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Can I eat sausage while pregnant?

Check Doola Scan's answer in the United States

Sausages cooked all the way through, with no pink, show No known issues in Doola Scan in all six countries. Undercooked sausage shows Check, and dry sausage eaten cold, such as summer sausage, shows Avoid in Australia and New Zealand and Check elsewhere. Fresh sausages need cooking through: Health Canada gives 71°C and the FDA 160°F for ground meat. Dry and fermented sausage falls under the deli meat advice, and the FDA asks for it reheated until steaming hot.

Checked against Doola Scan's pregnancy rules · Updated

  • Fresh sausages cooked through, grilled, fried or baked

    No known issuesIn all six countries

  • Sausages still pink in the middle

    CheckIn all six countries

  • Dry or fermented sausage eaten cold, such as summer sausage

    CheckUnited StatesUnited KingdomCanadaIrelandAvoidAustraliaNew Zealand
Doola Scan checking a plate
What each country says

Sausage while pregnant: what each country says.

Each country's own pregnancy guidance on sausage, 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

    • Fresh sausages cooked through, grilled, fried or bakedNo known issues
    • Sausages still pink in the middleCheck
    • Dry or fermented sausage eaten cold, such as summer sausageCheck
    • FDAUse a thermometer, not colour: ground meat 160°F, poultry 165°F, pork 145°F with 3-minute rest.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

    • Fresh sausages cooked through, grilled, fried or bakedNo known issues
    • Sausages still pink in the middleCheck
    • Dry or fermented sausage eaten cold, such as summer sausageCheck
    • 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
    • NHSCold cured meats (salami, pepperoni, chorizo, prosciutto) should be cooked until steaming hot.Source

  • Canada

    • Fresh sausages cooked through, grilled, fried or bakedNo known issues
    • Sausages still pink in the middleCheck
    • Dry or fermented sausage eaten cold, such as summer sausageCheck
    • CPSAvoid raw or undercooked meat or poultry.Source
    • Health CanadaAvoid raw or undercooked meat and poultry; cook to safe temperatures (thermometer, colour not reliable).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

    • Fresh sausages cooked through, grilled, fried or bakedNo known issues
    • Sausages still pink in the middleCheck
    • Dry or fermented sausage eaten cold, such as summer sausageAvoid
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)No pink in pork, sausages and mince incl. burgers.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
    • 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)Processed meats only if cooked to at least 75°C and eaten straight away.Source

  • New Zealand

    • Fresh sausages cooked through, grilled, fried or bakedNo known issues
    • Sausages still pink in the middleCheck
    • Dry or fermented sausage eaten cold, such as summer sausageAvoid
    • Health NZCook meat until piping hot and juices run clear; never rare or undercooked.Source
    • Health NZAvoid cold meats from deli counters and sandwich bars, and packaged sliced ready-to-eat meats.Source
What to check

Before you eat sausage.

  1. Cook fresh sausages to 71°C (160°F) in the middle

    Health Canada's chart gives 71°C (160°F) for sausages, burgers and other ground meat, and the FDA asks for ground meat cooked to 160°F. A thermometer pushed in from the end of the sausage reaches the middle. Health Canada

  2. Cut one open: no pink or blood

    The NHS asks for sausages cooked thoroughly, with no trace of pink or blood. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby asks for no pink in sausages and mince, and all meat cooked to at least 75°C and eaten hot. NHS

  3. Heat dry and ready-to-eat sausage until steaming hot

    FoodSafety.gov asks for hot dogs, deli meats and fermented or dry sausage to be reheated until steaming hot or 165°F. Health NZ advises against packaged sliced ready-to-eat meats eaten cold. FoodSafety.gov

Questions

About sausage
in pregnancy.

None of these countries' pregnancy food lists names Vienna sausages. The closest advice is for hot dogs: FoodSafety.gov asks for them reheated until steaming hot or 165°F, and Health Canada asks for hot dogs heated to 74°C.

None of these lists names them. Cooked through and hot, they fall under the sausage advice: no pink, and 71°C in Health Canada's chart. Kielbasa sold ready to eat and served cold falls under the deli meat advice, which asks for it heated until steaming hot.

None of these lists names them. Served hot, they fall under the sausage advice. Cold from a party platter, Pregnancy, Birth and Baby asks for processed meats cooked to at least 75°C and eaten straight away.

Chicken sausage is poultry, and the FDA's number for all poultry is 165°F. Cooked through with no pink, sausage shows No known issues in Doola Scan in all six countries.

Frankfurters and hot dogs show Check in the US, UK, Canada and Ireland and Avoid in Australia and New Zealand. Heated until steaming hot, they meet the US and Canadian guidance.

If you're worried, talk to your midwife or doctor. They can tell you what to look out for.

The guidance is the same in every trimester. Cook sausages through with no pink, and heat dry sausage until steaming hot, all through pregnancy.

Yes. Take a photo of the pack, the plate or the menu, and Doola Scan checks it against your country's pregnancy guidance, with what to ask. Food scans are free, 3 a day.
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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.

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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.