The sushi or sashimi that are traditionally eaten in Japanese cuisine should be eliminated from the pregnant woman's diet, in the same way as raw meat. These are raw fish or seafood dishes. The ban on the consumption of raw fish during pregnancy It is to avoid the risk of poisoning or infections due to the parasites that raw fish can have, as is the case with anisakis.
Anisakis is a parasite that can be housed in various fish such as cod, sardine, anchovy, herring, salmon, pollock, hake, whiting, mackerel, bonito or horse mackerel.
The danger of it happening to the human being is not only in raw fish, but also in smoked, salted, in vinegar or marinade, which have not undergone cooking processes. The same for squid, octopus, oysters or raw clams. Undercooked fish or shellfish could also be harmful.
How the parasite is eliminated
One of the possibilities to eliminate the parasite is to freeze raw fish to a ttemperature below -20 ºC, during the 24 or 72 hours prior to consumption.
Another way to end the parasite is to heat it: cook the fish to be consumed at a temperature that ranges between 55 and 70 ° C for at least 10 minutes. Therefore, it is safe to consume hot smoked and pasteurized products, since they cause the inactivation of the parasite.
This prohibition does not mean that we should give up Japanese food, because among the wide sure menu we find other delicacies that are well cooked, whether fish, meat or vegetables.
In Babies and more18 foods that are prohibited during pregnancy and may harm your babyIn Spanish legislation, since 2006, establishments that serve food are obliged to apply all the above measures to ensure that they do not contain anisakis.
However, if you do not have complete confidence with the preparation and since it is virtually impossible to be sure that all the requirements have been met, Better leave these raw fish dishes for after pregnancy.
