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Can I eat lamb while pregnant?

Check Doola Scan's answer in the United States

Lamb cooked through shows No known issues in Doola Scan in all six countries; pink or rare lamb shows Check, because each country draws the line in a different place. The FDA asks for lamb chops, steaks and roasts at 145°F with a 3-minute rest, and Health Canada's chart reads 63°C for medium-rare whole cuts. The NHS asks for whole cuts thoroughly cooked on the outside. Australia asks for all meat cooked to at least 75°C, and New Zealand says never eat rare meat.

Checked against Doola Scan's pregnancy rules · Updated

  • Lamb cooked through: roast, chops, shanks, curry

    No known issuesIn all six countries

  • Lamb chops or roast served pink

    CheckIn all six countries

  • Rare or medium-rare lamb

    CheckIn all six countries

  • Minced lamb, kofta and lamb kebabs

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

Lamb while pregnant: what each country says.

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

  • United States

    • Lamb cooked through: roast, chops, shanks, curryNo known issues
    • Lamb chops or roast served pinkCheck
    • Rare or medium-rare lambCheck
    • Minced lamb, kofta and lamb kebabsCheck
    • FDACook beef and lamb steaks, roasts and chops to 145°F internal with a 3-minute rest; rare or seared-outside only is not enough.Source
    • FDAUndercooked meat can carry toxoplasma and other harmful germs.Source
    • FoodSafety.gov (HHS)Cook meat and poultry to the USDA safe minimum internal temperature.Source
    • FDAUse a thermometer, not colour: ground meat 160°F, poultry 165°F, pork 145°F with 3-minute rest.Source
    Lamb's liver
    • 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

  • United Kingdom

    • Lamb cooked through: roast, chops, shanks, curryNo known issues
    • Lamb chops or roast served pinkCheck
    • Rare or medium-rare lambCheck
    • Minced lamb, kofta and lamb kebabsCheck
    • NHSBacteria on whole cuts sit on the surface; inside may be pink.Source
    • FSAMiddle of food should reach 70°C for 2 minutes (or 75°C for 30 seconds); steaks and joints may be pink inside.Source
    • NHSPoultry, pork and mince cooked with no pink or blood; whole beef/lamb cuts fine if thoroughly cooked on the outside.Source
    • 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
    Lamb's liver
    • NHSLiver is very high in vitamin A, which can harm a baby's development.Source

  • Canada

    • Lamb cooked through: roast, chops, shanks, curryNo known issues
    • Lamb chops or roast served pinkCheck
    • Rare or medium-rare lambCheck
    • Minced lamb, kofta and lamb kebabsCheck
    • Health CanadaWhole cuts of beef, veal, lamb: medium-rare 63°C internal (thermometer).Source
    • CPSAvoid raw or undercooked meat or poultry.Source
    • Health CanadaBeef/lamb whole cuts 63 °C (medium-rare) OK; pork and ground meat 71 °C; poultry pieces 74 °C, whole 82 °C.Source
    • Health CanadaAvoid raw or undercooked meat and poultry; cook to safe temperatures (thermometer, colour not reliable).Source
    Lamb's liver
    • Health CanadaLimit (not avoid) liver and cod liver oil; stay under 3000 mcg RAE vitamin A a day.Source

  • Australia

    • Lamb cooked through: roast, chops, shanks, curryNo known issues
    • Lamb chops or roast served pinkCheck
    • Rare or medium-rare lambCheck
    • Minced lamb, kofta and lamb kebabsCheck
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Do not eat raw or rare meat.Source
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Cook all meat and poultry to at least 75°C and eat hot.Source
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)No pink in pork, sausages and mince incl. burgers.Source
    Lamb's liver
    • 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

