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Can I eat eel while pregnant?

Check Doola Scan's answer in the United States

Cooked eel, such as grilled unagi, shows Check in Doola Scan in all six countries: it counts towards each country's fish advice. Health NZ puts eel among the fish that need no mercury limit in pregnancy. The FDA's fish chart doesn't list eel, and Australia suggests most fish 2 to 3 times a week. Raw fish is on every country's avoid list, and Australia and New Zealand also advise against shop-bought sushi, so where you buy an unagi roll matters.

Checked against Doola Scan's pregnancy rules · Updated

  • Grilled eel (unagi kabayaki)

    CheckIn all six countries

  • Unagi rolls and unagi don (eel on rice)

    CheckIn all six countries

  • Jellied eels

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

Eel while pregnant: what each country says.

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

  • Doola has no source from the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Ireland on this yet; their answer comes from the other countries' guidance.

  • United States

    Check
    • FDAHalibut is a Good Choice: 1 serving (4 oz) a week instead of Best Choices.Source
    Sushi with raw fish, and shop-bought sushi
    • FDAPregnant people should avoid raw fish, partially cooked seafood and refrigerated smoked seafood.Source
    • FoodSafety.gov (HHS)Avoid raw sushi, sashimi and ceviche; cook seafood to 145°F.Source

  • United Kingdom

    Check
    Sushi with raw fish, and shop-bought sushi
    • NHSRaw fish can carry listeria and parasites.Source

  • Canada

    Check
    Sushi with raw fish, and shop-bought sushi
    • CPSAvoid raw fish in pregnancy.Source
    • Health CanadaAvoid raw seafood such as sushi; cook seafood to 74 °C (165 °F).Source

  • Australia

    Check
    Sushi with raw fish, and shop-bought sushi
    • Better Health Channel (Victoria)Avoid sashimi and sushi.Source
    • FSANZAvoid raw/chilled RTE seafood: oysters, sushi, sashimi, ceviche. PBB: safest sushi is homemade.Source
    • NSW Food AuthorityDo not eat store-bought sushi; home-made without raw fish is OK.Source
    • NSW HealthDo not eat raw seafood.Source
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)No raw or ready-to-eat fish such as sashimi and sushi.Source

  • New Zealand

    Check
    • Health NZEel (long or short finned) needs no restriction for mercury in pregnancy; halibut not listed.Source
    Sushi with raw fish, and shop-bought sushi
    • Health NZUnsafe for pregnant people: raw oysters, sashimi, sushi and other chilled seafood.Source

  • Ireland

    Check
    Sushi with raw fish, and shop-bought sushi
    • HSEAvoid raw or smoked fish, including sushi.Source
What to check

Before you eat eel.

  1. Count eel in your weekly fish

    Pregnancy, Birth and Baby suggests most fish and seafood no more than 2 to 3 times a week. Health NZ says most commonly eaten fish in New Zealand can be eaten freely, and its booklet counts a large piece of cooked fish, such as warehou or eel, as one serve of protein. Health NZ

  2. Have eel cooked and hot

    The FDA asks for fish cooked to 145°F inside, and Health Canada gives 74°C (165°F) for seafood. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby asks for fish and seafood cooked to at least 63°C and eaten straight away. FDA

  3. In Australia and New Zealand, make unagi rolls at home

    NSW Food Authority says not to eat store-bought sushi in pregnancy, and that home-made sushi without raw fish is fine. Health NZ asks for home-made sushi to use freshly cooked rice, no raw or cold cooked meat or seafood, and to be eaten straight away. NSW Food Authority

  4. In the US, UK and Canada, choose cooked fillings

    The NHS lists sushi made with cooked fish among the foods you can have in pregnancy, and sushi made with raw fish, even if previously frozen, as a food to avoid. The FDA asks pregnant people to avoid raw fish and partially cooked seafood. NHS

Questions

About eel
in pregnancy.

None of these countries' pregnancy food lists names eel sauce, the sweet glaze brushed on unagi and drizzled on rolls. Read its ingredients: soy sauce shows No known issues in Doola Scan, and mirin, a rice wine, shows Check, because every country advises no alcohol in pregnancy. A photo of the bottle's label lets Doola Scan read each ingredient.

Cooked eel shows Check in Doola Scan in all six countries, for the weekly fish amount and for cooking it through. Health NZ puts eel among the fish that need no restriction for mercury in pregnancy.

Unagi is freshwater eel, grilled with a sweet glaze, so it is cooked fish. Grilled unagi and unagi don show Check in all six countries. In Australia and New Zealand, NSW Food Authority and Health NZ advise against shop-bought sushi, so an unagi roll is best made at home there.

An unagi roll shows Check in Doola Scan, the same as other cooked eel. The NHS lists sushi made with cooked fish among the foods you can have in pregnancy. NSW Food Authority says not to eat store-bought sushi at all, and Health NZ lists shop sushi as a food not to eat.

Raw fish is on every country's list of foods to avoid in pregnancy: the NHS says raw fish can carry listeria and parasites. Eel in sushi is normally grilled unagi, so ask if you are not sure it was cooked.

Health NZ's mercury table puts eel among the fish that need no restriction in pregnancy. The FDA's Best Choices chart doesn't list eel. FSANZ's limits in Australia name orange roughy, catfish, shark and billfish, and Health Canada limits fresh or frozen tuna, shark, swordfish, marlin, orange roughy and escolar.

Health NZ counts a large piece of cooked fish, such as warehou or eel, as one serve of protein foods, which give protein, iron, zinc and other nutrients. The FDA says fish supply protein, vitamin B12, vitamin D and selenium.

Jellied eels are eel cooked in stock and served cold. They show Check in all six countries, like other cooked eel. Count them in your fish for the week.

The guidance is the same in every trimester. Cooked eel shows Check from the first weeks to the third trimester, and the advice on raw fish and sushi applies all through pregnancy.

Yes. Take a photo of the plate, the sushi menu or the sauce label, and Doola Scan checks every ingredient against your country's pregnancy guidance. Food scans are free, 3 a day.
Doola Scan

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.