated through

    CheckIn all six countries

  • Cooked crab eaten cold, as on a seafood platter

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

Crab while pregnant: what each country says.

Each country's own pregnancy guidance on crab, 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
    Brown crab meat
    • NHSBrown crab meat contains cadmium; no maximum amount given; no limit for white crab meat.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 cooked and served hot: steamed crab or crab legs heated throughCheck
    • Cooked crab eaten cold, as on a seafood platterAvoid
    • 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 cooked and served hot: steamed crab or crab legs heated throughCheck
    • Cooked crab eaten cold, as on a seafood platterAvoid
    • 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 cooked and served hot: steamed crab or crab legs heated throughCheck
    • Cooked crab eaten cold, as on a seafood platterAvoid
    • HSEAvoid clams, oysters, scallops, prawns, mussels - risk highest if pre-cooked.Source
What to check

Before you eat crab.

  1. Cook crab until the flesh is pearly and opaque

    The FDA says shrimp, crab and lobster are cooked when the flesh becomes firm, pearly and opaque, and most seafood should reach 145°F. For crab cooked earlier, the FDA says previously cooked seafood is lower risk when reheated to 165°F. FDA

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

    Ireland's HSE says the risk from shellfish is highest if it is pre-cooked, Pregnancy, Birth and Baby says not to eat pre-cooked prawns, and Health NZ advises against cooked ready-to-eat prawns. 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. In Australia, Pregnancy, Birth and Baby suggests most fish and seafood no more than 2 to 3 times a week. FDA

  4. In the UK, go easy on brown crab meat

    The NHS says brown crab meat contains cadmium and gives no maximum amount for it, and sets no limit for white crab meat. Doola Scan shows Check for brown crab meat in the UK for this. NHS

Questions

About crab
in pregnancy.

Crab cooked and eaten hot shows Check in all six countries, and the NHS lists cooked shellfish, crab included, among the foods you can have in pregnancy. Cold crab shows Avoid in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland and Check in the US, UK and Canada.

Crab legs served cold, on ice or on a platter, are cold cooked crab: Check in the US, UK and Canada and Avoid in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland. Heated until steaming hot, they show Check in all six.

Canned crab and crab meat show Check in all six countries in Doola Scan, for the weekly fish amount. Cooked into a hot dish, they meet the FDA's line on reheating previously cooked seafood to 165°F.

Imitation crab shows Check in the US, UK and Canada and Avoid in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland, where Doola Scan reads it with the guidance on chilled ready-to-eat seafood. Heated until steaming hot, it shows Check in all six.

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. Crab in a salad made at home is eaten cold, and cold crab shows Avoid in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland.

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. Health Canada sets no weekly amount for low-mercury seafood.

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

Yes. Take a photo of the plate, the menu or the can, and Doola Scan checks every ingredient 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.