Can you drink fresh squeezed orange juice while pregnant?
Check firstOnly if it is pasteurized, which most juice-bar and farm-stand juice is not. Cartons and bottles sold in stores are pasteurized unless they carry a warning label, so those are fine to drink freely.
Why
Untreated juice can carry E. coli, Salmonella, and Listeria picked up from the outside of the fruit and pressed straight into the glass, and pregnancy makes Listeria infection far more dangerous. The FDA tells pregnant women to drink only pasteurized juice, and requires unpasteurized juice sold in the US to carry a warning label, though juice squeezed to order at a juice bar, cafe, restaurant, or farmers market is exempt from that labeling and is usually raw. Heat treatment or another approved process kills the bacteria without changing the vitamin C that makes you want the juice in the first place.
Safer alternatives
- Refrigerated pasteurized orange juice from the carton aisle, such as Tropicana or Simply Orange
- Shelf-stable orange juice in a carton or bottle
- A whole orange or two, which gives you the fiber as well
- A smoothie made with pasteurized juice as the base
- Ask the juice bar for a bottled pasteurized option instead of the press
Sources
- FDA https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/what-you-need-know-about-juice-safety
- FDA https://www.fda.gov/food/people-risk-foodborne-illness/fruits-veggies-and-juices-food-safety-moms-be
Every verdict follows our sourcing methodology: official health guidelines only, most cautious position when they differ.
Last reviewed by the pregAI editorial team.
Frequently asked questions
Is store-bought orange juice pasteurized?
Almost always, yes. In the US, packaged juice must either be treated or carry a visible warning that it is unpasteurized, so a carton with no warning label is safe. Check the refrigerated case at a health food store more carefully, since that is where raw bottled juice usually sits.
What if I squeeze the oranges myself at home?
Home-squeezed juice is still raw, so the safety depends entirely on the peel. Scrub the oranges under running water and dry them before cutting, since the juicer drags whatever is on the skin into the juice, then drink it right away rather than storing it. Boiling it briefly is the only way to make it equivalent to pasteurized.
I already drank fresh squeezed juice, should I worry?
One glass is very unlikely to cause a problem, and most raw juice carries no bacteria at all. Watch for fever, chills, stomach upset, or aching muscles over the next few days to a few weeks, and mention the juice if any of that shows up. Switching to pasteurized from here removes the risk going forward.
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