Yes, crab is safe to eat during pregnancy, and it’s actually one of the better seafood choices you can make. The FDA and EPA place crab on their “Best Choices” list for pregnant women, meaning it’s low enough in mercury that you can eat two to three servings per week. The key requirements: it needs to be fully cooked, and you should skip certain parts of the crab that concentrate toxins.
Mercury Levels in Crab
Mercury is the main concern with seafood during pregnancy, and crab scores well. FDA testing of blue, king, and snow crab found an average mercury concentration of 0.065 parts per million, with some samples so low the mercury was undetectable. For context, the threshold for “high mercury” fish like swordfish and shark is roughly 0.5 ppm or above. Crab sits comfortably at the low end of the spectrum.
A single serving of crab during pregnancy is 4 ounces, roughly the size of your palm. You can safely eat 8 to 12 ounces of crab per week, or mix it with other low-mercury seafood like shrimp, salmon, and tilapia to hit that range. Eating seafood during pregnancy provides omega-3 fatty acids and protein that support fetal brain development, so the goal isn’t to avoid fish. It’s to choose the right ones.
How to Prepare Crab Safely
Raw and undercooked seafood poses a real risk during pregnancy. Bacteria like Vibrio, which live naturally in coastal waters, can cause serious illness. Listeria is another concern, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is clear: avoid all raw and undercooked seafood while pregnant. Cooking is the only reliable way to kill Listeria.
Crab needs to reach an internal temperature of 145°F (62.8°C) to be considered safe. If you’re cooking crab at home, a food thermometer takes the guesswork out of it. When eating out, stick to dishes where the crab is visibly cooked through, not just lightly seared or served cold from a raw preparation. Crab cakes, steamed crab legs, and hot crab dip are all fine. Crab sushi or ceviche, where the crab may be raw, is not.
Use a separate cutting board for raw seafood, and keep it away from foods you’ll eat without cooking. These basic cross-contamination precautions matter more during pregnancy because your immune system is naturally suppressed.
Skip the Tomalley
The soft greenish substance inside a crab’s body, sometimes called the “mustard” or tomalley, is the crab’s digestive organ. It acts like a filter, which means environmental contaminants concentrate there. The New York State Department of Health advises people who can become pregnant to avoid crab tomalley entirely because of elevated levels of PCBs, dioxin, cadmium, and PFAS.
This applies to crab from any waters, not just specific regions. You should also discard the liquid used to cook whole crab or lobster, since contaminants leach into it during cooking. The crab meat itself is fine. Just clean it well and avoid eating the organs.
Imitation Crab During Pregnancy
Imitation crab is also safe. It’s made from surimi, a paste of minced pollock mixed with starch, egg whites, and crab flavoring. It comes precooked and pasteurized, so it checks both boxes: low mercury and already fully cooked.
One thing to watch for: imitation crab is often used in dishes like sushi rolls or stuffed seafood that may contain other raw ingredients. Make sure the entire dish is cooked, not just the imitation crab component. Also, imitation crab isn’t shelf-stable. Keep it refrigerated and don’t leave it sitting out for more than one to two hours, the same rule you’d follow for any perishable food.
Refrigerated and Smoked Crab
ACOG specifically lists refrigerated smoked seafood as a food to avoid during pregnancy. This includes any smoked crab products sold in the refrigerated section, like smoked crab dip or lox-style preparations. The smoking process doesn’t always reach temperatures high enough to kill Listeria. If a smoked crab product is shelf-stable (sold in a sealed can or pouch that doesn’t require refrigeration), it’s generally been processed at higher temperatures and is safer.
Leftover cooked crab should be eaten within a day or two and reheated to 165°F before serving. Pregnant women are about 10 times more likely than the general population to get listeriosis, so food storage and reheating habits matter more than usual during these months.