Let's talk sandwiches

stepamos · March 2016

I love a cold deli sandwich, and I ate them throughout my entire first pregnancy. I haven't had one yet since "they" say not to eat cold deli meat without zapping it in the microwave (makes me gag at the moment). Seems like you have just as much of a risk of contracting listeria by eating fruit and veggies as you do deli meat. In fact the last few outbreaks included packaged salads, apples, and ice cream.

No one says stay away from the other foods that can contain listeria. Why single out deli meat? Please ladies, educate me?

juliehollz13 · March 2016

Not sure either and I am pretty bummed about the whole sammich thing as well because I finally found this all natural, hormone free, blah blah blah brand of lunch meat at my local Trader Joes that is the best deli meat i've ever had and now I have to give it up. Boo.

GreenEyedUnicorn · March 2016

Just eat sandwiches. Don't zap shit. Just make a sandwich, and eat it.

rspalding001 · March 2016

You can always boil chicken and then refrigerate it and slice it up yourself for a sandwich. Its a little more work but not that much really. I was always bad and ate the deli meat anyway during my first pregnancy. last year I got food poisoning however from a chain restaurant salad so no I'm extra nervous.

stepamos · March 2016

GreenEyedUnicorn said:

Just eat sandwiches. Don't zap shit. Just make a sandwich, and eat it.

I like your style

atcwag · March 2016

I eat them in moderation. Did during my first pregnancy too. The salt content is more of an issue than the possible listeria risk IMO.

NordyMN89 · March 2016

atcwag said:

I eat them in moderation. Did during my first pregnancy too. The salt content is more of an issue than the possible listeria risk IMO.

^This^ - I was told it's fine in moderation, and the main concern was the amount of sodium. Just keep your sodium intake to a minimum and deli meat will be fine.

ShallowSeas · March 2016

Eating them in moderation is fine. From what I've heard and read, just about anything in moderation is fine during pregnancy, as long as it comes from a reputable source that you trust. If you've eaten sushi from the same restaurant for 5 years without getting sick, then you're probably okay to eat it during pregnancy without being sick...and the same goes for most things. It all depends on your comfort level.

comealongponds · March 2016

There was a massive listeria outbreak in Canada about six years ago caused by Maple Leaf Foods deli meat. Twenty two people died of the 57 confirmed cases (38.5% of those infected); there are no stats on pregnancy loss or complications from that outbreak that I can find. That is enough to freak me right the hell out about deli meat, especially since pregnant women have mildly impaired immune systems already, making them more suceptible to infection.

Scary numbers and talk of miscarriage/stillbirth below:

1. As as for listeria infection: it can cause preterm labour, miscarriage, infection of the newborn or still birth.
2. 22% of listeria infections in a pregnant woman will result in stillbirth or fetal demise.
3. Late term infection can result in neonatal infection and sepsis within 24 hours of life however it may take more than seven days to manifest. Sepsis is a life threatening situation.
4. Listeria is able to grow at refrigerator temperatures and freezing does not impar growth either.

Deli meats are at an increased risk because while they are cooked to a theoretically appropriate temperature, there's also risk of comtamination during the slicing and packaging process. The outbreak in Canada resulted in improperly cleaned slicing equipment contaminating each meat as it was sliced for packaging. If you don't heat it to steaming, any bacteria present are alive and well (heating to steaming will kill the majority of the pathogens). Unlike veggies, you don't wash your deli meat before you eat it, which also increases the risk. This is why it's important to wash your veggies (even the pre-washed ones) before you eat them, to minimize the risk of infection (or cook the veggies!). Personal anecdote: DH used to work at a deli counter in high school and said the slicer rarely got cleaned and was never completely dismantled and fully cleaned to his knowledge.

