ALL deli meat harmful???

Question

I am almost 8 weeks pregnant, I was told not to eat deli meat because it contains a bacteria that causes miscarriages and etc while your pregnant.....what's considered deli meat?? Deli meat is pretty broad, so would that mean smoked turkey from the deli dept. be harmful?? I know hotdogs are bad unless you heat them to a certain degree. thanks for the comments....oh and is bacon okay??

Answer 1

I only eat deli meat (including turkey, ham, and roast beef) if it's cooked until steaming. Listeria can cause birth defects, and that's not a risk i'm willing to take.

Answer 2

Listeria is the bacteria that is potentially harmful in deli meats. Of course, Listeria should NOT be in the meat, but sometimes it happens. Listeria and Salmonella are common bacteria that live in places like cracks in walls, floors and in floor drains. All meat processing plants that produce ready to eat products have to test finished product and environmental areas to ensure that there is sufficient sanitation measures being done to kill these germs. When properly handled, you should be fine, but you never know what happened to the product before you purchased it. That being said, if you really want to eat these products, you should cook the meat to at least 160 degrees. By the way, there is really nothing different between hotdogs and other luncheon/deli meats, they are just in a different size and not sliced.

Answer 3

I have never heard of this.

My dr said not to eat sunny side up eggs but didn't say anything about lunch meat.

But I looked itup and it said cook them unti they are steaming hot.
Meat and poultry
During pregnancy, changes in your metabolism and circulation may increase the risk of bacterial food poisoning. Your reaction may be more severe than if you weren't pregnant. Rarely, your baby may get sick, too.

To prevent food-borne illness, fully cook all meats and poultry before eating. Look for the juices to run clear, but use a meat thermometer to make sure.

Skip medium or rare burgers and sausages. The Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria commonly found on the surface of meat may be distributed throughout the whole product during the grinding process. Unless you cook ground meat to an internal temperature of 160 F, you may not raise its internal temperature enough to kill E. coli. Use a meat thermometer to make sure the meat is done.

Be careful with hot dogs and deli meats, too. These are sources of a rare but potentially serious food-borne illness known as listeriosis. Cook hot dogs and heat deli meats until they're steaming hot — or avoid them completely.

Answer 4

there is a 99% chance that you DID NOT harm your baby. the reason why Dr's tell you not to eat lunch meat is because there is a chance of bacteria in the meat. you can still eat subway or any deli meat just have them toast the sub or cook the deli meat a little so that the bacteria is cooked off.

Answer 5

Specifically, deli meats containing nitrates (a preservative) should be avoided. Most other deli meats should be heated before eating. I generally stick to turkey, toasted on a sandwich... the nutrition labels on the brands carried at my grocery specify no nitrates. Check the labels on your bacon, chances are it contains some form of nitrate. I eat it only occasionally and have been fine so far. Hope this helps!

Answer 6

Anything cooked to a reasonable temperature safe.

Any cold or room temperature foods are a Listeria risk. The more processed the food and the more time it spends at room temperature the higher the risk. IE deli counter meat may spend more time out of the counter. Mind you, and I have worked in grocery stores those open display cases generally don't maintain the right temperature. Grocery stores are too cheap to maintain them, and even if they are well maintained they are overfull.

Answer 7

Sweetie, I am the mother of a 6 year old and I am 6 months pregnant with my second, I have been eating Boers head deli meats forever and nothing has ever happened. I think more concern should fall on albacore and fish. Ask the Doctor, he is the only one who knows for sure.

Answer 8

You can have deli meat so long as it's HEATED until steaming hot because of the bacteria Listeriosis which can thrive in refrigerated conditions.

"Pregnant women... are about 20 times more likely than other healthy adults to get listeriosis. About one-third of listeriosis cases happen during pregnancy." - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Answer 9

Bacon every now and then is fine in SMALL amounts. (And totally NOT every day!) Most deli meat they're worried about is stuff like bologna, salami, and stuff like that. If the turkey is cooked in the store - and some places do that - then it should be okay.

Answer 10

You can eat it as long as you microwave it (or cook in anyway you like) until it is steaming hot. This will kill off any bacteria that may be harboring in the meat. It is the bacteria that causes the problem, not the meat.