Store-bought mayonnaise is safe to eat during pregnancy. Commercial brands like Hellmann’s, Duke’s, and Best Foods use pasteurized eggs, which eliminates the risk of Salmonella contamination. The concern with mayo and pregnancy centers entirely on homemade versions made with raw, unpasteurized eggs.
Why Commercial Mayo Is Safe
The FDA specifically notes that commercial mayonnaise, dressings, and sauces contain pasteurized eggs that are safe for pregnant people to eat. Pasteurization heats eggs enough to kill harmful bacteria without cooking them, so the final product tastes the same but carries no Salmonella risk. Every major mayo brand sold in jars or squeeze bottles at the grocery store uses pasteurized eggs.
This applies to regular, light, and flavored varieties. If it came off a store shelf in a sealed container, you’re fine.
Why Homemade Mayo Is Different
Traditional homemade mayonnaise uses raw egg yolks that are never heated. The FDA lists homemade mayonnaise as a food pregnant people should avoid entirely. The CDC estimates that roughly 1 in every 20,000 eggs may be contaminated with Salmonella Enteritidis. Those odds sound small, but the consequences during pregnancy are disproportionately serious.
Salmonella infection during pregnancy has been linked in multiple case reports to preterm birth, miscarriage, and stillbirth. Even a relatively mild infection causes diarrhea, fever, and vomiting that can lead to dehydration, which is harder to recover from when you’re pregnant. Research in animal models shows that even a low dose of Salmonella during late pregnancy can reduce fetal weight and damage placental tissue. Pregnant people are considered a high-risk group for severe Salmonella disease alongside young children, elderly adults, and immunocompromised individuals.
If you want to make mayo at home, there’s a workaround: use pasteurized liquid eggs sold in cartons (like Egg Beaters or similar products). The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service confirms these can be substituted into recipes that call for raw eggs, including homemade mayonnaise. That said, even the USDA notes these products are “best used in a cooked product” when serving high-risk groups, so commercial mayo remains the simplest safe choice.
Eating Out and Ordering In
Restaurants are where things get murkier. Many cafés, bakeries, and restaurants make their own mayonnaise, aioli, or egg-based dressings from scratch using raw eggs. This is common in higher-end restaurants, sandwich shops, and certain cuisines. A food safety survey of cafés and restaurants in Sydney found that raw egg dressings like mayonnaise, Caesar dressing, and tartare sauce were widely used. One outbreak tied to raw-egg mayonnaise in Vietnamese pork rolls sickened over 300 people.
The safest approach when eating out is to ask whether the mayo or aioli is house-made or from a commercial tub. If staff can’t tell you, skip it. Dishes where this comes up most often include Caesar salad (the dressing traditionally contains raw egg), aioli served with fries or seafood, and any “house-made” sandwich spread.
Vegan and Egg-Free Mayo
Egg-free mayonnaise sidesteps the Salmonella question completely since it contains no eggs at all. Brands like Hellmann’s Vegan, Follow Your Heart Vegenaise, Sir Kensington’s Vegan Mayo, and Best Foods Vegan are all widely available. These are typically made from plant oils, soy protein, or pea protein and carry no raw-egg risk.
For a quick homemade option, mashed ripe avocado works as a sandwich spread with a similar creamy texture. You can also blend soy milk, lemon juice, a pinch of salt and mustard, and vegetable oil into a simple egg-free mayo at home.
Nutritional Considerations
Mayonnaise is calorie-dense. Conventional mayo is about 70 to 80 percent fat, which means a tablespoon delivers around 90 to 100 calories, almost entirely from oil. That’s not a reason to avoid it, but it’s worth knowing if you’re using it generously on sandwiches or in salads throughout the day. Reduced-fat versions cut the fat content significantly (roughly a third of the fat per serving compared to regular) while still using pasteurized eggs.
Sodium is the other thing to watch. Most commercial mayonnaise contains a moderate amount of salt per serving, which adds up if you’re combining it with other high-sodium foods like deli meat or pickles. If you’re managing blood pressure during pregnancy, keeping an eye on total sodium across a meal matters more than the mayo alone.
Quick Rules for Mayo During Pregnancy
- Jar or squeeze bottle from the store: safe, uses pasteurized eggs
- Homemade with raw eggs: not safe, skip it
- Homemade with pasteurized liquid eggs: lower risk, though commercial is simpler
- Restaurant mayo or aioli: ask if it’s house-made or commercial before eating
- Vegan or egg-free mayo: safe, no egg-related risk at all