Former The Only Way Is Essex star, Maria Fowler, has faced a wave of criticism after she posted a photo of herself enjoying a soft ice cream while pregnant.
Fowler’s social media following reacted strongly against the photo as many believed that eating soft-ice cream is unsafe in pregnancy. There is a lot of debate around which foods are safe to eat during pregnancy. Soft ice cream and processed products should be fine as they are made with pasteurised milk and eggs. This means that any risk of salmonella food poisoning has been eliminated.
If it's homemade ice cream you're after then make sure you use a pasteurised egg substitute or follow an egg-free recipe.
Our midwife Kate explains:
“For everyone asking about soft ice creams - they are safe to eat in pregnancy. If you are concerned about the food safety of the ice cream served from a van (or in fact, any food served anywhere), you can look out for the Food Standards Agency certificate, often displayed on the van, which should reassure you. A score of 4 or 5 is a great indicator that the van has a high standard of food hygiene and you can enjoy your ice cream without worrying.”
You can find more about eating ice cream in pregnancy on the NHS Choices website.
Read our tips on foods to avoid during pregnancy.
