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Can I eat tuna while pregnant?

Check Doola Scan's answer in the United States

Cooked tuna, a fresh tuna steak or canned tuna, shows Check in Doola Scan in all six countries, for mercury; raw tuna in sushi, sashimi or poke shows Avoid in all six. Each country sets its own limit on fresh tuna. The NHS allows 2 tuna steaks a week, Ireland's FSAI 1 steak, and the FDA 1 serving of yellowfin or albacore with no other fish that week. Health Canada allows 150 g of fresh or frozen tuna a month.

Checked against Doola Scan's pregnancy rules · Updated

  • Fresh tuna steak, cooked through

    CheckIn all six countries

  • Canned tuna

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

Tuna while pregnant: what each country says.

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

  • United States

    Check
    • ACOGLimit white (albacore) tuna to 6 oz a week; do not eat bigeye tuna.Source
    • FDACanned light tuna is Best Choice (2-3 servings a week); albacore and yellowfin only 1 serving and no other fish that week; bigeye avoid.Source
    Bigeye tuna
    • FDAHighest mercury levels; can affect a baby's developing brain.Source
    Raw tuna: sashimi, nigiri, poke
    • 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
    • NHSTuna contains more mercury than most fish.Source
    Bigeye tuna
    • NHSDo not eat shark, swordfish or marlin if pregnant or trying to get pregnant.Source
    Raw tuna: sashimi, nigiri, poke
    • NHSRaw fish can carry listeria and parasites.Source

  • Canada

    Check
    • CPSAvoid fresh or frozen tuna; canned albacore up to 300 g a week; canned light tuna not limited.Source
    • Health CanadaCanned albacore up to 300 g a week; canned light tuna not limited; fresh/frozen tuna up to 150 g a month.Source
    Bigeye tuna
    • CPSAvoid higher-mercury fish such as shark, swordfish and fresh or frozen tuna.Source
    • Health CanadaPregnant, could become pregnant or breastfeeding: fresh/frozen tuna, shark, swordfish, marlin, orange roughy, escolar max 150 g per month.Source
    Raw tuna: sashimi, nigiri, poke
    • 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)Tuna falls under other fish: no more than 2 to 3 times a week.Source
    Bigeye tuna
    • FSANZShark/billfish ≤150 g per fortnight (no other fish); orange roughy/catfish ≤150 g per week (no other fish).Source
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Shark, swordfish and marlin: no more than 150 g in 2 weeks; orange roughy and catfish no more than once a week.Source
    Raw tuna: sashimi, nigiri, poke
    • 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 NZSkipjack tuna unrestricted; albacore 3-4 servings a week; southern bluefin one serving per 1-2 weeks.Source
    Bigeye tuna
    • Health NZSwordfish, marlin, school shark, southern bluefin tuna: one serving per 1-2 weeks; orange roughy no restriction.Source
    Raw tuna: sashimi, nigiri, poke
    • Health NZUnsafe for pregnant people: raw oysters, sashimi, sushi and other chilled seafood.Source

  • Ireland

    Check
    • FSAIPregnant, breastfeeding, childbearing age, young children: max 1 fresh tuna steak (~225 g) or 2 medium cans (225 g) per week.Source
    • HSETuna max one 150 g cooked fresh steak or two 240 g cans (140 g drained) per week.Source
    Bigeye tuna
    • FSAIPregnant women and women of childbearing age should not eat swordfish, marlin or shark.Source
    Raw tuna: sashimi, nigiri, poke
    • HSEAvoid raw or smoked fish, including sushi.Source
What to check

Before you eat tuna.

  1. Find your country's fresh tuna limit

    The NHS says no more than 2 tuna steaks a week, Ireland's FSAI 1 fresh steak of about 225 g, and Ireland's HSE one 150 g cooked steak. Health Canada sets 150 g of fresh or frozen tuna a month, and Health NZ one serving of southern bluefin every 1 to 2 weeks. Health Canada

  2. In the US, a tuna steak is your fish for the week

    The FDA puts albacore and yellowfin in its Good Choices: 1 serving a week, with no other fish that week. It lists bigeye tuna as a choice to avoid, and ACOG says not to eat bigeye. FDA

  3. Cook it through, not seared rare

    The FDA asks pregnant people to avoid raw fish and partially cooked seafood, and FoodSafety.gov asks for seafood cooked to 145°F. A steak seared outside and raw in the middle is partially cooked. FoodSafety.gov

Questions

About tuna
in pregnancy.

A cooked tuna steak shows Check in all six countries, within your country's limit: 2 a week in the UK, 1 in Ireland, 1 serving of yellowfin or albacore with no other fish in the US, and 150 g a month in Canada.

If the middle is still raw, it is partially cooked, and the FDA asks pregnant people to avoid raw fish and partially cooked seafood. Cooked through, ahi tuna shows Check in all six countries.

Tuna sashimi, tuna nigiri and tuna poke show Avoid in all six countries, as raw fish. The NHS says raw fish can carry listeria and parasites.

Pregnancy, Birth and Baby counts tuna with other fish, no more than 2 to 3 times a week. Health NZ says skipjack is unrestricted, albacore 3 to 4 servings a week and southern bluefin one serving every 1 to 2 weeks.

The FDA says fish supply protein, vitamin B12, vitamin D and selenium, and lists canned light tuna among its Best Choices. The NHS notes that fresh and canned tuna do not count as oily fish.

Bigeye tuna shows Avoid in the US, UK and Ireland and Check in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The FDA lists it among the fish to avoid, and ACOG says not to eat it.

The guidance is the same in every trimester. The weekly and monthly tuna limits apply from the first weeks of pregnancy to the last.

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

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.

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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.