Food Safety Tips for pregnant Women, Infants, and Young Children

You're more likely to get foodborne illness when you're pregnant. That's because your immune system isn't as strong. The symptoms (such as nausea and diarrhea0 may be sevre and your unborn child could even be harmed. this could lead to miscarriage or still birth.

Once your baby arrives, food safety will still be important. Infants and young children are more likely to get foodborne illness until their immune system develops (at about 3 years of age).

Some foods are more likely to be contaminated with harmful bacteria. Pregnant women and young children should avoid these foods:

Safe Choices: Thorough heating kills bacteria and makes these foods safe to eat.

• Ground beef
  Cook to 165 degrees F. When you eat at restaurants, send pink hamburgers back for more cooking.
• Hot dogs and lunch meat
  Put hot dogs in a pan of boiling water. Cover with lid. Boil 5 to 7 minutes.
  Avoid commercially packaged or deli lunch meat unless it's heated thoroughly. Use a meat thermometer. to heat chucnks to 160 degree F before slicing.
• Smoking fish
  Hot smoked fish is safe to eat. Instructions for smoking fish safely at home are available at your county Extension Office. Avoid cold-smoked fish (Lox).
• Cheeses
  These cheeses are safe to eat: cottage cheese, hard cheese (such as Cheddar), processed cheese, and cream cheese.
  Read labels and choose pasteurized (heated) milk and cheese made from it.
  If you make homemade queso fresco ( a white Mexican-style cheese), use pasteurized milk. (Instructions for making this cheese are available at your county Extension Office.)
• Apple juice/cider
  Read labels and buy pasterurized (heated) juice. Don't assume that the juice you buy at roadside stands has been pasteurized. heat it in a pan on the stove until bubbles appear.
• Sprouts
  Until a way is found to make sprouts safe to eat, use lettuce (well washed) instead of alfalfa sprouts. Cook bean sprouts thoroughly.

Keep it Safe!

Handle food safely when you're pregnant or feeding young children. Remember the three C's...

Keep it CLEAN!

• Wash your hands with soap and water before and after handling food - especially after using the toilet or changing your child's diapers.
• Scrub hands well after handling eggs and raw meet, poultry and seafood, too.
• Wash counters, cutting boards, and utensils after handling these foods, too. Wipe with diluted bleach (1 teaspoon chlorine bleach in a quart of water).
• Keep uncooked meats and poultry away from ready-to-eat foods. Package them in plastic bags at the grocery store.
• Wash vegetables and fruits well in clean water. Use a brush (or your hands) to scrub them.

COOK it well!

• Cook meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs thoroughly.
• Reheat leftovers to 165 degrees F.

COOL it soon!

• Keep hot food HOT and cold food COLD.
• Don't leave cooked foods (like baked beans, meat, poultry, casseroles, pasta and potato salads) sitting at room temperature longer than 2 to 3 hours.
• Cool big pots of soups and stews quickly by refrigerating them in shallow pans.

Developed by Carolyn Raab, Oregon State University Extension Foods & Nutrition Specialist

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