Can you eat oysters while pregnant?

What to avoid

• Level E FDA: Raw oysters, even if they are treated after they have been harvested. (FDA list of foods for at-risk groups to avoid: pregnant women, children, older adults, people with weakened immune systems) FDA, Selecting and Serving Fresh and Frozen Seafood Safely, accessed 2026-10-12
• Level E CDC: Do not eat raw or undercooked oysters or other seafood. Cook them before eating. CDC, Vibrio Infection Prevention, accessed 2026-10-12
• Level E CDC: Do not eat raw or undercooked oysters, mussels, or clams (these may be contaminated with Toxoplasma that has washed into seawater). CDC, Toxoplasmosis Prevention, accessed 2026-10-12
• Level E FDA: Raw or undercooked fish or shellfish, or food containing raw or undercooked seafood (for example, sashimi) found in some sushi or ceviche. (FDA list of foods for at-risk groups to avoid: pregnant women, children, older adults, people with weakened immune systems) FDA, Selecting and Serving Fresh and Frozen Seafood Safely, accessed 2026-10-12
• Level E FoodSafety.gov: Raw seafood may contain parasites or germs, including Listeria, that can make pregnant women sick and could potentially harm their babies. FoodSafety.gov, People at Risk: Pregnant Women, accessed 2026-10-12
• Level E CDC: Only eat shellfish that open during cooking. Throw out any that don't open fully during cooking. CDC, Vibrio Infection Prevention, accessed 2026-10-12

Amounts and limits

• Level E FDA: Those who are pregnant or breastfeeding consume between 8 and 12 ounces per week of a variety of seafood from choices that are lower in mercury. FDA, Food Safety for Pregnant Women and Their Unborn Babies (booklet), accessed 2026-10-12

How to cook or handle it

• Level E FoodSafety.gov: Clams, oysters, mussels Cook until shells open during cooking (Safe Minimum Internal Temperature chart row (cells joined by a space)) FoodSafety.gov, Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures, accessed 2026-10-12
• Level E FDA: Cook clams, mussels, and oysters until the shells open. If the shells do not open, do not eat the food inside. FDA, Food Safety for Pregnant Women and Their Unborn Babies (booklet), accessed 2026-10-12
• Level E CDC: Boil until the shells open and continue boiling for another 3–5 minutes. CDC, Vibrio Infection Prevention, accessed 2026-10-12
• Level E CDC: Cook oysters and other shellfish thoroughly to an internal temperature of at least 145°F. CDC, Preventing Norovirus, accessed 2026-10-12

Why the advice exists

• Level E CDC: Quick steaming processes will not heat foods enough to kill noroviruses. CDC, Preventing Norovirus, accessed 2026-10-12
• Level E CDC: Most people get a Vibrio infection by eating raw or undercooked shellfish, especially oysters. CDC, Vibrio Infection Prevention, 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.

Mercury: FDA testing 1990 to 2012. Groups and servings: FDA and EPA advice for people who are or may become pregnant and those who are breastfeeding. A serving is 4 oz (113 g) before cooking.

USDA FoodData Central, Mollusks, oyster, eastern, wild, cooked, moist heat. It has 116 calories. Daily Values are the standard adult label values, not pregnancy targets.

• Level C Across 359 shellfish linked viral outbreaks collected worldwide, oysters were the shellfish involved in 58.4% of them and norovirus was the pathogen in 83.7%. Food Environ Virol, 2013
• Level E CDC states that hot sauce, lemon juice and alcohol do not kill Vibrio in raw oysters and that a contaminated oyster does not look, smell or taste different, so neither the condiment nor an experienced palate makes a raw oyster safe. CDC, Vibrio and Oysters

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.

Raw oysters are behind most shellfish-linked viral outbreaks. Across 359 shellfish-linked viral outbreaks worldwide, oysters were involved in 58.4%, and norovirus was the cause in 83.7% (Level C). CDC adds that hot sauce, lemon juice and alcohol do not kill Vibrio, and a contaminated oyster looks, smells and tastes normal (Level E).

Cooked oysters are a different story. They are low in mercury, and a 4 oz serving of cooked oysters has about 10 mg of iron and 20 mcg of vitamin B12.

Fried, baked or stewed oysters count as cooked when they reach 145°F inside, the CDC bar for oysters and other shellfish. A quick steam is not enough, because CDC notes it does not heat food enough to kill norovirus. If you cook them in the shell, throw out any that do not open.

Evidence behind this note

1. Level C Across 359 shellfish linked viral outbreaks collected worldwide, oysters were the shellfish involved in 58.4% of them and norovirus was the pathogen in 83.7%. Food Environ Virol, 2013
2. Level E CDC states that hot sauce, lemon juice and alcohol do not kill Vibrio in raw oysters and that a contaminated oyster does not look, smell or taste different, so neither the condiment nor an experienced palate makes a raw oyster safe. CDC, Vibrio and Oysters

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

• Oysters: what the research says
• Can you eat oysters raw?