Foods to Avoid During Pregnancy: The Full List

It’s a shorter list than it might feel like from a tired, 11pm search. Most food is completely fine during pregnancy — this page exists because it’s genuinely useful to have everything that isn’t in one place, grouped by why it’s a problem, rather than scattered across dozens of individual searches.

Every item below links to its own page with the full detail, precautions, and safe alternatives. This list reflects current NHS guidance; where US (FDA) guidance differs, that’s noted on the individual food’s page.

Soft and mould-ripened cheeses (Listeria risk)

The common thread here is moisture: soft, mould-ripened cheeses hold enough moisture for Listeria to survive and grow, even in the fridge. All of them become safe once cooked until piping hot throughout — a baked Brie or a hot pasta sauce with melted Gorgonzola is fine.

• Brie
• Camembert
• Gorgonzola
• Soft & Mould-Ripened Cheese (the general category, if you’re not sure where a specific cheese falls)
• Unpasteurised Milk — and anything made from it, for the same Listeria, E. coli, and Salmonella reasons

Fish to avoid (mercury or specific contamination risk)

• Swordfish, Shark & Marlin — very high mercury levels from being large, long-lived predatory fish
• Barracuda — high mercury, plus a real ciguatera poisoning risk from tropical and subtropical waters
• Butterfish — fish sold under this name is very often actually escolar, which causes significant digestive upset
• Oysters — raw oysters specifically, due to Vibrio and norovirus risk; cooked oysters are safe
• Sushi — raw-fish sushi specifically; vegetarian and cooked-ingredient sushi (prawn, cooked crab, tamago) is safe

Drinks to avoid

• Alcohol — no known safe level at any stage of pregnancy
• Energy Drinks — high caffeine plus other stimulants not suitable during pregnancy
• Hibiscus Tea — linked to lowered blood pressure and uterine contractions in research studies
• Sage Tea — contains thujone, which can stimulate uterine contractions

Meats to avoid

• Liver — and anything made from it — due to dangerously high vitamin A (retinol) levels
• Haggis — contains liver, same vitamin A concern
• Pâté — all types, including vegetable and fish pâté, due to Listeria risk
• Venison & Game — lead-shot game meat specifically, due to lead fragment risk

Other foods to avoid

• Unpasteurised Juice — raw, unpasteurised fruit or vegetable juice, due to E. coli, Salmonella, and Listeria risk
• Alfalfa Sprouts — and other raw seed sprouts, due to a high Listeria and E. coli risk from how they’re grown

What these have in common

Almost everything on this list falls into one of three categories: Listeria risk (soft cheeses, pâté, unpasteurised dairy, raw sprouts), mercury or marine toxins (the large predatory fish, barracuda’s ciguatera risk), or a specific compound that’s a problem in pregnancy specifically (liver’s vitamin A, sage and hibiscus tea’s uterine-stimulating compounds, lead in game meat). Most of it is about how something is prepared rather than the ingredient itself being inherently unsafe — cooking, pasteurisation, and sourcing resolve the large majority of the list.

If something you’re craving isn’t here, it’s very likely fine — browse by category to check the specific food, or see our food safety at home guide for the general principles behind all of this.