Can You Have Mayo While Pregnant? Mayonnaise and Aioli

Mayonnaise in pregnancy: how to think about it

FDA food-safety guidance says commercial mayonnaise, dressings and sauces contain pasteurized eggs. FDA, CDC and FoodSafety.gov pregnancy resources caution against raw or undercooked eggs, and FoodSafety.gov says foods with raw or lightly cooked eggs should use pasteurized eggs. CDC also treats premade deli salads such as egg salad, tuna salad and potato salad as riskier choices for pregnant people. NHS gives UK-specific egg guidance: raw-egg foods such as mayonnaise can be eaten if made with British Lion eggs or hen eggs produced under the Laid in Britain scheme.

Working through a longer grocery list? The Pregnancy Food Safety Hub gathers all 50 SafeMama food and drink guides, grouped by pasteurization, cooking temperature and mercury questions.

Mayonnaise: safer choices

• Choose commercial mayonnaise, dressing, garlic mayo or spicy mayo made with pasteurized eggs or pasteurized egg product.
• Keep opened jars refrigerated, use clean utensils, and follow the use-by or best-by date.
• For UK searches, NHS says foods like mayonnaise made with raw eggs can be eaten when made with British Lion eggs or eggs produced under the Laid in Britain scheme.
• For egg mayo sandwiches, potato salad, tuna salad or deli salads, check that the food was kept chilled and eaten before the use-by date.

Mayonnaise: what to avoid or double-check

• Avoid homemade mayonnaise, aioli, hollandaise, Caesar dressing, mousse, tiramisu, eggnog or raw batter unless pasteurized eggs are used or the food is cooked appropriately.
• Avoid restaurant or deli sauces if staff cannot confirm whether the eggs are pasteurized, British Lion or cooked.
• Avoid unrefrigerated egg salad, potato salad, tuna salad, buffet trays, shared condiments with unclear handling, and cracked, dirty or raw shell eggs from unknown sources.

How SafeMama helps

SafeMama can flag mayonnaise, mayo, aioli, garlic mayo, spicy mayo, egg mayo, raw egg, pasteurized egg wording, British Lion egg wording, deli salad labels, refrigeration instructions, use-by dates and food-safety cautions on prepared foods.

Open the SafeMama app, scan the barcode or search the ingredient, then use the result as a starting point for a conversation with your healthcare provider.

Sources

• FDA dairy and eggs food safety for moms-to-be
• CDC safer food choices for pregnant women
• FoodSafety.gov pregnant women food safety
• NHS foods to avoid in pregnancy