While it is important for all people to practise safe food handling it is particularly so when starting a family. You can reduce the risk of developing Listeria (bacteria found in soil) or other food borne infections, such as gastroenteritis or Toxoplasmosis (a parasite found in raw meat and cat faeces) by following some basic hygiene and food storage rules:

• Wash your hands before preparing food and between handling raw and ready-to-eat foods
• Keep stored food covered
• Thoroughly wash fruit and raw vegetables before eating or juicing
• Thoroughly cook all food of animal origin, including eggs
• Keep hot foods hot (above 60ºC)
• Reheat left over food until steaming hot. Only buy ready-to-eat hot food if it’s steaming hot
• Store raw meat, raw poultry and raw fish on the lowest shelves in the refrigerator to prevent them dripping onto cooked food or ready to eat foods
• Keep cold food cold (at or below 5ºC) and keep your refrigerator clean
• Place all cooked food in the refrigerator within an hour of cooking
• Strictly observe use-by dates on refrigerated foods
• Do not handle cooked foods with the same utensils (tongs, knives, and cutting board) used on raw

It is best to avoid these high risk foods during pregnancy

Foods		Examples
Pre-cooked cold meat products		Pre-cooked meat products if eaten cold e.g. paté, sliced deli meat, cooked diced chicken
Soft cheeses		e.g. brie, camembert, ricotta, feta
Seafood		Uncooked, smoked or ready-to-eat seafood e.g. smoked fish or mussels
Soft serve ice-cream		Soft serve ice-cream or soft serve frozen yoghurt
Pre-prepared salads		Pre-prepared coleslaw and salads e.g. from salad bars, delicatessen
Raw milk & egg		Raw (unpasteurised) milk or food made from raw milk, or raw eggs