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Can I eat shrimp while pregnant?

Check Doola Scan's answer in the United States

Cooked shrimp served hot, grilled, fried or in garlic, shows Check in Doola Scan in all six countries: the check is how much fish and seafood you eat in a week. Shrimp cocktail, cooked shrimp served cold, shows Check in the US, UK and Canada and Avoid in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland, where the guidance names pre-cooked prawns. The FDA lists shrimp among its Best Choices, 2 to 3 servings a week, and raw shrimp, as in ceviche, shows Avoid in all six.

Check any food in Doola Checked against Doola Scan's pregnancy rules · Updated

  • Shrimp cooked and served hot: grilled, fried or garlic shrimp

    CheckIn all six countries

  • Shrimp cocktail and other cold cooked shrimp

    CheckUnited StatesUnited KingdomCanadaAvoidAustraliaNew ZealandIreland
Doola Scan checking a plate
What each country says

Can you eat shrimp while pregnant? What each country says.

Each country's own pregnancy guidance on shrimp, with a link to it. Doola Scan uses your country's first.

  • United States

    Check
    • FDAFish is recommended but amounts limit mercury exposure.Source
    • FDAPreviously cooked seafood is lower risk when reheated to 165°F; partially cooked shrimp and crab are higher risk.Source
    Raw shrimp and shrimp ceviche
    • 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
    • NHSChilled ready-to-eat seafood can carry listeria.Source
    Raw shrimp and shrimp ceviche
    • 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 shrimp and shrimp ceviche
    • 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

    • Shrimp cooked and served hot: grilled, fried or garlic shrimpCheck
    • Shrimp cocktail and other cold cooked shrimpAvoid
    • 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
    • NSW Food AuthorityDo not eat ready-to-eat chilled peeled prawns.Source
    • NSW HealthDo not eat chilled ready-to-eat prawns.Source
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Do not eat pre-cooked prawns.Source
    • Better Health Channel (Victoria)Avoid cooked, chilled seafood such as peeled prawns unless cooked again.Source
    • FSANZAvoid chilled cooked prawns; eat freshly cooked or reheated steaming hot.Source
    Raw shrimp and shrimp ceviche
    • 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

    • Shrimp cooked and served hot: grilled, fried or garlic shrimpCheck
    • Shrimp cocktail and other cold cooked shrimpAvoid
    • Health NZMost commonly eaten NZ fish can be eaten freely; low-mercury species need no restriction.Source
    • Health NZAvoid cooked ready-to-eat prawns.Source
    Raw shrimp and shrimp ceviche
    • 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

    • Shrimp cooked and served hot: grilled, fried or garlic shrimpCheck
    • Shrimp cocktail and other cold cooked shrimpAvoid
    • HSEAvoid clams, oysters, scallops, prawns, mussels - risk highest if pre-cooked.Source
    Raw shrimp and shrimp ceviche
    • HSEAvoid clams, oysters, scallops, prawns and mussels.Source
    • HSEAvoid raw or smoked fish, including sushi.Source
What to check

Before you eat shrimp.

  1. Cook shrimp until pearly and opaque

    The FDA says shrimp is 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. Count shrimp in your weekly fish

    The FDA asks pregnant women to eat 2 to 3 servings a week from its Best Choices, and shrimp is on the list. 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

  3. In Australia, New Zealand and Ireland, skip cold cooked prawns

    Pregnancy, Birth and Baby says not to eat pre-cooked prawns, Health NZ advises against cooked ready-to-eat prawns, and Ireland's HSE says the risk is highest if prawns are pre-cooked. FSANZ says to eat prawns freshly cooked or reheated until steaming hot. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby

  4. Skip raw shrimp and ceviche

    FoodSafety.gov asks pregnant women to avoid raw sushi, sashimi and ceviche and to cook seafood to 145°F. Shrimp ceviche and raw shrimp show Avoid in Doola Scan in all six countries. FoodSafety.gov

Questions

About shrimp
in pregnancy.

Shrimp cocktail shows Check in Doola Scan in the US, UK and Canada and Avoid in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland. The NHS says chilled ready-to-eat seafood can carry listeria, and the Australian, New Zealand and Irish guidance names pre-cooked prawns as a food to avoid.

Grilled shrimp shows Check in all six countries, for the weekly fish amount. Grill it until the flesh is pearly and opaque, as the FDA describes, and eat it hot.

Fried shrimp shows Check in all six countries, like other hot cooked shrimp. The NHS notes that fatty foods are high in calories and suggests eating them less often.

In the US, the FDA's Best Choices, shrimp 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 seafood.

Prawns is the word for shrimp in the UK, Australia and Ireland. Hot cooked prawns show Check in all six countries. Cold cooked prawns show Avoid in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland and Check in the US, UK and Canada.

The FDA lists shrimp among its Best Choices for pregnancy and says fish supply protein, vitamin B12, vitamin D and selenium, and nutrients that support a baby's brain development.

The guidance is the same in every trimester. Hot cooked shrimp shows Check from the first weeks to the third trimester, and the advice on cold and raw shrimp applies all through pregnancy.

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