Food risk is a spectrum, not absolute rules. People have different risk tolerance.
Pregnant people are ~10x more likely to get sick from listeria , but the baseline risk only 1 in 83,000 per year.
The most common recent sources of listeria outbreaks have been pre-packaged salads, frozen vegetables, deli meats, and soft cheeses. Washing produce and cooking food thoroughly reduces risk.
The top things to avoid are alcohol, high-mercury fish, and unpasteurized dairy.
What to Eat and Avoid
| Avoid | Safe Alternative |
|---|---|
| High-mercury fishbigeye tuna, swordfish, king mackerel | Low-mercury seafoodsalmon, shrimp, tilapia, cod — 2-3 servings/week encouraged |
| Raw or undercooked meatsteak tartare, rare burgers | Well-cooked meat & eggsscrambled, hard-boiled eggs; fully cooked meat |
| Unpasteurized soft cheesesqueso fresco, imported brie/feta | Pasteurized cheesescheddar, Swiss, Parmesan, pasteurized brie/feta |
| Raw sproutsbean sprouts, alfalfa, clover, radish | Cooked vegetablescooked sprouts are fine |
| Unpasteurized juice & raw milkunwashed fresh-squeezed juice, farm-fresh milk | Pasteurized juice & dairyanything labeled pasteurized |
| Excess caffeinemultiple large coffees, energy drinks | Caffeine ≤200mg/dayone 12oz coffee, tea |
| Cold deli meatunheated sliced turkey, ham | Heated deli meatmicrowaved or toasted to steaming (165°F) |
| Raw fish (higher risk)gas station sushi, homemade ceviche | Cooked sushi & seafoodshrimp tempura, California rolls, cooked salmon |
| Alcoholno amount proven safe | — |