Pregnancy food checker · United States
Can I drink unpasteurized juice while pregnant?
You are reading a refrigerated bottle, or ordering a juice at a market. The check is whether this glass was pasteurized or boiled, not whether juice sounds healthy.
Short answer
Choose pasteurized juice. If a juice was not pasteurized, CDC lists bringing it to a rolling boil for at least 1 minute as the other safer choice. Skip a fresh-squeezed glass when nobody can tell you it was treated.
Read the bottle or ask about the glass
- Does the bottle say pasteurized, or is it shelf-stable in a treated package?
- Is this glass fresh-squeezed at a market, stand, or juice bar?
- If it was not treated, can you boil it for 1 minute?
Bottle, glass, then smoothie
Read the juice label
FDA says to drink juice that has been pasteurized or otherwise treated. Pasteurized juice is in the refrigerated or frozen case. Shelf-stable juice can sit unrefrigerated in a treated box, bottle, or can.
Guidance sources: FDA [1]
Do not assume a fresh glass was treated
Juice sold by the glass at a market, roadside stand, or some juice bars may be unpasteurized, and warning labels are not required. FDA says pregnant women should avoid those juices.
Guidance sources: FDA [1]
Boil it only if you can boil all of it
If you cannot tell that a juice was treated, FDA says not to use it or to boil it. CDC’s safer choice for unpasteurized juice is a rolling boil for at least 1 minute.
Guidance sources: FDA [1], CDC [2]
Continue reading: Can I eat bean sprouts while pregnant?
Where the juice came from
Match the drink to a row. A missing label is a reason to ask or to skip it.
| What you are holding | Safer choice | Skip it when |
|---|---|---|
| Refrigerated, frozen, or shelf-stable bottle | Use it when the label says pasteurized, or the package is shelf-stable and treated. | The label says it was not pasteurized and you will not boil it. Guidance sources: FDA [1] |
| A glass at a market or juice bar | Order it only if they confirm it was pasteurized or otherwise treated. | They cannot say. Warning labels are not required on these glasses. Guidance sources: FDA [1] |
| Untreated juice you will boil at home | Bring all of it to a rolling boil for at least 1 minute. | You cannot boil the amount you plan to drink. |
Boiling is for juice you can heat. It does not make an unknown juice-bar glass safe after you have already been served it cold.
Bottles, bars, and smoothies
Isn’t almost all juice pasteurized?
FDA says about 98 percent of juice sold in the U.S. is pasteurized, and the rest may contain harmful bacteria. Read the label anyway. The untreated share is the one this check is for.
Guidance sources: FDA [1]
Are smoothies included?
Use pasteurized juice, and wash whole fruit under running water before blending. FDA has linked outbreaks to smoothies made with unpasteurized juice. A juice bar should be able to say the juice was pasteurized.
Guidance sources: FDA [1]
Does the acid make apple or orange juice safe?
No. FDA says acid often only slows bacteria, and E. coli O157:H7 can survive in acidic orange or apple juice. Pasteurization or a rolling boil is the check, not the fruit’s acidity.
Guidance sources: FDA [1]
Background and other choices
What matters for unpasteurized juice
- Unpasteurized juice and cider are the riskier choice.
- Juice sold by the glass may be untreated, and it may have no warning label.
- Acid in orange or apple juice does not reliably kill harmful bacteria.
Safer next steps
- Buy juice labeled pasteurized, including refrigerated and frozen pasteurized juice.
- Use shelf-stable juice in a box, bottle, or can.
- Boil untreated juice to a rolling boil for at least 1 minute, or drink something else.
When to contact a clinician
Contact your prenatal clinician if you ate a food discussed here and feel unwell, have been told you have a higher-risk pregnancy, or need advice for your individual circumstances. Seek urgent medical care for severe or rapidly worsening symptoms.
Browse by food
unpasteurized juice · All foods →Sources and editorial context
The food advice and preparation steps draw on the references below. Follow the links if you would like to read the original guidance in full.
What changed · Added the label check, juice-by-the-glass warning, and the 1-minute rolling boil.
Can I Eat Editorial Team. Published for readers in United States. Content last updated 2026-10-18.
The bottle has a long ingredient list?
Search the drink in Can I Eat for related pregnancy checks. Pasteurized, treated, or boiled for 1 minute is still the decision for this juice.
Can I Eat provides general food safety information and dietary risk reminders only. It is not medical advice, diagnosis or a replacement for your clinician.