Are you wondering if you can eat hummus while pregnant?
Until I started doing research for this article, I didn’t realize that hummus had become such a controversial food during pregnancy.
One that you, as a pregnant woman, may be currently encouraged to avoid.
But is hummus truly dangerous during pregnancy?
Read on to find out why hummus is sometimes a blacklisted food in pregnancy, and whether you truly need to steer clear of it.
Table of contents
- Main concerns about eating hummus during pregnancy
- Risks of food poisoning during pregnancy
- Is it really that risky to eat hummus while pregnant?
- How often have pregnant women gotten sick from hummus?
- Practically any food can become contaminated with Salmonella or Listeria
- Benefits of eating hummus while pregnant
- The bottom line
Why are there concerns about eating hummus while pregnant?
Hummus is a vegetable spread made of pureed chickpeas, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, oil, salt, and spices.
It has a high water content and low acidity. This combination makes hummus a perfect medium for harmful bacteria such as Salmonella and Listeria to grow (1).
Over the last few years, there have been a few recalls of hummus and tahini due to contamination with such bacteria (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7).
This raised concern about whether or not it is safe for pregnant women to eat hummus.
In sum: Hummus has a high water content and low acidity. This makes it easier for bacteria to grow in it. Hummus and tahini recalls over the last few years caused people to wonder whether eating hummus is safe during pregnancy.
Food poisoning during pregnancy is especially risky
Unless extremely lucky, you’ve likely had a bout of food poisoning at some point in your life.
Besides being unpleasant, most people don’t experience any long-lasting negative effects from such an experience.
Food poisoning during pregnancy is a slightly different experience.
When you’re pregnant, you may not be left with any long-lasting negative effects, but your baby might.
The two most common harmful foodborne pathogens during pregnancy are Salmonella and Listeria.
In many cases, a pregnant woman infected with Listeria doesn’t have any symptoms. However, becoming infected with Listeria during pregnancy can have devastating effects on the baby. These include miscarriage, premature birth, or stillbirth (8).
Pregnant women may be up to 18 times more likely to become infected with the Listeria bacteria when compared to non-pregnant women (8).
As a side note, not all pregnant women are symptom-free when infected with Listeria. Those who do report experiencing influenza-like symptoms such as fever, headaches, diarrhea, muscle aches and pains, or other digestive-related problems (8).
Unlike is the case for Listeria, pregnant women don’t appear more likely to become infected with Salmonella than non-pregnant women (9).
However, if they do become infected, they may have a higher risk of miscarriage, preterm birth, or low birth weight (10, 11).
Symptoms of Salmonella include fever, diarrhea, and stomach cramps.
In sum: The two most harmful forms of food poisoning during pregnancy are caused by Salmonella or Listeria bacteria. Food poisoning during pregnancy, even if you experience mild or no symptoms, can be especially harmful to your baby.
Is it too risky to eat hummus while pregnant?
It depends on who you ask. As well as on your own personal risk tolerance.
Hummus isn’t currently on the list of foods to avoid according to health agencies in the U.S., Canada, the UK, and most parts of Europe.
However, Israelian, Australian, and New Zealand-based health authorities have added hummus to their list of foods pregnant women should avoid.
What’s more, everyone has different levels of comfort with risk.
Like most things in pregnancy, it’s up to you to weigh the risks versus the benefits for your own particular situation with all the information in hand.
Here are a couple of points to consider when deciding if eating hummus while pregnant is the right decision for you.
Hummus is a very unlikely source of Salmonella
When I first came across this topic, I was instantly curious about how many pregnant women have actually gotten Salmonella or Listeria from hummus to date.
I didn’t come across any Listeria-specific information, but did find data on Salmonella in hummus.
The study I found reports that between 1995 and 2022, a total of 1,662 cases of Salmonella have been linked to tahini, or tahini-containing products like hummus or halva worldwide (12).
This may seem alarming at first glance. But let’s put these numbers into perspective.
A total of 1,662 cases over 27 years averages around 62 cases of Salmonella linked to tahini or tahini-containing foods like hummus per year, worldwide.
