Is Pastrami Safe During Pregnancy? (Updated 2026 Guide)
Updated September 9, 2026
The Answer
You can have pastrami during pregnancy if you reheat it to 165°F or until steaming hot just before eating. Avoid cold pastrami, including uncured varieties, because deli meats can carry Listeria.
For pastrami, the main pregnancy consideration is Listeria: being previously cooked or cured does not remove the need for reheating before eating. Keep it refrigerated, prevent cross contamination, and eat promptly after heating. Sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate warrant attention to frequent processed meat intake, but ordinary food additive exposure is not proven to harm the fetus, and ingredient grades cannot assess pathogens or handling.
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✓ What's Safe
- • Heat pastrami to 165°F or until steaming hot throughout just before eating.
- • At a deli or restaurant, ask for the meat itself to be heated thoroughly, not just the bread toasted.
- • Choose refrigerated pastrami and follow the actual package's storage and use by instructions.
- • Use clean utensils and surfaces for heated meat to avoid cross contamination.
- • Keep pastrami an occasional choice rather than a frequent processed meat staple.
✗ What to Avoid
- • Cold pastrami slices or sandwiches that have not been reheated before eating.
- • Lukewarm pastrami or a toasted sandwich whose meat remains cold inside.
- • Treating uncured, organic, nitrate free, or ready to eat labels as permission to skip heating.
- • Pastrami with uncertain refrigeration or storage history.
- • Assuming celery powder means a product is free of nitrate or nitrite.
- • Using an A ingredient grade as a guarantee of pregnancy safety.
Most Common Ingredients in Pastrami Products
We analyzed 16 pastrami products. Here are the most common ingredients, ranked by how often they appear:
Ingredients to Watch Out For in Pastrami
These are the most common flagged ingredients across 16 pastrami products we analyzed.
sodium nitrite
Caution
Sodium nitrite is a chemical compound commonly used as a preservative and color fixative in processed meats.
Is regulated at low food additive levels, but frequent cured or processed meat intake has limited observational pregnancy concerns; cyanide antidote and contaminated water exposures are separate issues.
Flagged in 7 of 16 products (44%)
sodium nitrate
Caution
Sodium nitrate is a chemical compound commonly used as a preservative and curing agent in processed meats and as a fertilizer in agriculture.
Is context dependent because vegetable sources are generally compatible with pregnancy while contaminated well water above nitrate/nitrite limits can cause methemoglobinemia and has observational links to adverse birth outcomes.
Flagged in 2 of 16 products (13%)
and sodium nitrite rubbed with natural flavorings
Caution
Is regulated at low food additive levels, but frequent cured or processed meat intake has limited observational pregnancy concerns; cyanide antidote and contaminated water exposures are separate issues.
Flagged in 1 of 16 products (6%)
sodium nitrite rubbed with natural flavorings
Caution
Is regulated at low food additive levels, but frequent cured or processed meat intake has limited observational pregnancy concerns; cyanide antidote and contaminated water exposures are separate issues.
Flagged in 1 of 16 products (6%)
Pastrami Products We've Analyzed
Our catalog contains ratings for 16 pastrami products. These are database grades, not independent safety certifications.
Catalog ingredient grades do not measure current-label completeness, pathogens, preparation, caffeine or clinical pregnancy suitability. These counts include unreviewed records and are not a percentage of independently verified safe products.
Pregnancy Safe Pastrami Products
Popular options from our catalog, prioritizing A and B ingredient grades, with C grade options used to fill remaining places. Within each group, products are ordered by searches in Pregnancy Safe, not retail sales. Read the cautions and guidance above; grades do not verify a complete current label or guarantee pregnancy safety.
| Grade | Product | Brand |
|---|---|---|
| B+ | Pepper Crusted Pastrami, Pepper Crusted | Meal Mart |
| A | Beef Raised Uncured Pastrami | — |
| A | Uncured & Unsmoked Pastrami | Open Nature |
| A | Uncured Pastrami | Target Stores |
| A | Uncured Beef Pastrami | Niman Ranch |
Your Questions Answered
Which deli meats are safe in pregnancy?
