Okay, so I went to a nice bakery restaurant today and ordered a turkey sandwich, sort of like a club, but I asked them to toast the turkey and bread first and then add the lettuce, tomato, etc. thinking that the toasting is enough to heat the meat. When I got the sandwich the meat still felt warm and I ate it. BUT now I'm worried about listeriosis risk. Is toasting enough? Is there anything to do to "cut" my risk at this point?
Thanks! Oh. BTW, I'm 5 months pregnant.
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I was told deli meats needed to be heated til they were steaming so for the future you might want to ask them to heat the meat up separately for you, or only eat deli meats at home when you can control the heating process
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You can give my advice as much weight was you want knowing that I'm not big on the listeria hysteria that's going on these days. You can get listeria from pretty much anything and I think there's way too much fear-mongering about it. I wouldn't worry. If it was from a quality food provider and you had it heated you should be fine. Try not to worry
I've even eaten unheated deli meats from reputable providers several times and am totally fine at 36 weeks.
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I'm with @MegWag on the listeria hysteria. I think everything in moderation is okay (with things like lunch meat and soft serve, at least). I wouldn't eat Subway lunch meat but I'll eat it if I watch my grocery store person slice it for me at the deli counter. Try not to worry about something you have already eaten. Can't do anything about it now!
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I asked the nurse about this and she said as long as you trust the place you get the meat from you can eat it in moderation. She said that some of the hype is unnecessary but to just be aware of your surroundings and where you eat.
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Okay good to know. There's just soo much to worry about! I do trust where I got it from, it's a very busy/popular restaurant and I'm sure the turnover is high. And it's true...you can get it from cantalope and fruits so I'll try to stress less.
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I would have to disagree with pp. If there is a clearly identified risk that is easily avoided then why risk it? For lunch meat or soft serve? Really? I work on the principle if the worst happens then could I live with myself and in the case of lunch meat or soft serve the answer would be no. For the op, what bells said!
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I agree with the ladies above. I know we're all warned about deli meats, but the last big outbreaks were some raw fruits and veggies. Most of these food concern alerts have to err on the side of caution for the portion of the general public that eats sketchy meat that's been hanging out all day at room temp. I'm sure you're fine!!
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I have deli sandwhiches about once a week - I just ask for them toasted, as you did. I am at 31 weeks pregnant and so far - everything is just fine
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I eat deli meat all the time--always from places I ate at before pregnancy--and I usually get them toasted. My doctor said it was fine.
People were getting listeria from fruit and vegetables and we're obviously not supposed to avoid those during pregnancy, so yeah, mmm toasted subs
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To each his own, I guess. We all have different comfort levels.
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I ate deli meats all the time - and got highlights in my hair and I'm sure all sorts of other awful things. There's too much to worry about to worry about it all.
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I asked my doctor about this specifically and he said there was no reason to be concerned. He told me I didn't even have to limit my intake. The only precaution he said to take applies to all foods: if it's supposed to be hot, eat it hot. If it's supposed to be cold, eat it cold. Don't let your food sit out and get to room temperature because that's when bad things start growing.
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@eeh: the problem being that when you eat out you don't know how food is prepared or stored.
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I suppose that's true but that goes for anything that you would eat at a restaurant. You don't know if they're washing their veggies, you don't know if they are properly cleaning their utensils, etc. Does that mean we (pregnant women) shouldn't eat anything that wasn't directly prepared by us the entire duration of our pregnancy? At some point I have to step back and have faith in the idea that the health department is doing their job and inspecting these places to ensure they are meeting codes. If it's a sketchy place, don't eat there.
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I wouldn't worry about it. If lunch meat freaks you out you could just stay away from it from now on, but I feel there's only a teeny tiny chance that something was wrong with the sandwich.
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@eeh: You eat things that have been heated until piping hot and pass on the things you can't be sure of, like salad leaves etc. Those are generally the guidelines given.
OP, don't stress about it. As @artbee said if you are going to worry about lunch meat then stear clear, if only so there is 1 less thing to worry about. -
i think you'll be fine but going forward, I would just avoid the deli meat unless you're at home and you can nuke the crap out of it.
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I'm more in the conservative camp so I try to avoid anything that could pose even a small risk to my baby. I've been in situations (many times in my life) where I was on the minority side of probability. 5% chance? Could (and has) happen to me! Of course I can't avoid EVERYTHING (and wouldn't want to). But if it's within my control, I'll try my best to avoid it.
In regards to the turkey sandwich, I"m sure you're totally fine. Moving forward, if it freaks you out then maybe you should avoid it. More peace of mind!
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@cupcakemama: Those were not the guidelines given to me by my OB. I think it would be sort of impossible to pass on everything you can’t be sure of – how can you be totally sure of anything you don’t completely source and prepare yourself? I don’t mean this to sound snarky, but do you really avoid everything that could pose any risk while eating out? Avoid all raw veggies? Raw fruits? Cheeses? Mayo and other condiments? Things made with any sort of non-disposable utensil? Etc.
I guess it’s a “to each their own” situation.
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Listeria hysteria is the perfect way to describe it. Yes, when you are pregnant, you could be more susceptible to food borne illnesses. However, if you trust the place you're ordering your sandwich from, you can see that they're storing the meat properly (ie, it's in a refrigerated case), it's clean, etc.... I think you can go forth and eat deli meat without fear of listeria. After all, we don't normally go around expecting listeria to be in every deli sandwich we eat, so why should you freak out about it once you're pregnant?
It is absolutely "to each their own" in this case. -
@yoursilverlining: yes, I did avoid everything. I didn't eat salads out, I didn't eat pre prepared sandwhiches, I avoided soft cheese. To be honest, it's not that hard. I can't go without mayo (or whatever) for 9 months? Yep, sometimes it was annoying but I personally was not prepared to risk it. The risk might be small but someone makes up those stats and I would prefer it wasn't me. I think to call it listeria hysteria is actually extremely condescending. Everyone I know was given similar guidelines from their OB and followed them. You feel differently, that's fine, welcome to the world of parenting - everyone does it differently and has their own comfort levels.
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I gave up deli meats along with just about everything else on the no-no list. I just didn't want to risk it and it's only 9 months out of your life (per pregnancy anyway!). So in my book, I can give up anything for 9 months. Also, I'd rather not have to worry about getting sick after eating something. It's not worth it to me.
I've even eaten unheated deli meats from reputable providers several times and am totally fine at 36 weeks.
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