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Can I eat scallops while pregnant?

Check Doola Scan's answer in the United States

Scallops cooked until firm and opaque, seared, baked or fried, show Check in Doola Scan in all six countries: they count towards your weekly seafood. Raw scallops, as in sashimi, show Avoid in all six. The FDA lists scallops among its Best Choices, 2 to 3 servings a week, and says scallops are cooked when the flesh becomes firm, pearly and opaque. The NHS lists cooked scallops among the foods you can have in pregnancy, and raw shellfish as a food to avoid.

Checked against Doola Scan's pregnancy rules · Updated

  • Seared, baked or grilled scallops, bay or sea

    CheckIn all six countries

  • Fried scallops

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

Scallops while pregnant: what each country says.

Each country's own pregnancy guidance on scallops, 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
    Raw scallops and scallop sashimi
    • FDAPeople at higher risk, including pregnant women, should avoid raw shellfish and their juices.Source
    • FoodSafety.gov (HHS)Avoid raw oysters, clams and scallops.Source
    • 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
    Raw scallops and scallop sashimi
    • NHSRaw shellfish can carry bacteria, viruses or toxins.Source
    • 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
    Raw scallops and scallop sashimi
    • CPSAvoid raw shellfish such as oysters and clams.Source
    • Health CanadaAvoid raw oysters, clams and mussels; eat only when cooked until shells open.Source
    • 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
    Raw scallops and scallop sashimi
    • Better Health Channel (Victoria)Avoid raw oysters and other raw seafood.Source
    • FSANZAvoid raw oysters and other chilled raw seafood.Source
    • NSW Food AuthorityDo not eat raw seafood.Source
    • NSW HealthDo not eat raw seafood.Source
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)No raw oysters or other raw seafood.Source
    • 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
    • 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
    Raw scallops and scallop sashimi
    • Health NZAny raw shellfish, including marinated raw mussels: don't eat.Source
    • Health NZUnsafe for pregnant people: raw oysters, sashimi, sushi and other chilled seafood.Source

  • Ireland

    Check
    Raw scallops and scallop sashimi
    • HSEAvoid clams, oysters, scallops, prawns and mussels.Source
    • HSEAvoid raw or smoked fish, including sushi.Source
What to check

Before you eat scallops.

  1. Cook scallops until firm and opaque all the way through

    The FDA says scallops are cooked when the flesh becomes firm, pearly and opaque, and most seafood should reach 145°F. Health Canada's chart gives 74°C (165°F) for shellfish. FDA

  2. Skip raw scallops

    The NHS lists raw shellfish as a food to avoid in pregnancy, because it can contain bacteria or toxins. FoodSafety.gov names raw scallops with oysters and clams as foods to avoid. NHS

  3. Count scallops in your weekly fish

    The FDA asks pregnant women to eat 2 to 3 servings a week from its Best Choices list, and scallops are on it. A serving is 4 ounces, about the size of your palm. In Australia, Pregnancy, Birth and Baby says most fish and seafood no more than 2 to 3 times a week. FDA

Questions

About scallops
in pregnancy.

Seared scallops show Check in all six countries. The FDA's sign of a cooked scallop is flesh that is firm, pearly and opaque, so a scallop still translucent in the middle hasn't reached it.

Baked scallops show Check in all six countries, for the weekly seafood amount. Bake them until the flesh is firm and opaque.

Raw scallops and scallop sashimi show Avoid in Doola Scan in all six countries. The NHS lists raw shellfish and sushi made with raw shellfish as foods to avoid in pregnancy.

The FDA puts scallops on its Best Choices list, its lowest-mercury group. Health Canada limits only fresh or frozen tuna, shark, swordfish, marlin, orange roughy and escolar.

The FDA lists scallops among its Best Choices for pregnancy. The FDA says fish supply omega-3 fats, iron, iodine and choline, which support a baby's brain development, as well as protein, vitamin B12, vitamin D and selenium.

In the US, the FDA's Best Choices, scallops included, are 2 to 3 servings a week of 4 ounces each. Australia says most fish and seafood no more than 2 to 3 times a week. Health Canada and Health NZ set no weekly amount for low-mercury fish.

The guidance is the same in every trimester. Cooked scallops show Check from the first weeks to the third trimester, and raw scallops show Avoid all the way through.

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