Is Sashimi safe during pregnancy?

Seafood & shellfish

Avoid (raw fish)

The NHS lists raw fish as a food to avoid, the US CDC lists sashimi as a riskier choice, and FSANZ says pregnant women should not eat raw fish.[1,2,3,4,5,6]

What official sources say

US CDC: Safer Food Choices for Pregnant Women

  • Riskier Choice: Raw or undercooked fish or shellfish, including sashimi, sushi, and ceviche[1]

US FDA: Meat, Poultry & Seafood (Food Safety for Moms-to-Be)

  • Raw fish (such as sushi or sashimi) or foods made with raw fish are more likely to contain parasites or bacteria than foods made from cooked fish, so it's important to cook fish thoroughly.[2]

NHS: Foods to avoid in pregnancy

  • Fish and seafood › Foods to avoid: Raw fish and raw shellfish are on the list of foods to avoid in pregnancy.[3]

FSANZ: Listeria in food

  • Avoid pre-prepared ready-to-eat foods, especially: chilled seafood such as raw oysters, sashimi and sushi, smoked ready-to-eat seafood and cooked ready-to-eat prawns (advice for vulnerable people, including pregnant women)[4]

FSANZ: Food safety for vulnerable people

  • Higher-risk foods: Oysters, sushi, sashimi, ceviche (advice for vulnerable people, including pregnant women)[5]

FSANZ: Raw fish dishes

  • Vulnerable people, including pregnant women, the elderly or ill should not eat raw fish because of potential risks such as Listeria bacteria.[6]

Sources

  1. US CDC: Safer Food Choices for Pregnant Women · cdc.gov. US government work, public domain; quoted. No endorsement implied.
  2. US FDA: Meat, Poultry & Seafood (Food Safety for Moms-to-Be) · fda.gov. US government work, public domain; quoted. No endorsement implied.
  3. NHS: Foods to avoid in pregnancy · nhs.uk. Paraphrased. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (OGL v3.0). Not endorsed by the NHS.
  4. FSANZ: Listeria in food · foodstandards.gov.au. © Food Standards Australia New Zealand, licensed under CC BY 4.0; quoted. No endorsement implied.
  5. FSANZ: Food safety for vulnerable people · foodstandards.gov.au. © Food Standards Australia New Zealand, licensed under CC BY 4.0; quoted. No endorsement implied.
  6. FSANZ: Raw fish dishes · foodstandards.gov.au. © Food Standards Australia New Zealand, licensed under CC BY 4.0; quoted. No endorsement implied.

Sources checked 26 September 2026.

Quotes are checked word for word against each source page, and paraphrases against the original text. Official bodies are named as sources only: none of them reviewed or endorses this page.

Educational information, not medical advice. Your own doctor or midwife may advise differently for you — follow their advice.