  • New Zealand

    • Lamb cooked through: roast, chops, shanks, curryNo known issues
    • Lamb chops or roast served pinkCheck
    • Rare or medium-rare lambCheck
    • Minced lamb, kofta and lamb kebabsCheck
    • Health NZNever eat rare or undercooked meat; cook until piping hot and juices run clear.Source
    • Health NZCook meat until piping hot throughout and juices run clear; never rare; no temperature per cut.Source
    • Health NZCook meat until piping hot and juices run clear; never rare or undercooked.Source
    Lamb's liver
    • Health NZLiver only in small amounts, no more than 100 g a week (vitamin A).Source

  • Ireland

    • Lamb cooked through: roast, chops, shanks, curryNo known issues
    • Lamb chops or roast served pinkCheck
    • Rare or medium-rare lambCheck
    • Minced lamb, kofta and lamb kebabsCheck
    • HSEAvoid raw or under-cooked meat; cook all meat thoroughly. No whole-cut exception.Source
    Lamb's liver
    • HSEAvoid liver, including liver sausage, haggis and pâté containing liver.Source
What to check

Before you eat lamb.

  1. Check the middle of chops and roasts with a thermometer

    Push it into the thickest part, away from the bone. Health Canada's chart for whole cuts of beef, veal and lamb reads 63°C (145°F) for medium-rare, 71°C (160°F) for medium and 77°C (170°F) for well done. The FDA asks for lamb roasts, steaks and chops at 145°F, then a 3-minute rest. Health Canada

  2. Cook minced lamb, kofta and kebabs all the way through

    The UK Food Standards Agency says meat that has been minced or skewered should be cooked thoroughly, because bacteria can be all the way through it. The FDA asks for ground lamb at 160°F, and Health Canada gives 71°C for ground meat, burgers and sausages. FSA

  3. In Australia and New Zealand, skip pink lamb

    Pregnancy, Birth and Baby asks for all meat cooked to at least 75°C and eaten hot, and says not to eat raw or rare meat. Health NZ says never eat rare or undercooked meat, and to cook it until it is piping hot and the juices run clear. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby

  4. Leave out lamb's liver in the UK, Australia and Ireland

    The NHS, Pregnancy, Birth and Baby and the HSE list liver as a food to avoid in pregnancy, because it 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 lamb
in pregnancy.

Pink lamb shows Check in Doola Scan in all six countries. The NHS foods-to-avoid page allows whole cuts of lamb that are thoroughly cooked on the outside, but its healthy diet page asks for whole cuts cooked until there is no pink meat. Canada's medium-rare figure is 63°C, Australia asks for at least 75°C, and New Zealand says never rare.

Lamb chops cooked through show No known issues; served pink, they show Check. The FDA's number for lamb chops is 145°F with a 3-minute rest, and Health Canada's is 71°C for medium.

A lamb shank is usually slow-cooked until the meat comes off the bone, so it is lamb cooked through, which shows No known issues in all six countries. Serve it hot.

The NHS says undercooked meat can carry toxoplasma, salmonella or E. coli. The FSA explains that whole cuts carry bacteria on the outside surface, while minced or skewered meat can carry them all the way through, which is why lamb mince and kebabs need cooking through.

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 not adding extra fat or oil when you cook it. Health NZ notes that iron in lean meats is absorbed well by the body.

Mutton, meat from an older sheep, shows No known issues in Doola Scan in all six countries when it is cooked through. The same cooking numbers apply as for lamb.

The guidance is the same in every trimester. Each country's cooking rule for lamb applies from the first weeks of pregnancy to the last.

Lamb kebabs show Check in all six countries, because the meat is minced or pressed and each country asks for it cooked through with no pink. Australia asks for at least 75°C, and the FDA's number for ground lamb is 160°F. Ask for the meat freshly cooked and hot.

None of these countries' pregnancy food lists names yakhni. It is lamb simmered in broth until cooked through, and lamb cooked through shows No known issues in Doola Scan. The lists name raw or undercooked meat and liver, so a broth made with liver falls under the liver advice.

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.