Are runny eggs safe during pregnancy?

The verdict

This is the single clearest contradiction in pregnancy food guidance, and where you live decides the answer.

In the UK: hen eggs carrying the red British Lion stamp, or produced under the Laid in Britain scheme, can be eaten raw, partially cooked with a runny yolk, or well cooked - as long as they are eaten before the use-by date. That includes soft-boiled eggs, poached eggs with a soft yolk, homemade mayonnaise and mousse. Non-Lion hen eggs, and all duck, goose and quail eggs, should be eaten well cooked.

In the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand: cook eggs until both the yolk and white are firm. Runny yolks, homemade mayonnaise, hollandaise, aioli, caesar dressing, mousse, tiramisu and raw batter are all on the avoid list.

Why the rules exist

Salmonella Enteritidis is the organism. It can be present inside an intact egg, not merely on the shell, which is why washing does not help and why cooking is the control.

The consequence in pregnancy is less severe than listeria. The NHS states it directly: salmonella is unlikely to harm your unborn baby, but you could get food poisoning, which can make you seriously unwell. Severe vomiting and diarrhoea cause dehydration, which is genuinely dangerous in pregnancy, and there are rare reports of salmonella causing more serious complications - but the primary risk is to the mother rather than the baby. That is a different risk profile from the cheese and deli-meat questions, and it explains why regulators have been willing to move on eggs when the underlying contamination rate changed.

Why the UK changed its advice

The UK position is not a relaxation of standards - it is a response to a measured change in the egg supply.

The Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food set up an expert group on egg safety in February 2015. Its report, published in July 2016, found that the presence of salmonella in UK eggs had been dramatically reduced and that the risk from eggs produced under the British Lion Code of Practice was very low. On 11 October 2017 the Food Standards Agency changed its advice, stating that infants, children, pregnant women and elderly people can now safely eat raw or lightly cooked eggs produced under that code. More than 90% of UK eggs are produced under the scheme.

The change was driven by vaccination of laying flocks, farm hygiene and transport controls. It was re-examined in March 2024, when FSA and Food Standards Scotland risk managers reviewed an updated salmonella risk profile and concluded that the 2016 assessment does not require an update and the risk has not significantly changed.

The exception the FSA states explicitly: the advice does not apply to people who are severely immunocompromised and on medically supervised diets.

No other country runs an equivalent national assurance scheme with a consumer-visible mark, which is the practical reason the advice has not travelled. US, Canadian and Australian guidance is written for an egg supply where the individual consumer cannot tell a low-risk egg from any other.

How to tell if an egg qualifies

Look for the red lion stamp printed on the shell itself, or the Laid in Britain logo on the box. The stamp is on the egg, not just the packaging, so a loose egg can still be identified.

Eggs used in restaurants, cafes and pre-made products are a different matter - you cannot see the shell. Many UK caterers use Lion eggs, but you would have to ask. Commercially produced mayonnaise, dressings and sauces are made with pasteurised egg everywhere and are safe regardless of country; the FDA says so explicitly.

The numbers, if you cook

Where guidance says cook, it gives temperatures. The FDA and USDA specify egg dishes such as frittata and quiche cooked to 160F (71C), or 165F (74C) if they contain meat or poultry. Health Canada specifies 74C for egg dishes. FSANZ says cook until both the yolk and white are firm, around 72C. Visually, a firm white and a firm yolk is the standard everywhere.

For recipes that need raw egg, the alternative recognised in the US, Canada and Australia is pasteurised egg - sold as pasteurised shell eggs, liquid pasteurised egg, or powdered egg white. The FDA notes that in-shell pasteurised eggs are heated to a temperature that kills bacteria without cooking the egg.

If you have already eaten a runny egg

The realistic risk is low even under the strictest guidance. The FDA cites a CDC estimate that roughly one egg in 20,000 may be contaminated - and that is a US figure, from the jurisdiction that advises against runny eggs.

There is nothing to test for and nothing to take preventively. Salmonella, unlike listeria, shows up fast: symptoms usually begin within 6 hours to 6 days, and are diarrhoea, fever, stomach cramps and vomiting. If that happens, the priority is fluids - dehydration is the mechanism that matters in pregnancy. Contact your midwife or doctor if you cannot keep fluids down, if you have a high fever, if there is blood in your stool, or if symptoms last more than a couple of days.

Where guidance differs

Directly and irreconcilably, on this one topic.

The UK permits runny Lion-marked eggs, reaffirmed in 2024. The CDC lists raw or undercooked (runny) eggs as a riskier choice. Health Canada lists raw or lightly cooked eggs as foods to avoid. FSANZ lists raw and lightly-cooked eggs, naming lightly poached eggs specifically, as higher-risk. New Zealand Food Safety says avoid raw eggs or foods containing them unless labelled as pasteurised.

Both positions are internally consistent. The UK is making a claim about British eggs, not about eggs in general - which is exactly why the advice does not transfer, and why a UK reader and a US reader can both be following their own regulator correctly and eating differently.