Can you eat hot dogs while pregnant?

What to avoid

• Level E CDC: Unheated deli meat, cold cuts, hot dogs, and fermented or dry sausages (table «Safer Food Choices», column: Avoid) CDC, Preventing Listeria Infection, accessed 2026-10-12
• Level E FDA: Cold or improperly heated hot dogs. («Make Safe Menu Choices», Higher Risk) FDA, Food Safety for Pregnant Women and Their Unborn Babies (booklet), accessed 2026-10-12

Safer choices and when it is OK

• Level E FDA: Hot dogs reheated to steaming hot. («Make Safe Menu Choices», Lower Risk) FDA, Food Safety for Pregnant Women and Their Unborn Babies (booklet), accessed 2026-10-12
• Level E CDC: Deli meat, cold cuts, hot dogs, and fermented or dry sausages reheated to 165°F or until steaming hot (table «Safer Food Choices», column: Choose these instead) CDC, Preventing Listeria Infection, accessed 2026-10-12
• Level E CDC: Refrigeration does not kill Listeria, but reheating before eating will kill any germs that may be on these meats. CDC, Listeria and Deli Meats, accessed 2026-10-12

How to cook or handle it

• Level E FoodSafety.gov: Reheat these meats to steaming hot or 165°F (74°C) before eating, even though the label says precooked. FoodSafety.gov, People at Risk: Pregnant Women, accessed 2026-10-12
• Level E FDA: Reheat hot dogs, luncheon meats, bologna, and other deli meats until steaming hot or, better, to 165ºF. FDA, Food Safety for Pregnant Women and Their Unborn Babies (booklet), accessed 2026-10-12
• Level E FDA: Reheating these foods until they are steaming hot destroys these dangerous bacteria and makes these foods safe for you to eat. FDA, Food Safety for Pregnant Women and Their Unborn Babies (booklet), accessed 2026-10-12

Why the advice exists

• Level E CDC: Every year in the United States, about 1 in 25,000 pregnant women are infected with Listeria. CDC, People at Risk for Listeria Infection, accessed 2026-10-12

Word-for-word quotes from official US sources. Level E means the position of an expert body. How we grade evidence.

• Level C The 1990s scare linking hot dogs in pregnancy to childhood brain tumors rests on case-control studies that pooled to a 33 percent higher risk, and the authors themselves said the designs preclude a definitive conclusion. Neuroepidemiology, 2004
• Level E FDA tells pregnant women to avoid hot dogs unless they are reheated until steaming hot, because pregnancy weakens the defense against Listeria. FDA, Listeria (Food Safety for Moms-to-Be), page dated 2025-01-16

Levels: A is a meta-analysis of trials, B a randomized trial, C an observational study, D lab or animal work, E an expert position. How we grade evidence.

Hot dogs are sold precooked, but Listeria can still be on them, and refrigeration does not kill it. Heating them until steaming hot, or to 165°F, does (Level E).

In practice, a hot dog heated until steaming hot all the way through, on the grill or in boiling water, is on the lower-risk side of FDA's chart. One eaten cold from the pack, or lukewarm from a buffet tray, falls on the higher-risk side.

You may also see an older claim linking hot dogs in pregnancy to childhood brain tumors. It rests on case-control studies that pooled to a 33% higher risk, and the authors said those designs cannot give a firm answer (Level C). Childhood brain tumors are rare, so a 33% relative rise, even if real, is a small absolute number.

Evidence behind this note

1. Level E FDA tells pregnant women to avoid hot dogs unless they are reheated until steaming hot, because pregnancy weakens the defense against Listeria. FDA, Listeria (Food Safety for Moms-to-Be), page dated 2025-01-16
2. Level C The 1990s scare linking hot dogs in pregnancy to childhood brain tumors rests on case-control studies that pooled to a 33 percent higher risk, and the authors themselves said the designs preclude a definitive conclusion. Neuroepidemiology, 2004

Written from the agency positions and data on this page, reviewed by the Bioma editorial system. How we verify.

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