So, I mean, it's really up to you and what your comfort level is in reality. I personally am going to avoid deli meats unless they're heated for the duration of this pregnancy but this is definitely on of those you do you and I'll do me sort of situations.

comealongponds · March 2016

On that note, I would kill for a Tim Hortons Italian sandwich right now...might have to get DH to bring the components home from work so I can nuke the meat and have one tomorrow!

Ally0221 · March 2016

Durning my first pregnancy, whilst in the throes of morning sickness and food aversions in the first tri, all I could eat were Jimmy John's sandwiches. So for three weeks, my teeny tiny DS and I lived solely off of Jimmy John's sandwiches. He's a happy healthy 4 year old who doesn't really care for Jimmy John's, lol!

evilgreencows5 · March 2016

I have had several this pregnancy. I looked on the cdc website regarding Listeria and since 2011 no deli meat has been caught with it. Soft cheese, cantaloupe, and ice cream has but I'm not giving up ice cream. They can suck it.

Edited for terrible autocorrect

missteacherlady16 · March 2016

*lurking from O'16*

i love turkey hoagies, and I had some reservations but after reading Expecting Better, I stopped freaking myself out. I recommend it if any of you haven't read it already

sugar9277 · March 2016

Agree with several PPs. Listeria has not been identified in deli meat since 2011. The most recent outbreaks have included cantaloupes, bagged salad, and ice cream - not deli meat.
Yes, there is a high rate of fetal loss in confirmed cases of Listeria infection, but the chances of an individual getting listeria over the course of a 9-month pregnancy are less than .0002% - that's less than 1/500,000.

Those are the numbers - make your own decision. Microwave if it makes you feel better.
I will be eating sandwiches. :-)

stepamos · March 2016

This was me for lunch. I did it. I ate a cold sandwich. It was glorious.

ETA: it was actually toasted.

rencontrezmoi · March 2016

I'll be avoiding deli meat. Then again, I am a bit paranoid. I have quite a personal story, as I may or may not have had listeriosis while pregnant with DD.

Here's the long version if you're bored. And I'm totally not trying to freak anyone out with this story. I'm just telling you why I'm going to be pretty cautious about what I eat during this pregnancy.

When I was pregnant with DD, we threw a Christmas party, and one of the things we served was this crab dip from Costco. I think the brand was GoldCoast. Anyway, I ate a good amount of it. It tasted fine. So two weeks later, when I was 25 weeks pregnant, I became deathly ill. I seriously have never been so sick in my life. I was shaking, temp was 103, I could not stop vomiting and was having (sorry TMI) bloody diarrhea. When we got to the hospital, when they hooked me up to the fetal monitor, they found that I was having contractions and had dilated to 1 cm. They could tell DD was in distress because her heart rate was over 200 beats per minute (normal for her was between 130-140). I was given Procardia to stop the contractions, but it wasn't working, and the Procardia dropped my blood pressure too low and made my oxygen levels drop. I was sent by ambulance to a hospital an hour away, because the local hospital didn't have a NICU, and the OB didn't think they could halt my labor. A few hours after I got to the larger hospital, my fever finally broke, and once that happened, my labor stopped, and DD's heart rate began to come down. I spent 4 nights in the hospital, with no clue what had made me so sick.

About a month later, in February 2013, we got a letter from Costco that said the crap dip we had bought in December was contaminated with listeria. My OB said that this was most likely the culprit behind my crazy sickness, but I was not tested for listeriosis while I was in the hospital, so we have no way of knowing for sure. Thankfully, DD was born perfectly healthy.

Anyway, the moral of my story is that I won't be eating deli meat or soft cheeses (or any crab dips) during this pregnancy. Cheers to you if you made it through all of that

Stelllar · March 2016

I have been wondering.....do they mean just meat from the deli that is specifically cut for you or does the pre packaged meat like Oscar Mayer also count?

whaat · March 2016

I'm eating a California roll right now to replace my usual spicy salmon roll and it's the saddest fucking thing. I feel like asking my doctor about it tomorrow but I can probably guess what she'll say.

rspalding001 · March 2016

@Stelllar they mean both. Basically anything that is prepared food is suspect since it could have been contaminated in the production/preparation process. if you heat the meat it will kill the listeria so hot sandwiches are OK however.

jarethinafrock · March 2016

@whaat When it comes to sushi, I read that the thing you really need to worry about is not eating anything with a high mercury content. Basically, avoid any sushi with tuna in it and you should be fine. At least that is what I am doing.

