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Can I eat deli meat while pregnant?

Check Doola Scan's answer in the United States

Deli meat meets the pregnancy guidance of all six countries when it's heated until steaming hot; cold, it shows Check in Doola Scan in the US, UK, Canada and Ireland and Avoid in Australia and New Zealand. The reason is listeria, which the FDA says grows at fridge temperatures. The CDC asks for deli meat and cold cuts reheated to 165°F or until steaming hot. Australia and New Zealand advise against cold deli meats, sliced at the counter or packaged, and the NHS asks for cold pre-cooked meats to be kept chilled and eaten before the use-by date.

Check any food in Doola Checked against Doola Scan's pregnancy rules · Updated

  • Cold deli meat, sliced at the counter or from a pack

    CheckUnited StatesUnited KingdomCanadaIrelandAvoidAustraliaNew Zealand

  • Cold cuts on a sub, platter or charcuterie board

    CheckUnited StatesUnited KingdomCanadaIrelandAvoidAustraliaNew Zealand

  • Sliced deli turkey or chicken

    CheckUnited StatesUnited KingdomCanadaIrelandAvoidAustraliaNew Zealand

  • Deli meat heated until steaming hot, in a toasted sub, a melt or a pan

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

Can you eat deli meat while pregnant? What each country says.

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

  • Doola has no source from Ireland on this yet; its answer comes from the other countries' guidance.

  • United States

    Check
    • FDAListeria grows at fridge temperatures; heating kills it.Source
    • FoodSafety.gov (HHS)Reheat hot dogs, deli meats and fermented or dry sausage to steaming hot or 165°F.Source
    • USDA FSISPregnant mothers should avoid deli meats and hot dogs not heated to 165°F.Source
    • FDAAvoid cold cuts and deli meats unless reheated until steaming hot (not just chilled and in date).Source

  • United Kingdom

    Check
    • NHSCold cured meats (salami, pepperoni, chorizo, prosciutto) should be cooked until steaming hot.Source
    • NHSChilled ready-to-eat meats can carry listeria.Source

  • Canada

    Check
    • CPSAvoid uncooked hot dogs and non-dried deli meats.Source
    • Health CanadaHot dogs not straight from pack - heat to 74 °C; avoid non-dried deli meats (bologna, roast beef, turkey) unless steaming hot.Source
    • CPSAvoid non-dried deli meats (UK: fine if chilled and in date).Source
    • Health CanadaAvoid refrigerated non-dried deli meats unless heated until steaming hot.Source

  • Australia

    • Cold deli meat, sliced at the counter or from a packAvoid
    • Cold cuts on a sub, platter or charcuterie boardAvoid
    • Sliced deli turkey or chickenAvoid
    • Deli meat heated until steaming hot, in a toasted sub, a melt or a panCheck
    • NSW HealthDo not eat cold deli meats.Source
    • Better Health Channel (Victoria)Deli meats only if further cooked or heated.Source
    • FSANZAvoid unpackaged deli-counter and packaged sliced cold meats unless freshly cooked or reheated steaming hot.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)Processed meats only if cooked to at least 75°C and eaten straight away.Source
    • FSANZAvoid cold RTE meats incl. packaged sliced meats and cold pre-cooked chicken; hot takeaway chicken OK if eaten immediately.Source
    • NSW HealthDo not eat pre-cooked cold chicken.Source
    • Better Health Channel (Victoria)Cold pre-cooked meats and chicken only if further cooked or heated.Source
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)No cold ready-to-eat meats or cold cooked chicken unless heated to 75°C and eaten straight away.Source

  • New Zealand

    • Cold deli meat, sliced at the counter or from a packAvoid
    • Cold cuts on a sub, platter or charcuterie boardAvoid
    • Sliced deli turkey or chickenAvoid
    • Deli meat heated until steaming hot, in a toasted sub, a melt or a panCheck
    • Health NZAvoid cold meats from deli counters and sandwich bars, and packaged sliced ready-to-eat meats.Source
    • MPI (NZ Food Safety)Avoid cold cooked or smoked chicken and chilled RTE deli/buffet foods unless heated piping hot.Source
What to check

Before you eat deli meat.

  1. Reheat it to 165°F, or until steaming hot

    The CDC asks you to avoid unheated deli meat, cold cuts and hot dogs, and to choose them reheated to 165°F or until steaming hot. Steaming all the way through, not just warm bread, is the sign. CDC

  2. Treat packaged slices like the counter

    Health Canada asks pregnant people to avoid non-dried deli meats sold refrigerated, sliced to order or prepackaged, such as ham, bologna, roast beef and turkey breast, unless cooked until steaming hot. It lists dried and salted deli meats, like some pepperoni and salami, among the choices it suggests instead. Health Canada

  3. In Australia and New Zealand, only freshly heated

    FSANZ advises against deli-counter and packaged sliced cold meats unless they're freshly cooked or reheated until steaming hot. Health NZ advises against cold meats from deli counters, sandwich bars and packets. FSANZ

  4. Eat it soon after heating

    The NSW Food Authority accepts processed meats cooked to at least 75°C and eaten soon after. A toasted sub left to cool on the way home has slipped back to cold. NSW Food Authority

Questions

About deli meat
in pregnancy.

Because cold deli meat can carry listeria. The FDA says listeria can grow at fridge temperatures, and the CDC lists women who are pregnant among the groups at higher risk. Heating it until steaming hot is what the US, UK, Canadian and Irish guidance asks for.

The CDC lists unheated deli meat, cold cuts, hot dogs and fermented or dry sausages among foods to avoid, and the same foods reheated to 165°F or until steaming hot among foods to choose instead.

Heat it until it steams all through. FoodSafety.gov's number is 165°F, and Australia's Pregnancy, Birth and Baby gives at least 75°C, eaten straight away. A food thermometer pushed into the middle of the meat tells you.

It depends on the meat inside, not the bread. A cold sub shows Check in the US, UK, Canada and Ireland and Avoid in Australia and New Zealand; with the meat heated until steaming hot it shows Check in all six. Ask for the meat itself to be heated through.

Yes. The NHS asks for cold pre-cooked meats such as ham or chicken to be kept chilled and eaten before the use-by date, and for cold cured meats such as salami and prosciutto to be cooked until steaming hot.

The guidance is about lowering a small risk from here on. If you're worried or feel unwell, talk to your midwife or doctor.

The deli meat guidance is the same all through pregnancy. None of the six countries changes it by trimester.

The FDA asks for hot dogs, deli and luncheon meats to be reheated until steaming hot or to 165°F before you eat them. USDA FSIS puts it the same way: pregnant mothers should avoid deli meats and hot dogs not heated to 165°F.

Not in the guidance. Health Canada names non-dried deli meats sold refrigerated, whether sliced to order or prepackaged, and Health NZ names packaged sliced ready-to-eat meats alongside deli-counter ones.

Yes. Take a photo of the menu or the pack, and Doola Scan marks each item against your country's pregnancy guidance, with what to ask. 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.