Can you eat oysters when pregnant?
Hannah Weiss
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Find out if it's safe to eat oysters during pregnancy, including cooked oysters, raw oysters and oyster sauce. Plus precautions to take to keep you and your baby healthy.
The official advice on eating oysters in pregnancy
Oysters are only safe to eat in pregnancy if they're fully cooked. There's a risk of food poisoning with raw oysters, so it's best to avoid them while you're pregnant.
Raw oysters
Oysters are often served raw. However the NHS advises that it's best to avoid eating any raw or uncooked shellfish during pregnancy. This is because raw shellfish can contain harmful bacteria, viruses and toxins which could give you food poisoning.
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During pregnancy, you're more susceptible to food poisoning. While it's unlikely to do your growing baby any harm, it can be unpleasant, so experts advise taking a little extra caution to avoid food poisoning while you're pregnant. This includes avoiding uncooked seafood.
The bacteria and viruses in oysters that can cause food poisoning are killed off during cooking, which is why cooked oysters are safe to eat.
Cooked oysters
According to the NHS, cooked shellfish, including oysters, mussels, crab, lobster, scallops, prawns, calamari and cockles are safe to eat during pregnancy.
Cooked oysters are delicious and nutritious. According to Healthline, oysters are rich in protein, zinc, iron and omega-3 fatty acids. Zinc and protein will support healthy fetal growth and omega-3 fatty acids will boost your baby’s brain development. Getting enough iron in your diet will also reduce the risk of anaemia, which can be more common during pregnancy.
If you're having oysters at a restaurant, check that they have been fully cooked before eating. Cooked oysters will have a firm texture.
When buying oysters from a supermarket or fish market, make sure they're fresh. The shells should be fully closed and they'll smell slightly salty, like seawater. Never buy or cook oysters with open shells.
If you're cooking oysters at home, always wash your hands thoroughly after handling them raw to avoid any cross-contamination. It's safest to cook your oysters as soon as possible after you've bought them.
Boil the oysters for three to five minutes first, to kill any bacteria on the shell. Then fry or broil for three minutes or bake in the oven for around ten minutes to ensure they're well cooked.
Oyster sauce
Oyster sauce is perfectly fine to eat while you're pregnant, because the flavour comes from oyster extract – which has been made using cooked or safely processed oysters.
Oysters from public waters
If you like to harvest your own oysters from public waters, like a local beach or estuary, it's best to be cautious. Oysters bought from shops are safe to eat cooked, but those taken from public waters can contain toxins, so it's important to make sure the oysters you eat are from safe water. Your local council will be able to advise on whether the water is safe.
Oysters and mercury
The NHS advises against eating certain types of fish while you're pregnant, because there can be a small risk of mercury poisoning. However, according to Healthline, oysters contain a tiny amount of mercury at just 0.012 ppm (parts per million). This makes them safe to eat during pregnancy.
Delicious seafood recipes
Love seafood? Why not try one of these great pregnancy-safe recipes? Just ensure any shellfish is thoroughly cooked.
The Day-by-Day Pregnancy Book: Count Down Your Pregnancy Day by Day by Dr Maggie Blott is packed full of advice from a team of experts to help guide you through your pregnancy from conception to birth. See more details here at Amazon.
Looking for more pregnancy diet info? Check out our articles below, or swap tips with other mums-to-be in our forum.
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