Can you eat surimi when you are pregnant?

Like an uncontrollable urge to eat surimi while you are pregnant? To find out if it is allowed to consume it during pregnancy and in what way, follow our advice.

If you ask a thousand and one questions during pregnancy, you have to admit that the ones that come up most often relate to food and in particular the food that we can eat or not when we are pregnant. A puzzle that unfortunately sometimes curbs our most irresistible desires and that seems to be renewed day after day, and pregnancy after pregnancy. One of these foods for which one wonders about a possible risk? Surimi of course, very popular in France, but whose composition is often not really known.

What is surimi?

Because we may eat it regularly, we sometimes dry it when it comes to giving the exact composition of the surimi. Some think that it is in fact crab sticks, others do not really know what (s) fish (s) composes it… A certain mystery surrounds this dish of Japanese origin, that it is necessary to to clarify, not only for the pregnant woman but also for any informed consumer. Surimi is actually a paste made from the flesh of white fish caught on the high seas. This white flesh is then cut, mixed, washed with fresh water, then frozen, and other ingredients are added to it before cook. The fish used for surimi are generally white-fleshed fish such as whiting, hake, hake, or even hoki.

What are the risks when eating surimi during pregnancy?

You certainly know if you are pregnant, certain foods are to be avoided during pregnancy to avoid contracting listeriosis. Because if this infectious disease, caused by the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes, can go almost unnoticed in a healthy person, it is very serious in some fragile people, including pregnant women. During pregnancy, listeriosis can indeed cause miscarriage, premature delivery, or cause sequelae in the baby after delivery. This is why pregnant women should be particularly careful not to consume especially raw milk cheeses, or raw meat or fish.
However, unlike sushi, smoked salmon, or seafood like oysters and raw shellfish, surimi not only undergoes long cooking at 70 ° C which destroys the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes, but it is also pasteurized . What to be able to quietly savor his little stick of surimi when you wish!

What are the precautions for eating pregnant surimi?

Be careful however, as every time she eats a prepared product, the expectant mother will have to look closely at the label, to see exactly which products make up the surimi that she is about to buy. First, the fish content can vary from a single to a double from one brand to another. So choose products with the highest fish content, even if it means paying a little more, to benefit from more protein. You can therefore rely on the AFNOR standard numbered NF V45-068, a voluntary standard that allows you to offer guarantees on the surimi we buy, thanks to common criteria chosen together by the manufacturers of surimi and Surimi-based specialties. This standard ensures that you can find a minimum of 30% fish meat in surimi.

So there are often 70% of other ingredients that should be known! These are generally water, potato starch and / or wheat starch, egg white, rapeseed oil, salt, sugar, natural flavors, and d paprika extract which will give it its famous red-orange color.
Some bad students can, however, add additives such as carrageenans, xanthan gum, sorbitol, glutamate, and even polyphosphates, the consumption of which is not recommended for pregnant women or for any consumer. So, if possible, choose products without preservatives, artificial flavors or colors.
Pregnant women who eat a low-salt diet because of the risk of hypertension should also take care that sodium levels are not too high and limit their consumption.
And as with any fresh product, do not forget to check the expiry date so as not to exceed it and quickly finish the package once opened.

Good to know : if it contains less vitamins than an unprocessed fish, surimi still contains vitamin A, vitamin E and vitamin B12, always good to take for pregnant women.

What other foods can be dangerous for pregnant women?

And because it is never unnecessary to remember the somewhat strict feeding rules for pregnant women, we re-read the following tips to ensure the good health of her future baby – and hers. Spread the word to other moms-to-be!

  • To avoid contracting listeriosis, caused by Listeria monocytogenes, we avoid cooked or raw cured meats consumed as they are, such as cooked or raw ham, jelly products, foie gras, etc., and seafood raw, including tarama, raw or smoked salmon. Dairy products made from raw milk as well as soft cheese and cheese with washed and flowery rind should be avoided. Prefer cheese made from pasteurized milk. Listeriosis remains quite rare, with only 300 to 400 cases per year, but should be absolutely avoided for pregnant women: the risks and consequences for the future baby could be very serious.
  • To avoid contracting toxoplasmosis, a parasitic infection, the expectant mother will ensure that the food they eat is always well cooked, such as meat, fish, and that the raw fruits and vegetables consumed are thoroughly washed, without presence earthen. Other sources of contamination are cats and their litter, and soil or river water contaminated with excrement.
  • To prevent too high a dose of vitamin A which could be harmful for our future baby, we avoid the consumption of liver, even cooked, and any product based on liver.
  • And for at least 9 months (and even longer if you choose to breastfeed your baby), of course you forget about alcohol. The consumption of alcohol during pregnancy is indeed the leading cause of mental disability of non-genetic origin in children in France.

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Video by Loïcia Fouillen