Can you eat mushrooms while pregnant?
Cooked mushrooms, yes, but CDC tells people at increased risk of Listeria, which includes pregnancy, not to eat raw mushrooms.
This page covers food safety in pregnancy. The same advice applies to other people at higher risk of foodborne illness: older adults, young children and people with weakened immune systems. If your doctor has given you a specific diet, follow it.
What CDC says
What to avoid
- Level E CDC:
If you are at increased risk for infection, do not eat raw mushrooms.
(CDC advice on enoki mushrooms and Listeria) CDC, Preventing Listeria Infection, 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 - Level E CDC:
The good news is that Listeria are easily killed by heating food to a high enough temperature.
CDC, Listeria: Causes and How It Spreads, 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.
In practice
CDC gives this advice in its Listeria prevention section on enoki mushrooms, which have been linked to outbreaks, but the advice covers raw mushrooms of any kind. Cooking kills Listeria, so mushrooms that are sautéed, roasted or simmered in soup until cooked through are fine.
What to skip is raw mushrooms in salads and on vegetable platters, and enoki dropped into a dish at the last moment without cooking through.
The same advice applies to anyone at higher risk of Listeria, including adults 65 and older and people with weakened immune systems.
Written from the agency positions and data on this page, reviewed by the Bioma editorial system. How we verify.
Keep exploring
Sources
- CDC, Preventing Listeria Infection, https://www.cdc.gov/listeria/prevention/index.html (accessed 2026-10-12)
- CDC, People at Risk for Listeria Infection, https://www.cdc.gov/listeria/risk-factors/index.html (accessed 2026-10-12)
- CDC, Listeria: Causes and How It Spreads, https://www.cdc.gov/listeria/causes/index.html (accessed 2026-10-12)
Agency pages checked 2026-10-12. Bioma Learn provides information, not medical advice.