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Can I eat fried calamari while pregnant?

Check Doola Scan's answer in the United States

Fried calamari, as rings or salt and pepper squid, shows Check in Doola Scan in all six countries: squid counts towards your weekly seafood. The FDA lists squid among its Best Choices, 2 to 3 servings a week, and Australia suggests most seafood 2 to 3 times a week, while Canada and New Zealand set no weekly amount for low-mercury seafood. The dip can matter more: homemade aioli shows Avoid in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland, where the guidance names raw-egg sauces, and Check in the US, UK and Canada.

Checked against Doola Scan's pregnancy rules · Updated

  • Fried calamari rings from a restaurant

    CheckIn all six countries

  • Salt and pepper squid

    CheckIn all six countries

  • Frozen breaded calamari, baked at home

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

Fried calamari while pregnant: what each country says.

Each country's own pregnancy guidance on fried calamari, 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
    • FDAFish is recommended but amounts limit mercury exposure.Source
    Aioli dip made with raw egg
    • FDAAvoid raw or undercooked eggs and foods containing them; foods made with pasteurized eggs are fine.Source
    • FDARaw eggs can carry salmonella.Source
    • FoodSafety.gov (HHS)Foods with raw or lightly cooked eggs only with pasteurised eggs.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
    Aioli dip made with raw egg
    • NHSRaw eggs that are not Lion-stamped may carry salmonella.Source
    • NHSRaw-egg foods like mayonnaise and mousse fine if made with British Lion or Laid in Britain hen eggs.Source

  • Canada

    Check
    • Health CanadaLow-mercury fish encouraged with no weekly amount; limit only fresh/frozen tuna, shark, swordfish, marlin, orange roughy, escolar.Source
    Aioli dip made with raw egg
    • CPSAvoid raw egg and egg dishes with runny yolk.Source
    • Health CanadaAvoid raw-egg foods (homemade mayonnaise, batter, ice cream) unless made with pasteurized liquid eggs.Source
    • CPSAvoid raw egg and egg dishes with runny yolk, such as eggnog.Source
    • Health CanadaAvoid foods with raw egg: some dressings, sauces, cookie dough, cake batter, homemade eggnog (unless heated to 71 °C).Source

  • Australia

    Check
    • 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
    Aioli dip made with raw egg
    • NSW Food AuthorityDo not eat raw egg in food (home-made mayonnaise, aioli, mousse, batter).Source
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)No homemade mayonnaise, aioli, mousse or raw cake batter; commercial mayo/custard OK.Source
    • FSANZSafer alternatives to raw egg dishes: pasteurised eggs, commercial custard and dressings.Source
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Commercially made products with egg (e.g. shop mayonnaise) are fine; not homemade mayonnaise, aioli, mousse or raw cake batter.Source

  • New Zealand

    Check
    • Health NZMost commonly eaten NZ fish can be eaten freely; low-mercury species need no restriction.Source
    Aioli dip made with raw egg
    • MPI (NZ Food Safety)Avoid raw eggs (smoothies, mayonnaise, mousse).Source
    • Health NZRaw eggs in eggnog, smoothies, home-made mayonnaise, mousse, tiramisu etc: don't eat; no pasteurised-egg exception.Source

  • Ireland

    Check
    Aioli dip made with raw egg
    • HSEAvoid foods made with raw or under-cooked eggs, e.g. homemade mayonnaise; cook eggs thoroughly.Source
    • HSEAvoid foods made with raw or under-cooked eggs, such as homemade mayonnaise.Source
What to check

Before you eat fried calamari.

  1. Eat it hot, soon after frying

    Pregnancy, Birth and Baby asks for fish and seafood cooked to at least 63°C and eaten straight away. A plate of calamari left to go cold on a shared table no longer meets that. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby

  2. Ask how the aioli is made

    NSW Food Authority says not to eat raw egg in food, naming homemade mayonnaise and aioli. The NHS accepts raw-egg sauces made with British Lion or Laid in Britain hen eggs, and the FDA suggests asking whether pasteurised eggs were used. NSW Food Authority

  3. Count calamari in your weekly fish

    The FDA asks pregnant women to eat 2 to 3 servings a week from its Best Choices list, and squid is on it. A serving is 4 ounces, about the size of your palm. FDA

Questions

About fried calamari
in pregnancy.

Fried calamari shows Check in Doola Scan in all six countries, not Avoid. The check is the weekly amount of seafood, and eating it hot. The sauce on the side has its own check.

The FDA lists squid among its Best Choices for pregnancy. The NHS notes that frying can increase the fat content of fish and shellfish, especially in batter, and suggests steamed, baked or grilled instead.

Homemade aioli shows Avoid in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland and Check in the US, UK and Canada, because of raw egg. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby says commercially made products with egg, such as shop mayonnaise, are fine.

The FDA puts squid on its Best Choices list, its lowest-mercury group. Health Canada encourages low-mercury fish with no weekly amount, and limits only fresh or frozen tuna, shark, swordfish, marlin, orange roughy and escolar.

Frozen breaded calamari shows Check in all six countries once cooked. The FDA asks for most seafood cooked to 145°F, so heat it until hot all the way through.

The NHS says cutting down on rich, spicy or fatty foods can ease heartburn and indigestion in pregnancy, as can eating smaller meals more often. If that doesn't help, it says to see your midwife or GP.

The guidance is the same in every trimester. Fried calamari shows Check from the first weeks to the third trimester, for the same weekly seafood amount.

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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.