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Can I eat turkey while pregnant?

Check Doola Scan's answer in the United States

Turkey cooked all the way through shows No known issues in Doola Scan in all six countries; cold sliced deli turkey shows Check in the US, UK, Canada and Ireland and Avoid in Australia and New Zealand. For roast or ground turkey it comes down to cooking: the FDA asks for all poultry cooked to 165°F, and Health Canada gives 82°C for a whole bird. Deli turkey falls under the deli meat advice, and heated until steaming hot it shows Check everywhere.

Checked against Doola Scan's pregnancy rules · Updated

  • Roast turkey, cooked through

    No known issuesIn all six countries

  • Turkey breast or cutlets, cooked through

    No known issuesIn all six countries

  • Cold sliced deli turkey, from the counter or a pack

    CheckUnited StatesUnited KingdomCanadaIrelandAvoidAustraliaNew Zealand

  • Deli turkey heated until steaming hot

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

Turkey while pregnant: what each country says.

Each country's own pregnancy guidance on turkey, 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

    • Roast turkey, cooked throughNo known issues
    • Turkey breast or cutlets, cooked throughNo known issues
    • Cold sliced deli turkey, from the counter or a packCheck
    • Deli turkey heated until steaming hotCheck
    • 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
    Leftover roast turkey
    • FDAReheating kills bacteria that grow during storage.Source
    • FDARefrigerate within 2 hours, keep cooked meat or poultry leftovers 3 to 4 days, reheat leftovers to 165°F.Source

  • United Kingdom

    • Roast turkey, cooked throughNo known issues
    • Turkey breast or cutlets, cooked throughNo known issues
    • Cold sliced deli turkey, from the counter or a packCheck
    • Deli turkey heated until steaming hotCheck
    • NHSCold cured meats (salami, pepperoni, chorizo, prosciutto) should be cooked until steaming hot.Source
    Leftover roast turkey
    • FSAFridge within 2 hours, eat within 48 hours, reheat only once until steaming hot throughout.Source
    • FSABacteria grow if food is warmed rather than heated through.Source

  • Canada

    • Roast turkey, cooked throughNo known issues
    • Turkey breast or cutlets, cooked throughNo known issues
    • Cold sliced deli turkey, from the counter or a packCheck
    • Deli turkey heated until steaming hotCheck
    • 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
    Leftover roast turkey
    • Health CanadaRefrigerate within 2 hours, eat within 2 to 3 days, reheat to 74°C.Source
    • Health CanadaEat refrigerated leftovers within 2 to 3 days; reheat to 74°C.Source

  • Australia

    • Roast turkey, cooked throughNo known issues
    • Turkey breast or cutlets, cooked throughNo known issues
    • Cold sliced deli turkey, from the counter or a packAvoid
    • Deli turkey heated until steaming hotCheck
    • 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
    Leftover roast turkey
    • NSW Food AuthorityLeftovers in the fridge, eaten within a day and reheated to at least 60°C.Source
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Leftovers: fridge, reheat thoroughly, not more than one day old.Source
    • Better Health Channel (Victoria)Avoid leftover meats refrigerated more than a day unless reheated.Source
    • FSANZVulnerable people: eat refrigerated leftovers within 1 day; reheat to 75 °C steaming hot.Source
    • Pregnancy, Birth and Baby (Australian Government Dept of Health)Store leftovers in the fridge and use them within a day of cooking.Source

  • New Zealand

    • Roast turkey, cooked throughNo known issues
    • Turkey breast or cutlets, cooked throughNo known issues
    • Cold sliced deli turkey, from the counter or a packAvoid
    • Deli turkey heated until steaming hotCheck
    • Health NZAvoid cold meats from deli counters and sandwich bars, and packaged sliced ready-to-eat meats.Source
    Leftover roast turkey
    • Health NZLeftovers: fridge, eat within two days, reheat until piping hot (over 70°C); never eat cold.Source
    • Health NZStore leftover cooked or canned food in fridge and use within 2 days (Health NZ listeriosis page: 24 hours).Source
What to check

Before you eat turkey.

  1. Cook turkey to your country's poultry number

    Health Canada's chart gives 74°C (165°F) for poultry pieces and 82°C (180°F) for a whole bird. The FDA asks for all poultry cooked to 165°F, and Pregnancy, Birth and Baby for all meat and poultry cooked to at least 75°C and eaten hot. Health Canada

  2. Use a thermometer, not the colour

    Push it into the thickest part of the breast or thigh, away from the bone. The FDA and Health Canada both say colour is not a reliable sign that poultry is cooked. FDA

  3. Heat deli turkey until steaming hot

    Health Canada names turkey, with bologna and roast beef, among the non-dried deli meats to avoid unless they're heated until steaming hot. Health NZ advises against packaged sliced ready-to-eat meats and cold meats from sandwich bars. Health Canada

  4. Chill leftovers within 2 hours

    The UK Food Standards Agency asks for leftovers cooled and in the fridge within 2 hours, eaten within 48 hours and reheated only once, until steaming hot. FSANZ asks vulnerable people to eat refrigerated leftovers within a day. FSA

Questions

About turkey
in pregnancy.

Cooked through, turkey shows No known issues in Doola Scan in all six countries. The FDA's number for all poultry is 165°F, and the NHS asks for poultry and mince cooked with no trace of pink or blood.

The NHS asks you to eat some protein-rich foods every day, and meat is one of them, but not liver. It suggests choosing lean meat and removing the skin from poultry.

With cold deli turkey, it shows Check in the US, UK, Canada and Ireland and Avoid in Australia and New Zealand. With the deli turkey heated until steaming hot, it shows Check in all six countries.

A turkey breast you roast at home, cooked through, shows No known issues. Oven-roasted turkey breast sold sliced in a pack or at the deli counter is deli turkey: heat it until steaming hot, as Health Canada asks.

Leftover turkey shows Check in all six countries, because it depends on how it was kept and reheated. Health Canada asks for leftovers eaten within 2 to 3 days and reheated to 74°C, and Health NZ for reheating until piping hot.

The guidance is the same in every trimester. Cook turkey through, and heat deli turkey until steaming hot, from the first weeks of pregnancy to the last.

Yes. Take a photo of the plate, the pack 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.