MollySm · March 2016

Yeah, sushi is not one of those things that is supposed to have the possibility of listeria. There's no reason not to eat it, even the raw fish kind. It's not actually raw, it's flash frozen which kills the same things that cooking does. You should keep your mercury consumption low, but you'd have to eat a ton of tuna to get too h

m6agua · March 2016

I am following the everything in moderation thought. I have had a couple hot dogs already. I will probably eat some sandwiches at some point, and I wan't sushi so bad. I normally get it from a local grocery store and have never had an issue but I am not sure if I want it from there. There are a couple of great sushi places in town that we have been wanting to try out.

whaat · March 2016

Ok. I thought there was a salmonella risk, too. But let's be honest. Salmonella is not the worst thing. our hospital cafeteria has pretty good sushi (really) and I used to eat it all the time.
They also say the omega3 benefit outweighs the mercury risk. Just think about Japan.. I wonder if this is an issue there. (Spoiler: it's not)
even though I know these things I still get myself nervous which is annoying.

Mksbc · March 2016

After it coming up so often here I've started reading Expecting Better. I was so paranoid with my last pregnancy and it sounds like a lot of it was unfounded. My goal is to be more relaxed and informed this time around.

In reference to sandwiches, I've been craving Jimmy Johns so I've been getting their veggie one. But now it sounds like the veggies might be more to worry about than the lunch meat!

whaat · March 2016

Haha @mksbc I walked into Jimmy Johns the other day then walked right out. It's silly! I should have a sandwich.

NatashaSprout · March 2016

I'll be over here with my sammich and sushi. Everything in moderation. Except sex. I like a lot of sex.

josiebegosie2002 · March 2016

FWIW, my ob was fine with sandwiches as long as the deli meat was new and well chilled, i.e. Don't make a sandwich from meat set out on buffet or anything like that. I toned down my consumption with dd but still ate it throughout the entire pregnancy. I haven't yet with this pregnancy but I will once I'm further along. No rhyme or reason to my waiting, just makes my crazy self feel safer lol.

ElleBell13 · March 2016

I have been going to Firehouse Subs and ask them to steam the meat twice but honestly, all I really want is a nice Jimmy John's sub!

TrulyBlessed22 · March 2016

My opinion (and that's all it is) is that it's only 9 months so I pretty much listen to the eating restriction suggestions regarding pregnancy. Yes, many of the concerns are unfounded and others only have a teeny tiny percent of happening but I would hate myself if I was in that teeny tiny percentage and I could have avoided it. I figure I've given up other things for my own health and well being...why not for my growing baby for 9 months. This is a personal decision and I don't judge anyone who feels otherwise, like @comealongponds said this is def one of those you do you and I'll do me situations.

mrsflamingo · March 2016

@Ally0221 I ate SO much Jimmy John's when I was pregnant with my 2yo! It was often the only thing that sounded edible.

AmyReneT · March 2016

i just ate Scrubway for lunch... woopz.................. nah, it's ok it was super yummy

Thewizardofrhythm · March 2016

Last pregnancy I asked my doctor about every little thing and the answer was the same every time: it's ok if it comes from a safe and clean environment. So, I wouldnt eat deli meat from subway or the like because imo that's not what I consider a clean and safe environment. But, I would get roast turkey deli meat from my local grocery store who makes it in house. I will definitely be eating sushi from restaurants that have an A rating (restos are rated by cleanliness where I'm from) and the vast majority of cheese in the us is pasteurized so all of that too.

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