Pre-made salads

[Fee]

Okay so I've read that pre-made salads are not good while pregnant. So this means things like the pasta salads etc in the deli.

My question is, what about:

- those new pre-cut lettuce packs
- salads at a sandwich bar (at a food court)

??? Are these okay to eat or not?

[Pandora]

I didn't eat anything for a food court unless it had been re-heated to piping hot (the place near my work did a lot of pasta and hot meals, which they would microwave, or you could get in early when they'd just been cooked), so no pre-made salads for me.

Also I was told that if I made them at home they had to be eaten within 24 hours.

[Mumma2three]

I have eaten both those throughout pregnancy. I think there is such a thing as being too careful. I wash the packaged lettuce before eating, and just make sure s'wich shops look reasonably fresh. I've also eaten at relly functions soooo many times and I don't ask where their salad came from!! Just check that conditions look clean, and wash your own stuff at home. oxoxo

[belgodfrey]

I'm probably not the best example, I too have eaten both these things....as long as they look fresh. I've only stayed away from premade at cafe's if it looks like it's been sitting a while and a bit stale.

As for what I make at home, I just make sure the pre-packaged lettuce is washed - I mean, how different can it be from a whole lettuce, they don't add anything to it...

I agree with webbmeg, I think you can be too careful and drive yourself nuts with what you can and can't eat.

[Fi]

Yeah - just be careful. Its easy to say we are being too careful, but really how silly (mortified?) would you feel if something happened as a result of a bad choice.
I didn't eat any salads from deli's or anything like that, but I did eat lots of subway sandwiches. I think you juts have to make sure its a busy place with lots of turnover of food - so the sliced stuff isn't sitting there for very long.
Also, bagged salads are fine if you wash them first. Maybe try not to get the cut ones - just whole leaves perhaps.
Fi

[kazz30]

I personally won't eat any salads or pre packed salads from the deli or coffee shops etc.. I guess I am just way to paranoid though. 8-[

If you do just be extra careful as Fi said how "mortified" you would feel if you made a bad choice.

[Bathsheba]

I'm another one who is highly cautious about the turnover and hygene but will eat what ever my body is craving. During pregnancy I stick to well known food outlets which adhere to strict standards. I would eat prepacked salad if it had an excellent used by date and was being refridgerated properly (but probably not one with mayo). I eat soft cheese that is packaged, not cut in the deli. If I ate red meat I would also eat the packaged (sealed) slices but not the deli cut ones. And especially be careful at home and at friend's places. You might think you are "safe" not eating a huge list of foods but there is a risk in trying to simplify things for yourself that you will inadvertedly eat something because you stop noticing hazards in preparation and storage.

[*Ali*]

I think that the premade salads that oyu have to be really careful of are the ones like the premade pasta salads, potato salads etc, anything that has got alot of mayonaise in it. We by the pre cut lettuce etc and after ithas been washed it is fine. I would also eat a sandwhich with salad etc in it if I knew the place had a good hygeine and high turn over of food stuffs. If I go to somewhere like subway I will eat their cold meats, I usualyl just ask them to microwave them first.

[CharlieRae]

I personally don't eat anything that is premade & cold. My other half is germ phobic and he works for Food Standards Australia New Zealand. Basically, I only eat what I have made, or close family has made or I buy hot. Chips are great at the moment! Not good for the waist line, but who cares!!!!!

[BellyBelly]

Moving to pregnancy - first trimester discussion

Pre-made salads are not a good idea to eat - only fresh.

[angelique]

I have even heard reports that things that contain rice can be harmful!!

Has anyone ever been food poisoned by anything? Is it very dangerous for you and the baby at all?

[Carys]

deleted.

[Fee]

I have even heard reports that things that contain rice can be harmful!!

Has anyone ever been food poisoned by anything? Is it very dangerous for you and the baby at all?

Yes I heard about the rice thing the other day. Apparently rice is the most dangerous food in relation to food poisoning. So be sure to heat it up really well if having leftovers. And don't eat cold rice salad type dishes.

[Fee]

Can someone tell me more about the rice thing?

Because the other day i made home made tuna sushi, but because it takes a long time to make the rice was cool by the time i ate the sushi. It was fresh tho, is this ok???

I'd say that's fine.

I'd never heard of it until the other day. I made a rice salad (freshly made that morning) and took it to my parents' house for lunch. My aunt who is 20 weeks pg wouldn't eat it. She told me how cold rice can be contaminated very very easily. I think she was just being extra cautious. But I definitely wouldn't eat leftover rice salad the next day.

Apparently it's a food which can get bacteria in it very easily.

[kyliealysha]

Thanks fee, ive never heard this about rice either, but now that i know i dont feel comfortable having the sushi again I already felt bad about not eating it hot as it was!

Ummm... I was also told not to eat raw fish when pregnant, so maybe give sushi a miss for a while..

[Inanna]

I'd be interested on a definite answer about the rice thing also... I have heard in the past that cold rice should be avoided but some say it's okay and others say its not...
Deb

[Fee]

Thanks fee, ive never heard this about rice either, but now that i know i dont feel comfortable having the sushi again I already felt bad about not eating it hot as it was!

Ummm... I was also told not to eat raw fish when pregnant, so maybe give sushi a miss for a while..

Not all sushi has raw fish.

[DGirl]

I had bad food poisoning from rice. I took it out of the fridge and left it on the bench for a few hours while the fridge defrosted and then I heated it in the microwave and ate it.
Be careful!!! Only eat it if it is freshly cooked to be safe.