If you want to eat any deli meat, hot dogs, or cured meat, the CDC recommends heating it until it steams. You can heat it in a pan on the stove or in the microwave. Listeria can survive refrigeration or freezing but won't survive at temperatures over 165 degrees.
Deli meats can carry a bacteria that's especially dangerous during pregnancy, but Teigen said microwaving them first is "a way to get around the system." Expert guidance recommends pregnant people heat cold cuts to 165 degrees F or "until steaming" to kill bacteria. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) advises that pregnant women "avoid eating hot dogs, lunch meats, cold cuts, other deli meats (such as bologna), or fermented or dry sausages unless they are heated to an internal temperature of 165°F or until steaming hot just before serving."
An oven set to 400 F / 210c should be adequate to heat the deli meat through. Put the slices in a single layer on a baking tray and heat through for approximately 10-15 minutes until steaming hot.
If you plan to eat deli meats anyway, we highly suggest cooking them until they are steaming. If the meat is heated to steaming, any present Listeria bacteria should no longer be alive. More than likely everything will be fine, but if at all possible, it is best to find another go-to food.
Pregnant women are about 10 times more likely to get listeriosis than other healthy adults. An estimated 1/6 of all Listeria cases occur in pregnant women.
It's best not to eat deli or lunch meats while you're pregnant, unless the food has been heated until steaming (165 degrees F) right before serving. These meats can harbor bacteria, which can continue to grow even when refrigerated.
Subway sandwiches are safe for pregnant women to eat if they're heated until hot, rather than just warm. This means either microwaved for a few seconds or having the sandwich toasted – sometimes a little more than normal.
Listeriosis can cause mild, flu-like symptoms such as fever, chills, muscle aches, and diarrhea or upset stomach. You also may have a stiff neck, headache, confusion, or loss of balance. Symptoms may appear as late as 2 months after you have eaten something with Listeria. Many pregnant women do not have any symptoms.
CDC estimates that Listeria is the third leading cause of death from foodborne illness, or food poisoning, in the United States. An estimated 1,600 people get sick from Listeria each year, and about 260 die.
The symptoms can take a few days or up to six weeks to appear, which can make diagnosing an infection difficult. The good news is that listeriosis in pregnant women is very rare in Australia and New Zealand.
The chance of becoming infected with Listeria from lunch meat is pretty rare. Food manufacturers take steps to prevent it before packaging. If you're pregnant and have previously eaten deli meat, don't worry. But it's probably best to satisfy any future cravings for an Italian sub until after delivery.
Newborn babies infected with Listeria can develop either early onset or late onset listeriosis. Early onset listeriosis develops 1-2 days after birth, and the baby often has signs of a serious bacterial infection.
Fast food usually isn't the best choice for expecting moms, since it's often packed with excessive amounts of salt, added sugar, and unhealthy fats.
“If you're pregnant, you really shouldn't have deli meat,” Schaffner says. The only way to ensure that sliced deli meat is safe to eat, he adds, is by heating it to 165 degrees Fahrenheit, to guarantee that any lingering surface bacteria is killed off.
Deli meats (cold cuts, lunch meats, hot dogs, and pâtés) and deli-sliced cheeses are known sources of Listeria illnesses. This is because Listeria can easily spread among food, food preparation surfaces like deli slicers, and hands.
Cold Cuts and Deli Meat
Listeria can survive cold temps, which means there's still an off-chance they could make you sick; however, chicken that has been recently cooked and is still under the warmer is fine. Bottom line: Avoid deli meat straight from the counter, but you can eat it heated up.
Certain uterine conditions or weak cervical tissues (incompetent cervix) might increase the risk of miscarriage. Smoking, alcohol and illicit drugs. Women who smoke during pregnancy have a greater risk of miscarriage than do nonsmokers. Heavy alcohol use and illicit drug use also increase the risk of miscarriage.
How about leftovers? The basic rule is that if it's usually served hot, eat it hot. And if it's usually served cold, eat it cold. You're especially vulnerable to bacteria when you're pregnant, so stay away from hot or cold food that's been sitting out at room temperature for two hours or more.
Penicillin, ampicillin, and amoxicillin have been used most extensively in the treatment of listeriosis. Most experts recommend 6 g or more per day of ampicillin for treatment during pregnancy. This dosage provides adequate intracellular penetration and crosses the placenta in adequate amounts.
22% of cases of perinatal listeriosis result in stillbirth or neonatal death, which makes it crucial to get early treatment. With treatment of the illness, fetal infection and other complications can be avoided. The standard treatment for listeriosis is antibiotics.
Deli meats, cold cuts, hot dogs, and fermented or dry sausages. Deli meats, cold cuts, hot dogs, and fermented or dry sausages can be contaminated with Listeria when they are made or prepared at facilities where Listeria persists.
Since 2004, Listeria infection monitoring across 10 regions of the USA shows that 17% of 760 Listeria infection cases were related to pregnancies, with a 29% incidence rate for fetal loss and neonatal fatalities.
You may be thinking about avoiding things like sushi and deli meat, which are off-limits for pregnant ladies. If this makes you feel more comfortable, by all means, stay away! But if you slip up here and there, don't freak. “During that two-week wait, it's probably not as big of a deal.