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Can I eat duck while pregnant?

Check Doola Scan's answer in the United States

Duck cooked all the way through shows No known issues in Doola Scan in all six countries, but duck breast served pink shows Check. Duck counts as poultry, and every country's guidance asks for poultry cooked with no pink. The FDA's number is 165°F for all poultry, Health Canada gives 74°C for duck pieces and 82°C for a whole bird, and Australia asks for at least 75°C. The NHS names duck: no trace of pink or blood after cooking.

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

  • Roast or braised duck, cooked through

    No known issuesIn all six countries

  • Duck breast cooked through, no pink

    No known issuesIn all six countries

  • Duck breast served pink in the middle

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

Can you eat duck while pregnant? What each country says.

Each country's own pregnancy guidance on duck, 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

    • Roast or braised duck, cooked throughNo known issues
    • Duck breast cooked through, no pinkNo known issues
    • Duck breast served pink in the middleCheck
    • FDAUse a thermometer, not colour: ground meat 160°F, poultry 165°F, pork 145°F with 3-minute rest.Source
    Duck liver and foie gras
    • ACOGACOG recommends liver among iron-rich foods in pregnancy; no advice to avoid liver.Source
    • MotherToBabyPreformed vitamin A from animal foods such as liver: stay under the 3,000 mcg/day upper limit; very high intakes linked to birth defects.Source
    Duck pâté and meat spreads
    • CDCAvoid refrigerated pâté; choose shelf-stable pâté in sealed containers.Source
    • FDADo not eat refrigerated pâté or meat spreads; canned or shelf-stable pâté is fine.Source
    • FDARefrigerated pâté can carry listeria.Source
    • FoodSafety.gov (HHS)No refrigerated pâté or meat spreads; canned or shelf-stable is safer.Source

  • United Kingdom

    • Roast or braised duck, cooked throughNo known issues
    • Duck breast cooked through, no pinkNo known issues
    • Duck breast served pink in the middleCheck
    • FSAPeople who are pregnant should only eat burgers that are thoroughly cooked (steaming hot, no pink, juices clear).Source
    • NHSUndercooked meat can carry toxoplasma, salmonella or E. coli.Source
    Duck liver and foie gras
    • NHSLiver is very high in vitamin A, which can harm a baby's development.Source
    Duck pâté and meat spreads
    • NHSChilled pâté can carry listeria.Source
    • NHSMeat pâté: keep chilled and eat before the use-by date.Source

  • Canada

    • Roast or braised duck, cooked throughNo known issues
    • Duck breast cooked through, no pinkNo known issues
    • Duck breast served pink in the middleCheck
    • CPSAvoid raw or undercooked meat or poultry.Source
    • Health CanadaAvoid raw or undercooked meat and poultry; cook to safe temperatures (thermometer, colour not reliable).Source
    Duck liver and foie gras
    • Health CanadaLimit (not avoid) liver and cod liver oil; stay under 3000 mcg RAE vitamin A a day.Source
    Duck pâté and meat spreads
    • CPSAvoid refrigerated pâté and meat spreads (UK: fine if chilled and in date).Source
    • Health CanadaAvoid refrigerated pâtés and meat spreads; choose canned/shelf-stable.Source
    • CPSAvoid refrigerated pâté and meat spreads.Source
    • Health CanadaAvoid refrigerated pâtés and meat spreads; canned or shelf-stable ones are safer.Source

  • Australia

    • Roast or braised duck, cooked throughNo known issues
    • Duck breast cooked through, no pinkNo known issues
    • Duck breast served pink in the middleCheck
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)No pink in pork, sausages and mince incl. burgers.Source
    Duck liver and foie gras
    • Better Health Channel (Victoria)Liver is not recommended for women who are or could be pregnant (vitamin A).Source
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Avoid liver or liver products: high vitamin A can harm the baby.Source
    Duck pâté and meat spreads
    • Better Health Channel (Victoria)Avoid pâté and meat spreads eaten cold.Source
    • NSW Food AuthorityDo not eat refrigerated pâté or meat spreads.Source
    • NSW HealthDo not eat pâté or meat spreads.Source
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Avoid all types of pâté.Source
    • Better Health Channel (Victoria)Avoid pâté eaten cold from delis or pre-packaged.Source
    • FSANZAvoid refrigerated pâté or meat spreads; canned or shelf-stable OK.Source

