Is Smoked salmon & lox safe during pregnancy?
Skip cold refrigerated smoked fish in pregnancy (Listeria risk). OK when cooked in a hot dish or if shelf-stable/canned.
What the sources say
CDC and FDA advise people who are pregnant to avoid refrigerated smoked seafood — often labeled nova-style, lox, kippered, smoked or jerky — unless it's in a cooked dish such as a casserole, heated until steaming hot. Smoked fish in sealed, airtight packages or cans that don't need refrigeration before opening is a safer choice. NHS also advises cooking cold-smoked and cured fish (such as gravlax) until steaming hot. CDC sets no special restriction while breastfeeding.
Common alternatives
Also listed as
smoked salmon, lox, nova lox, nova-style salmon, kippered salmon, gravlax, cold-smoked salmon, smoked trout, smoked whitefish, smoked mackerel, smoked fish, fish jerky
Sources
- CDC: Safer Food Choices for Pregnant Women
- CDC: Preventing Listeria Infection
- FDA: Food Safety for Moms-to-Be At-a-Glance
- FDA: People at Risk of Foodborne Illness
- Mayo Clinic: Pregnancy nutrition: Foods to avoid during pregnancy
- NHS: Foods to avoid in pregnancy
- CDC: Maternal Diet and Breastfeeding
Last reviewed . This is general information, not medical advice. Ask your doctor or midwife about your own situation.