Can I eat prosciutto while pregnant?
Check
Doola Scan's answer in the United States
Doola Scan's answer in the United StatesCold prosciutto shows Check in Doola Scan for the US, UK and Canada and Avoid for Australia, New Zealand and Ireland; cooked until steaming hot, as when it's baked on a pizza, it shows Check in all six. Prosciutto is a cold cured meat. The NHS asks for cold cured meats such as prosciutto to be cooked until steaming hot, and the FDA explains that listeria can grow on deli meats in the fridge and heating kills it. Ireland's HSE lists cold cured meats such as parma ham as foods to avoid.
Checked against Doola Scan's pregnancy rules · UpdatedCold prosciutto, sliced from the pack or the deli
Check
Avoid
Prosciutto cooked until steaming hot, crisped in a pan or the oven
CheckIn all six countriesProsciutto baked on a pizza
CheckIn all six countries
What each country says
Prosciutto while pregnant: what each country says.
Each country's own pregnancy guidance on prosciutto, with a link to it. Doola Scan uses your country's first.
United States
Check- FDAAvoid cold cuts and deli meats unless reheated until steaming hot (not just chilled and in date).Source
- FDAAvoid deli meats, fermented and dry sausage unless reheated until steaming hot.Source
- FDAListeria grows at fridge temperatures; heating kills it.Source
- FoodSafety.gov (HHS)Reheat hot dogs, deli meats and fermented or dry sausage to steaming hot or 165°F.Source
- USDA FSISPregnant mothers should avoid deli meats and hot dogs not heated to 165°F.Source
United Kingdom
CheckCanada
Check- CPSAvoid non-dried deli meats (UK: fine if chilled and in date).Source
- Health CanadaAvoid refrigerated non-dried deli meats unless heated until steaming hot.Source
- CPSOnly non-dried deli meats are listed; dried cured meats are not.Source
- Health CanadaDried and salted deli meats such as salami and pepperoni are listed as SAFER alternatives (no cooking/freezing needed).Source
- CPSAvoid uncooked hot dogs and non-dried deli meats.Source
- Health CanadaHot dogs not straight from pack - heat to 74 °C; avoid non-dried deli meats (bologna, roast beef, turkey) unless steaming hot.Source
Australia
- Cold prosciutto, sliced from the pack or the deliAvoid
- Prosciutto cooked until steaming hot, crisped in a pan or the ovenCheck
- Prosciutto baked on a pizzaCheck
- FSANZAvoid cold RTE meats incl. packaged sliced meats and cold pre-cooked chicken; hot takeaway chicken OK if eaten immediately.Source
- NSW HealthDo not eat pre-cooked cold chicken.Source
- Better Health Channel (Victoria)Cold pre-cooked meats and chicken only if further cooked or heated.Source
- NSW Food AuthorityProcessed meats only if cooked to at least 75°C and eaten soon after.Source
- Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)No cold ready-to-eat meats or cold cooked chicken unless heated to 75°C and eaten straight away.Source
- Better Health Channel (Victoria)Avoid ham, salami and fermented meats unless cooked or heated.Source
- Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Avoid cold cured meats (salami, ham, luncheon meat) unless cooked to 75 °C and eaten straight away.Source
- NSW HealthDo not eat cold deli meats.Source
- Better Health Channel (Victoria)Deli meats only if further cooked or heated.Source
- FSANZAvoid unpackaged deli-counter and packaged sliced cold meats unless freshly cooked or reheated steaming hot.Source
- Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Processed meats only if cooked to at least 75°C and eaten straight away.Source
New Zealand
- Cold prosciutto, sliced from the pack or the deliAvoid
- Prosciutto cooked until steaming hot, crisped in a pan or the ovenCheck
- Prosciutto baked on a pizzaCheck
- MPI (NZ Food Safety)Avoid cold cooked or smoked chicken and chilled RTE deli/buffet foods unless heated piping hot.Source
- MPI (NZ Food Safety)Avoid processed meats (ham, pâté, salami, luncheon) in pregnancy.Source
- Health NZAvoid cold meats from deli counters and sandwich bars, and packaged sliced ready-to-eat meats.Source
Ireland
- Cold prosciutto, sliced from the pack or the deliAvoid
- Prosciutto cooked until steaming hot, crisped in a pan or the ovenCheck
- Prosciutto baked on a pizzaCheck
- HSEAvoid cold cured meats such as salami, parma ham, chorizo and pepperoni.Source
What to check
Before you eat prosciutto.
Cook it until steaming hot
The NHS asks for cold cured meats such as salami, pepperoni, chorizo and prosciutto to be cooked until steaming hot before eating. In the US, FoodSafety.gov gives the number as 165°F for deli meats and dry sausage. NHS
Eat it straight after heating
Pregnancy, Birth and Baby says processed meats are OK if they're cooked to at least 75°C and eaten straight away. Prosciutto crisped in the oven and left to cool on a platter no longer meets that. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby
Ask when it goes on the pizza
Prosciutto is often laid on a pizza after baking, as cold slices. Prosciutto baked on the pizza is heated with it; slices added at the end are cold prosciutto, and the cold guidance applies. NHS
QuestionsAbout prosciutto
About prosciutto
in pregnancy.
Prosciutto cooked until steaming hot shows Check in Doola Scan in all six countries. That's what the NHS asks for cold cured meats, and Australia's Pregnancy, Birth and Baby asks for at least 75°C, eaten straight away.
Prosciutto baked on the pizza shows Check in all six countries, because it's cooked with it. If the slices go on cold after baking, it's cold prosciutto: Check in the US, UK and Canada, Avoid in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland.
Ireland's HSE lists cold cured meats such as salami, parma ham, chorizo and pepperoni as foods to avoid. New Zealand's MPI asks you to avoid processed meats such as ham and salami, and Health NZ lists packaged sliced ready-to-eat meats. Australia's Pregnancy, Birth and Baby asks you to avoid cold cured meats unless they're cooked to 75°C.
Health Canada lists dried and salted deli meats, such as some pepperoni and salami, among its "safer" choices, and asks for non-dried deli meats sold refrigerated to be cooked until steaming hot. Its guidance doesn't name prosciutto, and Doola Scan shows Check for it in Canada.
The NHS page doesn't offer freezing as an alternative: it asks for cold cured meats to be cooked until steaming hot. Doola Scan reads frozen prosciutto the same as cold prosciutto.
No. Prosciutto cotto is Italian cooked ham, usually eaten cold in slices, and Doola Scan reads it as a cold cooked meat rather than a cured one. Doola Scan shows Check for it in the US, UK, Canada and Ireland, and Avoid in Australia and New Zealand.
Doola Scan uses the same guidance while you're trying to conceive as in early pregnancy. So it's the same answer: cooked until steaming hot shows Check everywhere, and cold shows Avoid in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland.
If you've eaten cold prosciutto and you're worried, talk to your midwife or doctor. They can tell you what to look out for.
Yes. Take a photo of the plate, the menu or the pack, and Doola Scan checks every ingredient against your country's pregnancy guidance, with what to ask, such as whether the prosciutto is baked on. Food scans are free, 3 a day.
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 nowDoola 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.