Can I Eat Runny Eggs While Pregnant? Complete Safety Guide 2026

Quick Answer (Runny Eggs)

Use caution. Runny or undercooked eggs can raise the risk of foodborne illness during pregnancy.

If you choose eggs with runny yolks, only do so when the eggs are pasteurized and cooked safely.

Why Runny Eggs Can Be Risky

The main concern is salmonella, which is more dangerous during pregnancy due to dehydration risk and potential complications.

Cooking eggs until both the whites and yolks are firm reduces risk.

Trimester-Specific Guidance

All trimesters: follow the same safety principles, avoid undercooked eggs unless pasteurized and handled properly.

How to Make Eggs Safer

Choose pasteurized eggs when possible.

Cook eggs thoroughly or use recipes that fully heat the egg mixture.

Avoid raw batter and homemade sauces made with raw eggs.

Safe Alternatives

Hard-boiled eggs, fully cooked scrambled eggs, omelets, or commercially prepared foods made with pasteurized eggs.

Understanding runny eggs in pregnancy

This one has genuinely changed, and it is good news. If your eggs carry the British Lion mark (or are otherwise pasteurised), they have been produced to a standard that makes salmonella very unlikely, and current UK guidance says runny or even raw Lion-marked eggs are fine in pregnancy. Soft-boiled, dippy, poached and lightly scrambled are all back on the menu.

The caution applies to eggs that are not Lion-marked or pasteurised, including many from abroad, loose farm eggs, or dishes made elsewhere where you cannot check. For those, cook until both white and yolk are firm. When you are eating out and cannot be sure, choosing a fully-cooked egg is the safe default.

FAQ

UK vs US: why the advice sounds different

If you've been left confused, it's usually because you're reading advice from two different countries. In the UK, the Food Standards Agency updated its guidance after the British Lion scheme dramatically cut salmonella in hen eggs, so runny and even raw Lion-marked eggs are now considered safe in pregnancy. In the US, the CDC and FDA still advise cooking eggs until both white and yolk are firm, because there's no equivalent national scheme and pasteurised shell eggs are less common. Neither is "wrong", they're simply answering the same question in different food-safety systems. What matters is which eggs are actually in your kitchen.

So here's the practical rule of thumb. If your eggs are British Lion-marked or clearly labelled pasteurised, dippy yolks, soft-boiled, poached and lightly scrambled are all back on the table, enjoy them. If they're loose farm eggs, imported, or you simply can't check (a café brunch, a friend's kitchen, a holiday abroad), treat runny as a maybe and choose fully cooked to be sure. The same logic covers sauces: shop-bought mayonnaise uses pasteurised egg and is fine, while a restaurant's fresh hollandaise or homemade aioli made with raw non-pasteurised egg is worth asking about. For total peace of mind at home, keep a carton of pasteurised eggs in the fridge, and pair your morning eggs with a daily prenatal vitamin for a genuinely balanced start.