Bacon

Hi, I was wondering if anyone could tell me whether it was safe to eat Bacon while pregnant. I am putting on a lunch next week and was going to include bacon in the potato salad but it contains sodium nitrate and all my pregnancy books say not to eat any meats containing this or other smoked meats. Does anyone know whether Bacon is safe to eat ?

Thanks
Sharon

Bacon was about the only deli meat I did eat. Didn't remember about the sodium nitrate (although I think I remember Juliette telling me about this) but I just made sure it was cooked properly.

Oh my god, I would have DIED without bacon during pregnancy. I craved BLTs something chronic!

I ate loads of bacon whilst PG with Jacob - as with all meats, ensure that it is well cooked.

I am eating it...just cooking it well.

Thanks for your replies. I'm going to give the bacon a miss for my pregnant friends as I asked around and was told that cooking it doesn't get rid of the sodium nitrate chemical which is harmful to unborn babies if eaten in large amounts. It's a chemical which is used to give the food it's flavour and is added when the meat is smoked prior to the rashers being cut. That's how I understand it anyway, lol. I think i'll er on the side of caution this time around and give it a miss. Hope this info helps others also eating bacon.

Thanks again for the help
Sharon

Yerp i cant live without bacon it was my number one question when i seen ym GP. She said bacons is Ok as long as its been cooked thouroughly. :)

As long as it is thoroughly cooked properly it should be ok, and I guess as long as you are not eating a lot of it then it shouldn't harm bubs.

Sharon,
You are so right about the sodium nitrate. However, you do need to eat it in large amounts. The other option is that you can purchase bacon that has been naturally smoked and they don't use the sodium nitrate to do that. Most if not all organic bacon do not use sodium nitrate. Sodium nitrate is also used in corned beef.
I am a big fan of organics, this usually irradicates all of those nasty chemicals that are used in so much of our food.
Hope this helps,

I'm so glad I found this thread - I have been dreaming about bacon all day but was worried I shouldn't be eating it. I'm going to treat myself to a small amount with pasta tonight.....and try very hard to stop myself from cooking it all and eating it in one sitting!