According to the CDC, here were the last major listeria outbreaks: https://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/index.html

Lunch meat was an acceptable risk for me. I avoided soft cheeses because I know someone personally (not a pregnant woman) who almost died from listeriosis after eating imported cheese purchased from Whole Foods (not in the DC area).

OP here. So, I asked my OB and she just looked at me with a little puzzlement and said, "Of course it's ok in moderation. Don't worry about the listeria, worry about the nitrates."

I have eaten lunch meat in all 3 pregnancies. The risk of listeria is really low, and I haven't heard about an outbreak in lunch meat in a long time. On the other hand, it seems there is an outbreak in cantaloupe or spinach or ice cream or frozen veggies all the time. I have to eat something! I have had morning sickness until 20 weeks and sometimes lunch meat is all that is appetizing. I wouldn't eat a pre made turkey sandwich from the gas station, but from the busy and clean jimmy johns where I eat all the time and have never gotten sick? Totally.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lunch meat should never be eaten, ever! If you must then eat Boar's Head no salt added turkey breast.

this made me crave fried bologna

Anonymous wrote:Lunch meat should never be eaten, ever! If you must then eat Boar's Head no salt added turkey breast.

In the early months of my pregnancy I kept forgetting that I wasn't supposed to eat lunch meats. My husband is from Philly and I got plenty of Italian hoagies when we went to see family there. We also went to France for a pre-baby vacation and I ate some cheese there the first day before I found out it wasn't pasteurized. I was fine. I wouldn't make eating cold lunch meats an every day thing, but I don't think few sandwiches from reputable places would hurt you.

I decided it was an acceptable risk for me.

I ate lunch meat, sushi, hot dogs, and lots of other stuff that pregnant women have been warned about--at the blessing of my MW.

The only thing I didn't eat were sprouts. I used to really like them, but I've read some things that have truly turned me off them.

Anonymous wrote:Did anybody eat chicken salad from a restaurant? I've been craving the chicken salad at founding farmers!

As long as the chicken is cooked, it should be fine!

Lunch meat should never be eaten, ever! If you must then eat Boar's Head no salt added turkey breast.

I've read turkeys the most likely to be contaminated. Ham? lol

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the replies. I was curious, so I took a look at FDA's website for recalls. It looks like only two months of data, but here's the foods recalled for possible listeria:

queso fresco
cashews
macademia Nuts
queso fresco
burritos
white cheese
spinach
chicken and waffle sandwich
pancakes, waffles, toast
cashew butter
organic basil pesto
smoked fish
sweet peas.

So...no lunch meat. Not indicative of much, just interesting

I looked at 2015-2017 FDA recall data because I'm the type of person who takes things too far. Out of 1170 recalls of food; 253 were listeria related. The main culprits for listeria related recalls since 2015 seem to be
Various cheeses (32 recalls)
Sunflower seed / kernel products (29 recalls)
Frozen veggies (18 recalls)
ice cream (12 recalls)

Unless I've missed something, I see no deli meat. That doesn't mean there's not a risk, but it's looking safer to me.

I had no idea about the seeds - and I ate sunflower seeds nearly every day of my pregnancy! Just goes to show that the conventional wisdom about which foods to avoid is outdated and random. I ate deli meat a few times, and drank wine, too!

OP, only you can decide what's an acceptable risk for you. Do your research, and don't listen to self-righteous twits who act like eating a sandwich means you don't care about your baby.

Wasn't worth it to me. Your choice.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Most listeria cases recently have come from things you aren't even told to avoid, like yogurt and spinach. I ate plenty of Italian subs.

OMG that sounds so good right now...

I ate so many Potbelly sandwiches the cashier called me "Pepper." (I adore their hot peppers.)

Yes, Potbelly was my go-to for deli meat since they toast the sandwiches with the meat on it, significantly reducing the risk.