Safety Status: Safe (Cooked/Vegetarian)
Sushi rolls made with fully cooked seafood or vegetables are safe to consume during pregnancy.
While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advise pregnant individuals to avoid raw fish sushi due to the risk of parasites (like Anisakis) and bacteria (like Listeria and Salmonella), fully cooking the seafood eliminates these biological hazards.
Common safe sushi options include:
- California Rolls: Made with cooked imitation crab (surimi), cucumber, and avocado.
- Eel (Unagi) Rolls: Made with fully cooked, grilled freshwater eel.
- Shrimp Tempura Rolls: Deep-fried shrimp wrapped in rice and seaweed.
- Vegetarian Rolls: Made with avocado, cucumber, sweet potato tempura, or pickled radish.
The primary concern when eating cooked sushi in a restaurant is cross-contamination. If the kitchen prep area, knives, cutting boards, or the chef’s hands touch raw fish before preparing your cooked roll, pathogens can be transferred to your food.
Low-Mercury Selection
Even when seafood is cooked, pregnant individuals must limit exposure to methylmercury, a heavy metal that can harm a developing baby’s nervous system.
- Choose Low-Mercury cooked options: Shrimp, crab, eel, salmon, and scallops are low in mercury and safe.
- Limit or Avoid High-Mercury options: Avoid cooked tuna rolls (such as spicy tuna or tuna salad rolls if made with high-mercury tuna varieties like bigeye or yellowfin) and ensure you stay within the FDA’s general seafood guidelines of 8 to 12 ounces of low-mercury fish per week.
Safe Restaurant Practices
To enjoy cooked sushi safely, follow these guidelines:
- Communicate Your Pregnancy: Inform your server and the sushi chef that you are pregnant. Politely request that your rolls be prepared on a clean surface with clean hands, clean knives, and clean rolling mats.
- Ensure Proper Cooking: Confirm that warm ingredients (like tempura or eel) are served piping hot.
- Eat Promptly: Consume sushi immediately or refrigerate it within 2 hours. Do not eat sushi that has been sitting at room temperature.
Safe Alternatives
Vegetarian sushi rolls (avocado, cucumber) or fully cooked dishes like chicken teriyaki.
OB-GYN Clinical Tip
Ask the sushi chef to use a clean knife, cutting board, and rolling mat when preparing your cooked rolls to prevent cross-contamination from raw fish juices.
Related Nutrition Guides
Read our complete recommendations for vitamins and safe eating:
🍎 Go to Nutrition Guide →Check the safety status of these related foods: