Can You Eat Sushi While Pregnant?
Cooked sushi is fine in pregnancy; raw-fish sushi is best avoided.
The full answer
Sushi itself isn't the issue — raw fish is. Raw and undercooked fish can carry listeria bacteria and parasites, and listeria infection (listeriosis) is rare but more likely and more serious in pregnancy. Cooked options — California rolls with cooked crab or imitation crab, cooked eel (unagi), cooked shrimp (ebi), and fully vegetarian rolls — are considered safe. You should also avoid high-mercury fish such as bigeye tuna in any form. Sushi rice, seaweed, avocado, and cucumber are all fine. So you don't have to give up your favourite sushi spot — just order from the cooked side of the menu.
How to eat sushi safely
- Choose cooked fillings: cooked crab/imitation crab, cooked shrimp, cooked eel, or veggie rolls
- Skip raw tuna, salmon, and other raw-fish nigiri/sashimi
- Avoid high-mercury fish (bigeye tuna, swordfish, king mackerel)
When to avoid: Avoid any raw or undercooked fish, and raw shellfish. If you're unsure how a roll was prepared, ask, or pick a clearly cooked or vegetarian option.
Pregnancy food-safety basics
Most “can I have this?” questions in pregnancy come down to four things. Listeria — a bacterium that survives the fridge — is why chilled ready-to-eat meats, pâté, and mould-ripened soft cheeses are heated or avoided. Mercury is why certain fish are limited. Caffeine is capped at about 200 mg a day. And alcohol is best avoided entirely, as no safe amount is known. Cooking food until it’s steaming hot kills listeria and most other bugs, which is why “heat until steaming” solves so many of these questions.
For the full picture, see our pregnancy safety guide, and track your pregnancy with the How Far Along Am I? calculator and the week-by-week guide.
Frequently asked questions
- Can you eat sushi while pregnant?
- Cooked sushi is fine in pregnancy; raw-fish sushi is best avoided. Sushi itself isn't the issue — raw fish is. Raw and undercooked fish can carry listeria bacteria and parasites, and listeria infection (listeriosis) is rare but more likely and more serious in pregnancy. Cooked options — California rolls with cooked crab or imitation crab, cooked eel (unagi), cooked shrimp (ebi), and fully vegetarian rolls — are considered safe. You should also avoid high-mercury fish such as bigeye tuna in any form. Sushi rice, seaweed, avocado, and cucumber are all fine. So you don't have to give up your favourite sushi spot — just order from the cooked side of the menu.
- Why is sushi something to be careful with in pregnancy?
- Sushi itself isn't the issue — raw fish is. Raw and undercooked fish can carry listeria bacteria and parasites, and listeria infection (listeriosis) is rare but more likely and more serious in pregnancy. Cooked options — California rolls with cooked crab or imitation crab, cooked eel (unagi), cooked shrimp (ebi), and fully vegetarian rolls — are considered safe. You should also avoid high-mercury fish such as bigeye tuna in any form. Sushi rice, seaweed, avocado, and cucumber are all fine. So you don't have to give up your favourite sushi spot — just order from the cooked side of the menu.
- When should I avoid sushi during pregnancy?
- Avoid any raw or undercooked fish, and raw shellfish. If you're unsure how a roll was prepared, ask, or pick a clearly cooked or vegetarian option.