In comparison, the same study reports a total of ± 80 million cases of foodborne Salmonella, per year, worldwide (12).
Put in other words, cases of Salmonella caused by hummus or tahini represent only 62 of the 80 million Salmonella yearly cases caused by all types of foods put together.
This is basically the equivalent of one water drop in a very large water-filled bucket.
Keep in mind that these numbers are for the whole population, not pregnant women specifically. So the amount of Salmonella infections caused by hummus or tahini in pregnant women are likely even lower.
In my opinion, this hardly justifies recommending that all women avoid eating tahini or hummus during the whole duration of their pregnancy.
Practically any food can become contaminated with Salmonella or Listeria
In 2024, the U.S. Centers for disease control and prevention (CDC) reports eggs, charcuterie meats, cucumbers, and basil as foodborne sources of Salmonella.
The year before that, ground beef, cantaloupe, diced onions, raw cookie dough, and flour were part of the list. In the years before that, other foods were the culprit (13).
The same can be said to foodborne cases of Listeria who have been linked to foods ranging from soft cheeses and sliced deli meat, to peaches, leafy greens, and Enoki mushrooms to name a few (14).
I’m bringing this up to illustrate that practically any food can become contaminated with Salmonella or Listeria.
In my opinion, it’s not realistic, nor beneficial for pregnant women to avoid all of the foods that have been linked to Salmonella or Listeria in the past. Especially in foods with minimal reports of contamination.
Doing so would leave very little food options to eat during your pregnancy.
Eating hummus while pregnant offers some benefits
Hummus (and the tahini used to make it) are incredibly nutritious foods.
Hummus is rich in protein, fiber, healthy fats, and beneficial plant compounds (15).
It’s also rich in folate, iron, calcium, and zinc. These are vitamins and minerals that plant-based diets tend to be naturally low in, yet are essential to a healthy pregnancy (15).
What’s more, research reports that eating hummus may help improve the overall quality of the diet. It may also help with appetite control and improve blood sugar levels after a meal (16).
Not all hummus is equally risky
Where you get your hummus, how you prepare it, or how you store it can all influence your risk of food poisoning.
Heat kills bacteria. Therefore, hummus that’s been baked at high temperatures – for instance, as a topping on pizza – is much less likely to cause an issue.
Similarly, using a tahini that’s been pasteurized, or made from roasted sesame seeds to make your hummus may also reduce the risk of it becoming contaminated with harmful bacteria (17).
Colder temperatures do not kill bacteria, but do slow down their growth. For this reason, keeping your tahini and hummus in the refrigerator once opened may also lower the risk of food poisoning (17).
Here are a few additional key points to keep in mind.
- Pick the right hummus: favor homemade or pasteurized hummus over store-bought whenever possible. Avoid eating hummus from open market stalls or buffets.
- Refrigerate it properly: store hummus and tahini in the refrigerator, at 4 degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit). Eat hummus within 24-48 hours of making, or opening it.
- Pick the right tahini or skip it: favor tahini that’s pasteurized or made from roasted sesame seeds over raw tahini during pregnancy. You may also simply skip the tahini in your hummus recipe.
- Follow safe food preparation principles: wash your hands prior to preparing or opening your hummus. If making hummus at home, make sure to also wash all of your fresh ingredients, including the lemon’s peel prior to slicing it.
In sum: The risk of getting Salmonella or Listeria from tahini or a tahini-containing food like hummus during pregnancy is very small. It is questionable whether this small risk justifies that all women avoid hummus or tahini during pregnancy.
To sum it all up
So can you eat hummus while pregnant?
Most people consider hummus generally safe during pregnancy. However, the answer to this question may vary based on where you live, who you ask, and your personal level of risk tolerance.
Few foods have zero risk of contamination with harmful bacteria. That said, based on the information available to date, the risk of hummus causing food poisoning during pregnancy appears to be quite small.
If you wish to eat hummus yet err on the side of caution, consider making your own at home, using the food preparation and storage tips outlined above.