Listeria

Well I just had devon for lunch without thinking and the other day I had a soft serve ice cream, thinking it'd be alright now. But i feel really guilty about it now. Do you think it'd be alright seeing as i'm now overdue etc? Or is it still not a good idea?

Hi Tegan,
I wouldn't stress about it too much. I think they tell you to avoid those foods as a precautionary measure if anything.
I was talking to a friend of mine who had her second baby about a year ago and she said she completely ignored all the warnings and ate whatever she liked. Soft serve icecream, salami, salads from the deli etc. She had no troubles. Now, she was probably lucky but it just goes to show that we don't have to be too padantic. Every now and then I will have a slice of meat or something on the "banned" list and all ok so far. I wouldn't concern yourself about it :)

Hi Tegan,
I agree with Deb, try not to stress too much.
I also ate things on the banned list when pg, and was completely fine!! I had soft serve thickshake once, and even chicken sandwiches from a takeout store... 8-[ 8-[
(Though I am NOT recommending anyone to go out and eat that stuff!)

8-[
i too eat stuff on the banned list, and did with joshua, im always eating mayonaise,sometimes home made chocolate mousse, deli ham (the mousse and ham were whilst pregnant with josh and he turned out fine).. i think it is all a precautionary thing and as your overdue i wouldnt worry as its mainly the development side of things they worry about i think, which your bubs has done and dusted :)

i too dont recomend that its ok to eat it, i just do coz i like the stuff and i think everyone every now and again eats things on the naughty list..

btw are we allowed to eat prawns? its kinda a tradition we get prawns for xmas lunch, but i heard not to, then someone said ok as long as hot.. anyone know?

take care
Lesley

Hi Lesley

I don't actually know about prawns, but I have been eating them too so I hope that they are OK! Having to give up smoked salmon was hard enough without giving up prawns too!

I will wait with you for an answer to this......

Megan

Hot prawns are fine.........deepfired is best as the high temps kill all bacteria, so if they are barbied, make sure they are really hot. Green prawns that are cooked from raw to hot are the best option, rather than "warming through" already cooked prawns, IYKWIM?

i thought cold prawns were ok too, just not raw seafood like oysters and sushi etc.

I hope that you are right Min! Love cold prawns.......
[-o<

Megan

I love cold prawns i hope they are okay to eat. I was going to get some for Christmas day.

Sorry ladies, didn't mean to freak you out!!

Cold prawns are also fine, as long as they are cooked and chilled properly. The ones you get from the supermarket would be fine as long as they are not hanging about for too long in warm temps!

The problem with any food posioning/bacteria is when the bacteria has the opportunity to multiply....ie if prawns are left out in a salad say, & then it gets a bit warm, the prawns are exposed to cross contamination (from people and/or other foods) and then the bacteria has the ideal environment to grow (ie warm and moist).

So clean cooked chilled prawns are fine......just don't let them hang around too long!

Guys, I did 4 long and boring years at uni doing all this, so any questions re food/listeria/nutrition, just let me know and I will do my best.

Just a point on Listeria.......the reason that these days all Dr's etc encourage us to be strict and vigilant about what we as pregnant women eat is because the Listeria bacteria doesn't always affect us (the mothers) .....it has the potential to only attack the unborn child. That is why you need to be so cautious, because you might not feel sick, but it could aftect the unborn bubs. It also can take a long time for Listeria to incubate, so you might not feel ill until up to a few weeks after you have eaten an offending food.

I might maybe do a post on the basics of Listeria and put it as a sticky?

Take care all..........

Thanks for the detailed post Lucy - phew - can relax about the whole prawn thing now!

Another question though - and I have heard mixed reports on this which is why I am asking again, is fetta OK?

Thanks again

Megan

WOOOHOOO!!!
lucy youve made my day :D
prawns for xmas lunch it is then yay!!!

megan, i know what u mean about giving up smoked salmon!!!!.. oh how hard!! i love that stuff, and it makes it worse when anthony eats it in front of me :(

i think thats a good idea lucy, to do a post on listeria and put it as a sticky, if you havent already :)

take care
Lesley

What I have done ladies, is take some really good info of Kelly's, and posted at the top of this forum as an announcement so it will stay at the top.

Fetta..........Fetta is a soft cheese, so I hate to tell you this, but you should avoid it........sorry, but I wouldn't be taking the risk.

Good to know about the prawns Lucy. Thanks :)

i am so hungry for prawns now with yummy home made seafood sauce, come on christmas, hurry up and get here. forget the presents, i just want the prawns!!! :D

I made a chicken salad last night for dinner which has been refrigerated since then, and I wanted to have the rest for lunch today, is this ok?

oh thats a hard one, but I don't think so. It depends on how strict you are. There is the list at the top that might help, but I was always told not to have meats that have been cooked & then cold. Anyone else?

