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Can I eat over easy eggs while pregnant?

Check Doola Scan's answer in the United States

Over easy eggs have a runny yolk, and the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand ask for eggs cooked until the yolk is firm in pregnancy. The UK is the exception: the NHS accepts runny yolks from British Lion or Laid in Britain hen eggs. Doola Scan shows Check for over easy eggs in all six countries, and Avoid in Canada for runny-yolk eggs, where Health Canada makes no exception for stamped eggs. Flipped and cooked until the yolk is firm, a fried egg is No known issues everywhere.

Checked against Doola Scan's pregnancy rules · Updated

  • Over easy eggs, flipped with a runny yolk

    CheckUnited StatesUnited KingdomAustraliaNew ZealandIrelandAvoidCanada

  • Other runny-yolk eggs: sunny side up, dippy or soft-boiled

    CheckUnited StatesUnited KingdomAustraliaNew ZealandIrelandAvoidCanada

  • Over hard: fried until the yolk is firm

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

Over easy eggs while pregnant: what each country says.

Each country's own pregnancy guidance on over easy eggs, 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

    • Over easy eggs, flipped with a runny yolkCheck
    • Other runny-yolk eggs: sunny side up, dippy or soft-boiledCheck
    • Over hard: fried until the yolk is firmNo known issues
    • FDACook eggs until yolk and white are firm; recipes with raw or runny eggs only with pasteurized eggs.Source
    • FDARaw eggs can carry salmonella.Source
    • FoodSafety.gov (HHS)Cook eggs until yolks and whites are firm; egg dishes to 160°F.Source

  • United Kingdom

    • Over easy eggs, flipped with a runny yolkCheck
    • Other runny-yolk eggs: sunny side up, dippy or soft-boiledCheck
    • Over hard: fried until the yolk is firmNo known issues
    • FSAWhen eating out, pregnant people should make sure eggs are thoroughly cooked, as they may not be British Lion or Laid in Britain.Source
    • NHSNon-Lion eggs are more likely to carry salmonella.Source
    • NHSBritish Lion or Laid in Britain hen eggs can be eaten raw or runny; other eggs only well-cooked.Source

  • Canada

    • Over easy eggs, flipped with a runny yolkAvoid
    • Other runny-yolk eggs: sunny side up, dippy or soft-boiledAvoid
    • Over hard: fried until the yolk is firmNo known issues
    • CPSAvoid raw egg and egg dishes with runny yolk.Source
    • Health CanadaCook eggs until the yolks are firm; no exception for stamped or certified eggs.Source
    • Health CanadaCook eggs until yolks are firm; egg dishes to 74°C.Source

  • Australia

    • Over easy eggs, flipped with a runny yolkCheck
    • Other runny-yolk eggs: sunny side up, dippy or soft-boiledCheck
    • Over hard: fried until the yolk is firmNo known issues
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Cook eggs until whites and yolks are hard; no runny-egg exception.Source
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Cook eggs until whites and yolks are hard.Source

  • New Zealand

    • Over easy eggs, flipped with a runny yolkCheck
    • Other runny-yolk eggs: sunny side up, dippy or soft-boiledCheck
    • Over hard: fried until the yolk is firmNo known issues
    • Health NZCook eggs well (firm yolks); no raw eggs.Source
    • Health NZCook eggs well with firm yolks; raw-egg dishes: don't eat.Source
What to check

Before you eat over easy eggs.

  1. Cook it over hard, until the yolk is firm

    Flip the egg and keep cooking until the yolk and the white are both firm. The FDA suggests 2 to 3 minutes a side, or 4 minutes in a covered pan, for fried eggs. That's what the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand ask for. FDA

  2. In the UK, look for the red lion stamp

    The NHS says hen eggs with the red British Lion stamp, or from the Laid in Britain scheme, can be eaten with a runny yolk, before the use-by date. Other hen eggs, and duck, goose or quail eggs, should be well cooked. NHS

  3. Eating out, ask for the yolk cooked hard

    A cafe's eggs may not be British Lion or Laid in Britain, so the FSA asks pregnant people to make sure eggs eaten out are thoroughly cooked. Ordering them over hard does that. FSA

  4. For a runny yolk in the US, use pasteurised eggs

    The FDA's advice is to cook eggs until yolk and white are firm, and to use pasteurised eggs for recipes with raw or runny eggs. Pasteurised eggs say so on the carton. FDA

Questions

About over easy eggs
in pregnancy.

An over easy egg is cooked only briefly on the second side, so the yolk stays runny. Raw and runny eggs can carry salmonella, which is why the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand ask for yolks cooked firm in pregnancy.

Yes, if they're British Lion stamped or Laid in Britain hen eggs, eaten before the use-by date. The NHS says other hen eggs should only be eaten well cooked.

Ireland's HSE asks you to avoid foods made with raw or under-cooked eggs, such as homemade mayonnaise. Doola Scan shows Check for over easy eggs in Ireland.

Health Canada asks for eggs cooked until the yolks are firm, with no exception for stamped eggs, so Doola Scan shows Avoid for runny-yolk eggs there. Australia's Pregnancy Birth and Baby says to cook eggs until the whites and yolks are hard, and Health NZ asks for firm yolks.

The egg guidance is the same in every trimester. No country changes it from the first weeks to the last.

They have runny yolks too, so the same lines apply: firm yolks in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and British Lion or Laid in Britain eggs if runny in the UK. Doola Scan shows Avoid for runny-yolk eggs in Canada and Check elsewhere.

An over medium yolk is still soft in the middle. The US, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand guidance asks for a firm yolk, so cook it over hard, unless you're in the UK and using British Lion eggs.

The NHS lists eggs among the protein foods to eat every day in pregnancy. Cooked the way your country's guidance asks, they count.

The guidance is about how to cook eggs next time. If you feel unwell or are unsure, talk to your midwife or doctor.

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