Doola
Download app now

Can I eat gelato while pregnant?

No known issues Doola Scan's answer in the United States

Gelato from a gelateria or a supermarket, made with pasteurised milk, shows No known issues in Doola Scan in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland. What decides it is the milk: every country asks you to avoid unpasteurised dairy, and the NHS names unpasteurised ice cream. Soft serve from a machine is a different case: Australia, New Zealand and Ireland advise against it, and Doola Scan shows Check for it in the US, UK and Canada. Chocolate and coffee flavours, and affogato, count toward your caffeine for the day.

Checked against Doola Scan's pregnancy rules · Updated

  • Gelato from a gelateria or a supermarket tub

    No known issuesIn all six countries

  • Pistachio, hazelnut, strawberry and lemon gelato

    No known issuesIn all six countries
Doola Scan checking a plate
What each country says

Gelato while pregnant: what each country says.

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

  • No known issues

    None of the six countries' pregnancy guidance names gelato.

  • United States

    No known issues
    Chocolate or coffee gelato, and affogato
    • ACOGModerate caffeine (less than 200 mg a day) does not cause miscarriage or preterm birth.Source
    • FDANo set pregnancy limit; talk to your health care provider about whether to limit caffeine.Source
    • MyHealthfinder (HHS)Limit caffeine; ask your doctor if caffeine is safe for you, or try decaf.Source
    • ACOGModerate intake is not a major factor in miscarriage or preterm birth.Source
    Gelato made with unpasteurised (raw) milk
    • FDADo not drink raw milk or eat foods made with unpasteurized milk during pregnancy.Source
    • FoodSafety.gov (HHS)Avoid raw milk; only pasteurised milk and milk products.Source
    • USDA FSISNever drink raw milk.Source

  • United Kingdom

    No known issues
    Chocolate or coffee gelato, and affogato
    • NHSHigh caffeine intake is linked to miscarriage and stillbirth.Source
    • NHSNo more than 200 mg caffeine a day in pregnancy.Source
    Gelato made with unpasteurised (raw) milk
    • FSAPregnant women should not consume raw drinking milk or cream.Source
    • NHSRaw milk can carry listeria and other harmful bacteria.Source
    Soft serve from a machine
    • NHSAny pasteurised ice cream is safe in pregnancy; only unpasteurised ice cream avoided.Source

  • Canada

    No known issues
    Chocolate or coffee gelato, and affogato
    • CPSLimit caffeine in pregnancy; consider cutting it out.Source
    • Health CanadaMaximum 300 mg caffeine a day when pregnant (about two 8-oz cups of coffee).Source
    • Health CanadaMaximum 300 mg caffeine a day when pregnant.Source
    Gelato made with unpasteurised (raw) milk
    • CPSAvoid unpasteurized milk, cheese and dairy products.Source
    • Health CanadaAvoid raw or unpasteurized dairy products; choose pasteurized.Source

  • Australia

    No known issues
    Chocolate or coffee gelato, and affogato
    • Better Health Channel (Victoria)Limit caffeine to 200 mg a day or less, or avoid it.Source
    • FSANZNo more than 200 mg caffeine a day from all sources.Source
    • healthdirectLimit caffeine to 200 mg a day when pregnant.Source
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Maximum 200 mg caffeine per day (total) in pregnancy.Source
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Maximum 200 mg/day.Source
    Gelato made with unpasteurised (raw) milk
    • Better Health Channel (Victoria)Avoid unpasteurised milk and foods made from it.Source
    • FSANZAvoid raw milk and raw-milk cheeses; choose pasteurised dairy.Source
    • NSW Food AuthorityDo not drink or use unpasteurised (raw) dairy.Source
    • NSW HealthDo not eat unpasteurised milk or milk products.Source
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Only dairy made from pasteurised milk.Source
    Soft serve from a machine
    • NSW Food AuthorityDo not eat soft serve.Source
    • NSW HealthDo not eat soft serve ice cream.Source
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Soft-serve machines can let listeria grow if not kept cold and clean.Source

  • New Zealand

    No known issues
    Chocolate or coffee gelato, and affogato
    • Health NZNo more than 4 cups tea or instant coffee (or 3 plunger coffees) a day.Source
    • Health NZUp to 200 mg caffeine a day in pregnancy.Source
    Gelato made with unpasteurised (raw) milk
    • Health NZAvoid unpasteurised dairy products.Source
    Soft serve from a machine
    • Health NZAvoid soft serve ice cream (listeria).Source

  • Ireland

    No known issues
    Chocolate or coffee gelato, and affogato
    • HSELimit caffeine to 200 mg a day (2 instant coffees, 1 filter coffee, 2-4 teas); limit energy drinks.Source
    Gelato made with unpasteurised (raw) milk
    • HSEAvoid unpasteurised dairy (milk and cheese).Source
    • FSAIDo not drink raw milk without boiling it first.Source
    Soft serve from a machine
    • HSEAvoid soft-serve ice cream (such as a '99') in pregnancy.Source
What to check

Before you eat gelato.

  1. Ask if the milk is pasteurised

    The NHS lists pasteurised ice cream among the foods you can have in pregnancy, and unpasteurised ice cream as one to avoid. A small artisan gelateria can tell you how its base is made; Doola Scan shows Avoid for gelato made with raw milk in all six countries. NHS

  2. In Australia, New Zealand and Ireland, skip soft serve

    Health NZ and the HSE advise avoiding soft-serve ice cream in pregnancy, and Pregnancy, Birth and Baby says soft-serve machines can let listeria grow if not kept cold and clean. Scooped gelato from a display case isn't soft serve. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby

  3. Count coffee and chocolate flavours in your caffeine

    The NHS sets a limit of 200mg of caffeine a day in pregnancy, and Health Canada 300mg. An affogato is a shot of espresso poured over gelato, and the NHS puts a cup of instant coffee at about 100mg. NHS

Questions

About gelato
in pregnancy.

Doola can't tell you for a given shop, so read the label or ask how the base is made. The NHS lists pasteurised ice cream among the foods you can have in pregnancy, and unpasteurised milk and ice cream as foods to avoid.

The guidance is the same in every trimester. Gelato made with pasteurised milk shows No known issues from the first weeks on, and the raw milk and soft serve advice applies all through pregnancy.

Not for the guidance: what decides both is pasteurised milk, and for soft serve, the machine. Doola Scan shows No known issues for shop gelato and for shop-bought ice cream in all six countries.

Pistachio, hazelnut and fruit gelato show No known issues. Chocolate gelato shows Check in all six countries, because chocolate contains caffeine; the NHS puts a 50g bar of plain dark chocolate at under 25mg.

An affogato shows Check for the espresso. It counts toward the 200mg daily caffeine limit from the NHS, HSE, Health NZ and Pregnancy Birth and Baby, or 300mg from Health Canada.

None of these countries' pregnancy food lists names gelato as a good pregnancy food. The NHS lists ice cream among foods high in fat or sugar, to have less often and in small amounts.

In the six countries Doola Scan covers, gelato made with pasteurised milk shows No known issues. Gelato from raw milk is Avoid in all six, and soft serve is Avoid in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland.

Yes. Take a photo of the label or the menu, and Doola Scan checks each 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.

Download app now
More foods
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.