Eating question

[Susannah79]

I know to avoid soft cheese, smoked salmon, ham etc, but if these things are cooked, eg on a pizza, are they safe? Thanks!

[Susannah79]

Thanks very much for your responses everyone  :-)

[Flickan]

Make sure it's Pacific salmon. :) (I am biased..but don't like the taste of Atlantic salmon anyway). I've been eating smoked salmon this entire pregnancy. Granted I am spoiled and originally from Alaska, so I have friends and family bring me fresh salmon they smoked themselves and then jarred. What it comes down to is the pasteurization and making sure meats are all cooked to the proper temperatures. With that, you should be okay.

[AnnieBrooke]

It really comes down to why you are avoiding the food.  Soft cheese is not dangerous if it is made with pasteurized milk, the reason it is sometimes proscribed is because some comes from countries where they don't pasteurize the milk.  But if it is made in the U.S., it will be made from milk that has been pasteurized and will be safe for pregnant women to eat.  Ham is avoided if it is pre-cut (cold cuts style) and has been sitting in a case, because there is listeria danger if it sits a long time.  But cut directly off the ham that has been properly stored, it is not dangerous.  Regarding having those on a pizza, as the above poster says, cooking things kills bacteria.  But if you are avoiding smoked salmon, I assume it is because of the heavy metals in the Atlantic fishery, that come out in fish.  Cooking will not remove those.  You really need to know why you have been told to avoid certain things, to know what to do about eating them after they have been cooked.  

[shastas84]

The big problem with soft cheese is it's not pasteurized to kill bacteria. Cooking kills the bacteria so I would think it's safe.

[sdraper1]

My Dr said if the meat is cooked on pizza it's safe, she did not mention the cheese