Fish Sauce

Fish sauce is made by fermenting salted fish — usually anchovies — over several months, producing a strong, salty liquid seasoning used widely in Southeast Asian cooking. It's easy to see the word "fish" and "fermented" together and wonder whether the same caution that applies to raw fish or unpasteurised foods applies here, but it doesn't work quite the same way: fish sauce is heavily salted throughout a long fermentation process, which is a preservation method rather than a raw-food risk, and it's used in small, seasoning-level quantities rather than eaten as a portion of fish in its own right. This puts it in a similar category to other fish-derived condiments like Worcestershire sauce, which has been used freely in cooking for a very long time without being treated as a pregnancy concern. The main thing worth being mindful of with fish sauce isn't a food-safety issue at all — it's sodium. Fish sauce is very high in salt, and using it liberally, especially alongside other salty ingredients like soy sauce, can add up across a meal, which fits with the general pregnancy advice to keep an eye on overall salt intake rather than being a fish-sauce-specific rule. As with any fermented product, it's sensible to choose a reputable, commercially bottled brand rather than an informally made or unregulated version, for the same general quality-control reasons that apply to any fermented food.