Is ceviche safe during pregnancy?

What does the evidence say about ceviche during pregnancy?

1. Cooking fish and shellfish to at least 145°F is the recommended safety step, and marinating in citrus isn't a substitute for that heat. 1
2. In lab testing on real ceviche, a lime juice marinade cut Vibrio bacteria sharply but barely touched Salmonella on the same fish, so citrus doesn't clear every germ equally. 2
3. Nearly 1 in 4 commercial ceviche servings tested in one study still had live parasite larvae, because ceviche's acidity is close to stomach acid, a condition the larvae can already survive. 3
4. Eating raw or undercooked seafood is linked to Vibrio infection, and full cooking, not marinating, is the food-safety step that's recommended. 4
5. Uncooked fish is one of the foods more likely to carry Listeria, and a Listeria infection during pregnancy raises the chance of preterm delivery, low birth weight, or, in severe cases, stillbirth. 5

Is ceviche safe in each trimester?

• First trimester. Skip raw, citrus-marinated fish in the first trimester too. If you're craving that bright, tangy flavor, try a ceviche-style salad made with cooked shrimp or fish instead.
• Second trimester. The risk from raw fish doesn't go down as pregnancy continues, so keep avoiding ceviche in the second trimester. You may eat out or travel more during this stretch, and that's exactly when a menu item called 'ceviche' is most likely to be truly raw.
• Third trimester. Nothing changes in the third trimester. A citrus marinade still won't reliably clear Vibrio, Listeria, or parasite larvae from raw fish, so if ceviche is on the menu, ask whether the fish was cooked before it was marinated.