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Can I eat salmon while pregnant?

Check Doola Scan's answer in the United States

Cooked salmon, baked, grilled or pan-fried, and canned salmon show Check in Doola Scan in all six countries; raw salmon in sushi or sashimi shows Avoid in all six. The check for cooked salmon is the weekly amount, and it differs by country. The FDA lists salmon among its Best Choices, 2 to 3 servings a week, while the NHS counts it as oily fish, no more than 2 portions a week. Health NZ suggests farmed salmon 3 to 4 servings a week, and Health Canada sets no weekly cap.

Checked against Doola Scan's pregnancy rules · Updated

  • Cooked salmon: baked, grilled or pan-fried

    CheckIn all six countries

  • Canned salmon

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

Salmon while pregnant: what each country says.

Each country's own pregnancy guidance on salmon, 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
    • FDAEat 2 to 3 servings (4 oz each) a week from Best Choices (salmon, sardines, herring, Atlantic mackerel); king mackerel is avoid.Source
    Smoked salmon and lox
    • FDAAvoid smoked fish unless reheated until steaming hot.Source
    • FDARefrigerated smoked seafood can carry listeria.Source
    • FoodSafety.gov (HHS)Refrigerated smoked seafood only in a cooked dish reaching 165°F; canned or shelf-stable is OK.Source
    • USDA FSISAvoid refrigerated smoked seafood that is not canned, shelf-stable or fully cooked.Source
    Raw salmon: sashimi and salmon sushi
    • FDAPregnant people should avoid raw fish, partially cooked seafood and refrigerated smoked seafood.Source
    • FoodSafety.gov (HHS)Avoid raw sushi, sashimi and ceviche; cook seafood to 145°F.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
    • NHSOily fish can contain pollutants that build up in the body.Source
    Smoked salmon and lox
    • FSAAvoid ready-to-eat cold-smoked or cured fish; cooked until steaming hot, or tinned, is a safer alternative.Source
    • NHSCold-smoked and cured fish can carry listeria.Source
    • NHSCold-smoked and cured fish (e.g. smoked salmon) must be cooked until steaming hot.Source
    Raw salmon: sashimi and salmon sushi
    • NHSRaw fish can carry listeria and parasites.Source

  • Canada

    Check
    • Health CanadaLow-mercury fish encouraged with no weekly amount; limit only fresh/frozen tuna, shark, swordfish, marlin, orange roughy, escolar.Source
    • Health CanadaLow-mercury oily fish (salmon, herring, mackerel, trout) encouraged; no weekly cap.Source
    Smoked salmon and lox
    • CPSAvoid refrigerated smoked seafood and fish.Source
    • Health CanadaRefrigerated smoked fish/seafood fine only if cooked (e.g. casserole) or canned/shelf-stable.Source
    • Health CanadaAvoid refrigerated smoked seafood; canned or shelf-stable smoked seafood is the safer alternative.Source
    Raw salmon: sashimi and salmon sushi
    • CPSAvoid raw fish in pregnancy.Source
    • Health CanadaAvoid raw seafood such as sushi; cook seafood to 74 °C (165 °F).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
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Fish not high in mercury no more than 2 to 3 times a week; no separate oily-fish limit.Source
    Smoked salmon and lox
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Do not eat ready-to-eat smoked salmon.Source
    • Better Health Channel (Victoria)Avoid smoked seafood that will not be further cooked.Source
    • FSANZAvoid smoked seafood unless freshly cooked or reheated steaming hot.Source
    • NSW HealthSmoked seafood only if cooked and served hot.Source
    • Better Health Channel (Victoria)Avoid smoked seafood such as salmon; canned is safe.Source
    • FSANZSmoked seafood: freshly cooked or reheated steaming hot.Source
    Raw salmon: sashimi and salmon sushi
    • Better Health Channel (Victoria)Avoid sashimi and sushi.Source
    • FSANZAvoid raw/chilled RTE seafood: oysters, sushi, sashimi, ceviche. PBB: safest sushi is homemade.Source
    • NSW Food AuthorityDo not eat store-bought sushi; home-made without raw fish is OK.Source
    • NSW HealthDo not eat raw seafood.Source
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)No raw or ready-to-eat fish such as sashimi and sushi.Source

  • New Zealand

    Check
    • Health NZMost commonly eaten NZ fish can be eaten freely; low-mercury species need no restriction.Source
    • Health NZNo pollutant-based oily fish cap; farmed salmon and mackerel 3-4 servings a week, sardines and anchovy unrestricted.Source
    Smoked salmon and lox
    • Health NZAvoid smoked ready-to-eat seafood.Source
    • Health NZChilled smoked or pre-cooked fish and seafood: don't eat unless heated until piping hot; canned fish OK.Source
    Raw salmon: sashimi and salmon sushi
    • Health NZUnsafe for pregnant people: raw oysters, sashimi, sushi and other chilled seafood.Source

  • Ireland

    Check
    Smoked salmon and lox
    • HSEAvoid raw or smoked fish.Source
    • HSEAvoid ready-to-eat cold-smoked or cured fish unless cooked until steaming hot.Source
    Raw salmon: sashimi and salmon sushi
    • HSEAvoid raw or smoked fish, including sushi.Source
What to check

Before you eat salmon.

  1. Cook salmon through

    The FDA asks for fish cooked to 145°F inside, and Health Canada gives 70°C (158°F) for fish. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby asks for fish cooked to at least 63°C and eaten straight away. Health Canada

  2. Keep to your country's oily fish amount

    The NHS lists salmon as an oily fish and asks pregnant women to have no more than 2 portions of oily fish a week, 140 g each. The FDA suggests 2 to 3 servings a week of Best Choices, salmon included, and Health NZ farmed salmon 3 to 4 servings a week. NHS

  3. Skip raw salmon

    The FDA asks pregnant people to avoid raw fish, and the NHS lists sushi made with raw fish, even if previously frozen, as a food to avoid. Salmon sashimi and raw salmon show Avoid in all six countries. FDA

Questions

About salmon
in pregnancy.

Cooked salmon shows Check in Doola Scan in all six countries, for the weekly fish amount. Baked, grilled and pan-fried salmon all read the same.

UK: no more than 2 portions of oily fish a week. US: 2 to 3 servings of Best Choices a week, 4 ounces each. New Zealand: farmed salmon 3 to 4 servings. Australia: most fish 2 to 3 times a week. Canada sets no weekly cap for low-mercury oily fish.

The NHS says oily fish, salmon included, are the richest source of long-chain omega-3. The FDA lists salmon among its Best Choices and says fish supply protein, vitamin B12, vitamin D and selenium.

Salmon sashimi and raw salmon show Avoid in all six countries. The NHS says raw fish can carry listeria and parasites.

Canned salmon shows Check in all six countries, the same as cooked salmon. The NHS counts canned salmon as oily fish, with bones you can eat.

Cold smoked salmon shows Check in the US, UK and Canada and Avoid in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland. Cooked until steaming hot, it shows Check in all six.

The guidance is the same in every trimester. Cooked salmon shows Check from the first weeks to the last, within the same weekly amount.

Yes. Take a photo of the plate, the menu or the can, and Doola Scan checks it against your country's pregnancy guidance. 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.