Is avocado safe during pregnancy?

What does the evidence say about avocado during pregnancy?

1. In FDA testing of 1,615 whole fresh avocados, Listeria monocytogenes turned up on 17.73 percent of skin samples but in only 0.24 percent of pulp samples. 1
2. Salmonella prevalence across the same avocado samples was 0.74 percent, with all 12 positives found on the skin of domestically grown fruit and none on imported avocados. 1
3. At low exposure levels Listeria monocytogenes does not cause severe illness in healthy adults, but pregnant women, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems are susceptible to small amounts. 1
4. Rinsing raw fruit under running water before cutting is FDA's standing advice, with a small vegetable brush as an added precaution and no soap, detergent, or bleach. 2
5. Listeriosis in pregnancy can raise the chance of miscarriage, infection in the uterus, preterm delivery, low birth weight, and stillbirth. 3

Is avocado safe in each trimester?

• First trimester. Avocado is one of the more forgiving foods when nothing tastes right: soft, mild, no cooking smell. Nothing about early pregnancy changes the guidance. Start washing the skin now and the habit sticks for the rest of the year.
• Second trimester. Guacamole and avocado toast show up constantly in restaurants and at gatherings, where you cannot see how the fruit was washed. Pre-made dips also depend on the cold chain. Homemade is the version you control.
• Third trimester. Listeria can take weeks to produce symptoms, so anything unexplained late in pregnancy is worth a call rather than a wait. Keep pre-made avocado products refrigerated and respect their dates, since a soft, moist dip is a friendlier environment than a whole fruit.