Choose deli meats that you can reheat to 165°F or until steaming hot just before eating. This precaution applies to pastrami as well as deli chicken and turkey; switching the type of meat does not remove Listeria risk. Refrigerate the meat, prevent cross contamination, and eat promptly after heating.
Is pastrami cooked or raw?
The pastrami discussed here is cured, cooked deli style beef. Its earlier cooking does not make refrigerated slices a risk free cold food during pregnancy. Reheat it to 165°F or until steaming hot before eating, even when the package says ready to eat.
Does pastrami have Listeria?
Pastrami can carry Listeria, but that does not mean every package is contaminated. An ingredient list or grade cannot tell you whether bacteria are present. Heating it to 165°F or until steaming hot just before eating is the key pregnancy precaution, alongside refrigeration and clean handling.
Is uncured pastrami safer during pregnancy?
An uncured label does not remove the Listeria concern or change the reheating advice. Some uncured formulations use celery powder, which is not automatically free of nitrate or nitrite. Focus first on heating and storage rather than treating the curing label as a safety guarantee.
Should I avoid sodium nitrite or sodium nitrate in pastrami?
These curing ingredients are a reason to consider how often you eat processed meat, not proof that an occasional serving harms your baby. Pregnancy specific evidence about processed meat nitrite exposure is limited and largely observational. Findings from high dose exposure or contaminated drinking water should not be treated as evidence about ordinary food additive amounts. Regardless of the preservatives used, reheat pastrami before eating.
Can I eat a hot pastrami sandwich from a restaurant?
Ask for the pastrami itself to be heated to 165°F or until steaming hot throughout. Toasting the bread alone does not establish that the meat has reached that temperature. Eat it promptly after heating, and choose something else if the restaurant cannot provide thoroughly heated meat.
Does an A grade mean pastrami is safe to eat cold?
No. Our catalog contains 16 pastrami products: 4 graded A, 11 graded C+, and 1 graded B+. Those are ingredient grades, not counts of independently verified safe products, and they do not assess pathogens, storage, or preparation. Every grade still requires the same deli meat heating precautions during pregnancy.
How to Interpret These Ratings
Our ingredient and category rules generate letter grades from the information recorded in the catalog. Missing ingredients and broad category assignments can affect the result. These grades do not measure your dose, confirm a complete current label, or test a product for contamination.
A high grade is not a guarantee of pregnancy safety. A low grade is not, by itself, proof of harm from every use. Follow the product-specific guidance above, check the actual package, and ask your prenatal clinician about supplements, treatment decisions or uncertain exposures.
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References
- https://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreaks/delimeats-7-24/index.html
- https://www.cdc.gov/food-safety/foods/pregnant-women.html
- https://www.cdc.gov/listeria/prevention/index.html
- https://www.fda.gov/food/people-risk-foodborne-illness/cooking-food-safety-moms-be
- https://hfpappexternal.fda.gov/scripts/fdcc/index.cfm?id=SODIUMNITRITE&set=FoodSubstances
- https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-9/section-424.21
- https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/section-172.175
- https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/press/news/170615
- https://www.inchem.org/documents/jecfa/jecmono/v50je07.htm
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41248583/
- https://publications.iarc.who.int/Book-And-Report-Series/Iarc-Monographs-On-The-Identification-Of-Carcinogenic-Hazards-To-Humans/Red-Meat-And-Processed-Meat-2018
- https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=52f01c6e-172a-47a9-98a6-9eab7651a032
- https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp204.pdf
- https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/national-primary-drinking-water-regulations
- https://www.epa.gov/children/private-wells-and-drinking-water-safety-and-infants
- https://archive.cdc.gov/www_atsdr_cdc_gov/csem/nitrate-nitrite/who_risk.html
- https://doh.wa.gov/community-and-environment/drinking-water/contaminants/nitrate
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9834225/
- https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/689
- https://www.food.gov.uk/safety-hygiene/nitrates-and-nitrites-the-science-explained
- https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-172/subpart-B/section-172.175