  • New Zealand

    • Roast or braised duck, cooked throughNo known issues
    • Duck breast cooked through, no pinkNo known issues
    • Duck breast served pink in the middleCheck
    • Health NZCook meat until piping hot and juices run clear; never rare or undercooked.Source
    Duck liver and foie gras
    • Health NZLiver only in small amounts, no more than 100 g a week (vitamin A).Source
    Duck pâté and meat spreads
    • Health NZPâté and other processed meats: don't eat unless heated until piping hot (over 70°C).Source
    • Health NZAvoid refrigerated pâté or meat spreads.Source

  • Ireland

    • Roast or braised duck, cooked throughNo known issues
    • Duck breast cooked through, no pinkNo known issues
    • Duck breast served pink in the middleCheck
    Duck liver and foie gras
    • HSEAvoid liver, including liver sausage, haggis and pâté containing liver.Source
What to check

Before you eat duck.

  1. Cook duck to your country's poultry number

    Health Canada lists duck and goose with game birds and waterfowl: 74°C (165°F) for pieces such as breasts and legs, and 82°C (180°F) for a whole bird. The FDA asks for all poultry cooked to 165°F (74°C). Pregnancy, Birth and Baby asks for all meat and poultry cooked to at least 75°C and eaten hot. Health Canada

  2. Ask for duck breast cooked through, not pink

    If a menu says the duck breast comes pink, ask for it cooked through. The UK Food Standards Agency puts duck with poultry, which can have bacteria all the way through the meat, unlike whole cuts of beef or lamb. The NHS asks for duck cooked with no trace of pink or blood. FSA

  3. Use a thermometer, not the colour

    Push it into the thickest part of the breast or thigh, away from the bone. The FDA and Health Canada both say colour is not a reliable sign that meat or poultry is cooked. Health NZ asks for meat cooked until it is piping hot and the juices run clear. FDA

  4. Skip duck liver and foie gras in the UK, Australia and Ireland

    The NHS, Pregnancy, Birth and Baby and the HSE list liver and liver products as foods to avoid in pregnancy, because liver is very high in vitamin A. Health Canada asks you to limit liver, and Health NZ sets no more than 100 g a week. NHS

Questions

About duck
in pregnancy.

Duck cooked through shows No known issues in Doola Scan in all six countries. Pink duck breast shows Check, because every country asks for poultry cooked with no pink: 165°F in the US, 74°C for duck pieces in Canada, at least 75°C in Australia.

Pink duck breast shows Check in all six countries. Unlike a steak, duck is poultry: the UK Food Standards Agency says poultry can have bacteria all the way through, and the NHS asks for duck with no trace of pink. Ask for it cooked through, or check the middle reaches your country's number.

None of these countries' pregnancy food lists names duck confit or Peking duck. Both are cooked duck, so the poultry rule applies: hot all the way through, with no pink. Duck cooked through shows No known issues in Doola Scan.

None of these lists names smoked duck. If it is sold sliced, chilled and ready to eat, the advice on cold meats is the closest: the NHS asks for cold pre-cooked meats to be kept chilled and eaten before the use-by date, and Health NZ asks pregnant women to avoid packaged sliced ready-to-eat meats.

The NHS asks you to eat some protein-rich foods every day, and meat is one of them, but not liver. It suggests choosing lean meat and removing the skin from poultry, which matters with duck's fatty skin. Health NZ notes that iron in lean meat, chicken and seafood is absorbed well.

The guidance is the same in every trimester. Duck cooked through shows No known issues from the first weeks to the third trimester, and the poultry cooking rule applies all through pregnancy.

Foie gras is duck or goose liver. It shows Avoid in the UK, Australia and Ireland, where liver is on the foods-to-avoid list for its vitamin A, and Check in the US, Canada and New Zealand. Duck pâté shows Avoid in Australia, where Pregnancy, Birth and Baby says to avoid all types of pâté, and Check in the other five.

Not in the UK. The NHS lists game meats such as goose, partridge, pheasant and venison as foods to avoid in pregnancy, because game may contain lead. It lists thoroughly cooked duck with chicken and turkey, among the meats you can have.

Batakh is duck. Cooked all the way through, in a curry or roasted, it shows No known issues in Doola Scan in all six countries. Duck breast served pink shows Check, because every country asks for poultry cooked with no pink.

Yes. Take a photo of the plate or the menu, and Doola Scan checks each dish against your country's pregnancy guidance, with what to ask the kitchen. 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.