Yeah I think you need to have the chicken reheated before you are supposed to eat it.

Would not have a clue Min - I am in the dark about these things like you :-s ...Lucy is the guru on this topic and has been an enormous help to us over the past few days...

Would like to know as well though

Megan

I wouldn't eat it as I was under the same impression as Christy, which brings me to ask...how is it ok to eat cooked cold prawns when other cooked meats are a no no? All the information I have says that pre cooked cold prawns are still a no no...hmmm conflicting LOL!

*hugs*
Cailin

Just wanted to add that I just rechecked the fact sheet for the australian food safety council and cooked cold prawns are a no no. They do have many many fact sheets available to look at.

*hugs*
Cailin

Bugga bugga bugga! I've eaten prawns already too a few weeks ago 8-[

Oh my god Cailin - can that be true about the prawns? That is so sad - and I am really confused now with all of the conflicting information!

Megan

Guys, it is complicated, and there are "conflicting" bits of information becasue of the time and number of processes that go on between raw food and the food that goes in your mouth.

With regard to cold cooked prawns or cold cooked anything the problem is that the time it takes food that has been cooked to cool down is quite long and do you know how it has been stored whilst it is cooling?

ie You cook some raw prawns on the bbq , then take them off the BBQ and leave them "to cool" on a plate whilst you cook the snags and have a gossip.........those prawns are coming back down to an ambient temp VERY slowly, in the open air, so I would NOT risk those prawns.

However, if you are cooking prawns in your kitchen, and as soon as they are cooked you devein them &put them on a clean plate at the back of the fridge, covered, they will go cold quickly, so these would be regarded as safe.

Same with cold chicken. For example, if you bought a cooked BBQ chook at Woolies and it was "cooling down" in the car and then you get home, unpack the shopping and put the chicken away, then I wouldn't risk this (not from a Listeria perspective, but from a Salmonella perspective.)

If however, you cook some chicken breasts to a very high temp in the oven, and then as soon as they are cooked put them covered in the fridge, then shred the meat for sandwhiches the next day, this would not be a risk.

I guess the best rule of thumb, and one that I follow, is, IF YOU ARE UNSURE, DON'T RISK IT!

Thanks Lucy, that clears that up, was looking forward to my chicken salad, so i am still going to have it. i never buy cooked cold meats from supermarket or anywhere because like you said, you dont know how they were cooled, but I do eat cooked cold meat from home, because I know how I cool it and how it is stored etc.

Agree totally, if I cook at home and know what I am doing then I feel fine with most foods, as I know how its been prepared or stored. But I wouldn't be so sure if I ate at a friends or a restaurant. So I would only then eat what I knew would be safe from listeria. I made sure I never ate from a buffet, or food court (unless you could order something freshly cooked), and if I was going to have take away/fast food I always asked for everything to be made fresh.

But yeah I agree with lucy, if your not sure don't take the risk :)

*hugs*
Cailin

Ha ha Cailin.........that reminds me of an embarassing story of when I was pg with Olivia..........a friend did a cold meat/cheese platter, and I didn't eat anything from it, becasue I wasn't sure how long it had been out for, how fastidious she might have been in her preparation etc.

A few weeks later they came round to our place for drinks and I had done a similar platter......and of course I ate stuff from it! (Becasue I know I had prepared it and that it was all fine!)

She never actually said anything, but I did get some funny looks from her hubby!!

Okey dokey, I don't want to harp on about it, but just wanted to see what you guys think....

We sell frozen cooked prawns at work. They are caught out at sea, cooked & frozen on the container ship & then brought back here in the frozen container. They then go into freezers at the supplier, onto freezer trucks into our warehouse then into my freezer at home. What do you think about how we should thaw them to eat? Usually we just leave them covered in the fridge overnight. Do you think that's still ok??

Funny that your friend never commented Lucy!

Wow so complicated! Thanks Lucy so much for the info!

Sarah, I reckon they are ok as long as they have been frozen the whole time. and defrosting them in the fridge is the best way to do it, as they still stay cold enough for the bacteria not to grow. I'd eat em.

thanks for all the info lucy!

it makes it easier to understand these things when someone says in detail :)

take care
Lesley

Hi Guys :D

I want to cook some burgers tonight that contain Fetta. If I get a pasturised one and then it is heated when the burgers cook is that ok? Or should I take the fetta out do you think?

Thanks!

Jen,

If you cook the burgers on the well done side to high temps I would imagine you would be OK. But if you are unsure at all, don't risk it!

Thanks Lucy :D
I'll have a think about it, but if I do use it I'll cook the absolute s**t out of them! :lol:

ellen, i heard that bringing to room temp without covering tightly as well and not refrigerating hot food was the safest way too.