Can I eat mackerel while pregnant?
Limited Mackerel
Atlantic mackerel, yes, up to 2 portions of oily fish a week. King mackerel, no. The rating is limited because "mackerel" covers both: the everyday fish is a low-mercury best choice, while king mackerel sits on the FDA and EPA list of fish to avoid. Cold-smoked and salted mackerel need cooking until steaming hot.
Why be careful: Some species (king mackerel) carry high mercury — limit servings.
Most pregnancy advice about mackerel comes in one of two forms. American lists say "avoid king mackerel". British lists say "mackerel is a healthy oily fish". Both are right, and they are talking about different animals.
Which mackerel is on your plate
| FDA/EPA list | In pregnancy | |
|---|---|---|
| Atlantic mackerel | Best choice | Fine, within 2 portions of oily fish a week |
| Pacific chub mackerel | Best choice | Fine, within the same limit |
| Spanish mackerel | Good choice | 1 serving a week |
| King mackerel | Choice to avoid | Avoid for the whole pregnancy |
The species is the thing to check on the label. Atlantic and Pacific chub mackerel are on the FDA's list of best choices; king mackerel is on its list to avoid. That matters most when you travel or shop at a specialist counter, where the larger species is more likely to turn up.
Two limits, and which one to follow
The FDA and EPA allow 2 to 3 servings a week from their best-choices list, with a serving about the size of your palm (4 ounces, roughly 113 g). Their concern is mercury. NHS guidance sets a tighter cap for oily fish of no more than 2 portions a week, and its concern is a different one: pollutants that collect in oily fish and build up in the body. Following the NHS number covers both.
The same cap includes salmon, trout, sardines, pilchards and herring, so a week with salmon on Monday and mackerel on Thursday has already reached it.
Smoked, salted and tinned
Hot-smoked mackerel, the whole fillet that flakes apart, was cooked during smoking and you can eat it cold from the pack. Cold-smoked mackerel looks firmer and glossier because the smoke never cooked it, and salted mackerel was cured without heat. Both need cooking until steaming hot. The smoked fish page covers how to tell the two smoking methods apart.
Tinned mackerel was cooked in the can, so the only rule that applies to it is the weekly oily-fish count.
If you ate cold-smoked or salted mackerel
Watch for symptoms over the next weeks. NHS advice is that a small amount of a food that should be avoided is unlikely to affect your baby if you did not become ill. Get advice the same day for fever, flu-like aches, vomiting or diarrhoea, and remember that listeriosis symptoms can appear several weeks later.
One meal of king mackerel is not an emergency. Mercury builds up over months. Stop eating it, and mention it at your next appointment if you ate it regularly.
Mackerel in pregnancy — at a glance
Atlantic mackerel and Pacific chub mackerel, the species sold fresh, smoked and tinned across Europe, are on the FDA and EPA list of best choices for low mercury and are safe in pregnancy within the NHS limit of no more than two portions of oily fish a week. King mackerel is a separate, larger species that the FDA and EPA list among the fish to avoid, with shark, swordfish and marlin, because of its high mercury content; Spanish mackerel falls between the two as a good choice at one serving a week. The NHS cap on oily fish exists because pollutants in oily fish can build up in the body, and it applies to salmon, trout, sardines, pilchards and herring as well. Hot-smoked mackerel is cooked during smoking and can be eaten cold, while cold-smoked and salted mackerel are cured without heat and must be cooked until steaming hot first, the same NHS rule that applies to smoked salmon. Tinned mackerel is cooked in the can and counts towards the weekly oily-fish limit.
Inside Baby Novum: the food database works offline and keeps a list of what you checked recently, which makes a weekly oily-fish count easy to keep. Encrypted on the device, no account, no server copy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I eat mackerel while pregnant?
Yes, the ordinary kind. The mackerel sold in Europe and in most supermarket tins is Atlantic mackerel, which the FDA and EPA place on their "best choices" list for low mercury. NHS guidance counts it as oily fish and caps oily fish at 2 portions a week in pregnancy. The fish to avoid is king mackerel, a different and much larger species.
What is the difference between Atlantic mackerel and king mackerel?
They are different fish. Atlantic mackerel and Pacific chub mackerel are small and short-lived, and the FDA lists them as best choices. King mackerel is on the FDA list of fish to avoid, alongside shark, swordfish and marlin, because it carries the highest mercury levels. Spanish mackerel sits between them as a "good choice", limited to one serving a week.
Is smoked mackerel safe in pregnancy?
Hot-smoked mackerel, the opaque fillet that flakes, was cooked in the smoker and is safe as it is. Cold-smoked mackerel, firm and glossy, has never been cooked: NHS guidance says cold-smoked and cured fish must be cooked until steaming hot before you eat it. Salted mackerel belongs with the cold-smoked kind.
Can I eat tinned mackerel?
Yes. Canning cooks the fish, so tinned mackerel has no Listeria question. It is still oily fish, so count it inside the same 2 portions a week as fresh or smoked mackerel, salmon, sardines and herring.
Why is oily fish limited if it is good for me?
NHS guidance says pollutants found in oily fish can build up in the body and affect a baby developing in the womb. The limit keeps the benefit of the omega-3 fats while keeping that build-up low. Two portions a week is the ceiling, not a target you have to hit.
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