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Protect Your Baby and Yourself From Listeriosis
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Pregnant women are at high risk for getting sick from Listeria, harmful bacteria found in many foods. Listeria
can lead to a disease called listeriosis. Listeriosis can cause miscarriage, premature delivery, serious sickness,
or death of a newborn baby. If you are pregnant, you need to know what foods are safe to eat.
How will I know If I have listeriosis?
Because the illness could take weeks to show up, you may not know you have it.
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What can I do to keep my
baby and myself safe from
listeriosis?
Do not eat hot dogs, luncheon meats, bologna, or other deli meats unless they are reheated until steaming hot.
Do not eat refrigerated pâté, meat spreads from a meat counter, or smoked seafood found in the refrigerated section of the store. Foods that don’t need refrigeration, like canned tuna and canned salmon, are okay to eat. Refrigerate after opening.
Do not drink raw (unpasteurized) milk and do not eat foods that have unpasteurized milk in them.
Do not eat salads made in the store such as ham salad, chicken salad, egg salad, tuna salad, or seafood salad.
Do not eat soft cheese such as Feta, queso blanco, queso fresco, Brie, Camembert cheeses, blue-veined cheeses, and Panela unless it is labeled as made with pasteurized milk. Make sure the label says, "MADE WITH PASTEURIZED MILK."
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Early signs may include fever, chills, muscle aches, diarrhea, and upset stomach.
At first, you may feel as if you have the flu. Later on, you could have a stiff neck, headache, convulsions, or lose your balance.
Every year, 2,500 Americans become sick from listeriosis, with 1 out of 5 dying from the illness.
What should I do If I think I have listeriosis?
Call your doctor, nurse, or health clinic if you have any of the signs. If you have listeriosis, your doctor can treat you.
Fight Bacteria – Fight BAC!®
1 Clean: Wash hands often with soap and warm water. Use clean
dishes, spoons, knives, and forks. Wash countertops with hot soapy water and
clean up spills right away.
2 Separate: Keep raw meat, fish, and
poultry away from other food that will
not be cooked.
3 Cook: Cook food to a safe internal
temperature. Check with a food
thermometer. Ground beef 160 °F;
Chicken breasts 170 °F; Whole turkey
180 °F; Pork 160 °F.
4 Chill: Refrigerate or freeze within
2 hours–refrigerate or freeze within
1 hour in hot weather (above 90 °F).
Don't leave meat, fish, poultry, or cooked
food sitting out.
What can I do to keep my food safe?
- Listeria can grow in the refrigerator. The
refrigerator should be 40 °F or lower,
and the freezer 0 °F or lower. Use a
refrigerator thermometer to check your
refrigerator's inside temperature.
- Clean up all spills in your refrigerator
right away–especially juices from hot dog
packages or raw meat or chicken/turkey.
- Clean the inside walls and shelves of
your refrigerator with hot water and
liquid soap, then rinse.
- Use precooked or ready-to-eat food
as soon as you can. Don't store it in the
refrigerator too long.
- Wash your hands after you touch
hot dogs, raw meat, chicken, turkey, or
seafood or their juices.
For more information about food safety:
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Food Safety and Inspection Service
www.fsis.usda.gov
USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline
1-888-MPHotline (toll-free nationwide)
or 1-888-674-6854 · TTY: 1-800-256-7072
Ask Karen: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
September 2004
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