What's wrong with sushi?

[LadyRaven]

First its the Brie cheese now my sushi! What part of sushi is the evil bit? Is it just the cold meat in the middle or is it the seaweed? I make my own with thin well cooked honey-soy marinated chicken strips with capsicum, cucumber and avocado and usually only lasts that night and the next day till they're all eaten. Can I still have freshly prepared, well home cooked sushi if I don't eat any leftovers after 24hours? Or is it the seaweed thats the problem?

[heidi]

Hi CelticMoon,

From what i've learnt it's the raw meat and bacteria/listeria issue. Also i've heard rice which is kept too long can be nasty for harbouring bacteria. I don't think it's the seaweed?? At least I haven't heard/read that.

My friend makes her own sushi at home and ate it all the way through both her pregnancies apparently with her Dr's blessing. She only used cooked ingredients when she was pregnant (i.e. - cooked prawns, cooked chicken etc) and made sure everything was fresh and didn't keep leftovers. She was never completely sure of the quality and freshness of the raw fish she used to buy, so she just stayed away from raw seafood the entire 9 months. She never bought sushi from take-away shops either because she was fussy about her food and how it was prepared (understandably).

But check with your OB/Dr to be safe.

[Inanna]

Celtic Moon,
If you prepare your Sushi at home using cooked ingredients (uncooked seafood/fish/meat is definitely out during pregnancy) than that is a healthy food choice. Don't eat any left overs but eat to your hearts content the sushi you prepare on the day.

Cooked rice as Heidi says is a lovely breeding ground for bacteria. Many people are surprised to learn this but it is one of the common causes of food poisoning (cooked rice). It is advised that you don't eat sushi bought commercially during pregnancy.

I hope that helps some. It gets a bit tiresome doesn't it the foods we have to keep away from - it's all for a good cause though.

[~Debbie~]

go for it - home made sushi. As the others said, its the rawness, and lack of freshness in the meat and rice thats the problem.

[~Raven~]

I would think that they are referring to the sushi that you buy from a food retailer that is mass produced and could sit all day in a bain marie. Firstly you don't know how fresh the raw ingredients are and secondly would you be confident that their fridges are working effectively enough to keep it at the proper temperature which I believe should be 4 degrees.

I make my own with thin well cooked honey-soy marinated chicken strips with capsicum, cucumber and avocado

If you have prepared the whole lot including the chicken and the rice and are confident that your food handling practices are safe then go ahead and enjoy it.

I would steer clear of adding anything like cold precooked prawns or raw seafood at all to be on the safe side.

[LadyRaven]

Yay! I was hoping it wasn't the seaweed part of it because then, well, it isn't really sushi is it lol. I have never made sushi with raw ingredients or cold seafood i love the honey-soy flavor it's so delicious mmm.

I have different chopping boards for veggies and raw meat and just use a plate to roll them on, i wash the boards in disinfectant and replace them every few months (they aren't that expensive) I did have glass ones but unless I washed them up straight away and put them away little kitty paws found ways to smash them lol. I clean all the benches before I cook because I do have cats although they arent allowed up there I don't know what they do when I'm not home lol.

Is there any other precautions you can take when cooking rice? My mum says adding salt as you cook can help is there anything else you can cook rice with to make it a bit safer?

[Inanna]

Celtic, rice is safe to eat so long as you cook it and eat it. Rice that is stored in the fridge should not be reheated. This is when you could run into problems. Cold rice that has been stored should also not be eaten. So, just cook your sushi rice and do the sushi thing but don't keep any left overs. Eating freshly cooked hot rice is fine also.

The issue with listeria is that it loves cold environments and the cold temperature is what it grows in. Listeria is killed when it is cooked. HOwever, this is not the case with all bacteria so this is why we have to be extra careful in pregnancy.

[LadyRaven]

Can you send some of that knowledge and brain power over this way Flowerchild? You've been so helpful with all my questions thus far and with lovely clear explainations :-).

Thank you for that I will definately keep that all in mind luckily im more of a pasta than a rice person just love my sushi :-) XP loved it too so had it a lot, DP is not so keen so probably won't be as motivated at any rate lol

[Krisvee]

Oops I've been eating Sushi the whole way through...I'm veggie and only eat the avocado and carrot ones...didn't realise it's the rice thats the issue...

[RhiChiChi]

I've eaten Sushi (not raw) as well throughout my pg. I buy it from a reputable, clean shop, so I am confident of there being no problems. I think with any foods you have to be extra careful when pg and if it doesn't look, smell or taste ok then don't eat it.

[ella79]

Kristie - i wouldn't worry about it! i eat sushi nearly every day for lunch and my doctor says it's perfectly fine. i do make sure i go to shops with a high turn-over to increase the likelihood that it's been freshly prepared, but as my OB says - pregnant women in Japan eat sushi all the time without any problems!!

CelticMoon - i wish i was as good as you - making your own sushi at home - how organised!! i'm WAY too lazy to do that! (plus my own sushi never tastes as good as the shops!)

[Inanna]

Actually that's true partly... And an obs saying that is actually showing his ignorance of another culture and in this case it could be dangerous.

Sushi is raw fish. Pregnant women that I know who are Japanese say that they do not eat this during pregnancy. Also the nori rolls you see en masse at the local shopping cenbtre food court sit there for hours and are pre prepared. Japanese women make their own and eat it. It's vastly different.

A large number of women contracted listeriosis from rice not too long ago in Australia. It's of course everyones personal choice. But the choice needs to be made with facts not here say. The doctor that said what he did is not being completely accurate..

[~Gee_Whizzy~]

Pregnant women that I know who are Japanese say that they do not eat this during pregnancy. Also the nori rolls you see en masse at the local shopping cenbtre food court sit there for hours and are pre prepared. Japanese women make their own and eat it. It's vastly different.

Are these Japanese women, here in Australia or in Japan? - The reason i ask is because i wonder if it is because they are advised here of the dangers of listeria whereas maybe in Japan its not as widely versed? - Im just curious!

[Krisvee]

Ella - I agree - I've tried it at home but it just is never as good....