Expert: Carol Schlitt - 10/24/2006

Question
I am 32 weeks pregnant and tonight ate a chicken roll (Chicken parmigiana wrapped into a calzone like dough) at a local pizzeria. After eating it I realized that they have these rolls pre-made and sitting at room temperature for the entire day. The worst part is that it was only barely warm when they served it to me...definitely not hot.  I'm concerned about bacteria, especially bacteria that could affect my pregnancy such as Listeria and Toxoplasmosis. Can these bacteria be present under these circumstances?

Answer
Hi Kris,

While the pizzeria may make these calzones in advance, I hope that they refrigerate them and then reheat upon service.  If they are making them with a potentially hazardous food (chicken) inside without refrigerating them until heating and service, then they have a major problem in how they are holding foods (a health department issue). Holding potentially hazardous food at room temperature is a major food violation and I hope that they are NOT holding these calzones all day. When served they should be piping hot -- not barely warm.  In the future you should demand hot food.

As far as listeria, this bacteria is usually associated with deli meats, raw milk, ice cream, etc and symptoms include flu-like symptoms that can occur between a few days and 3 weeks. An excellent resource for you to read is: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~mow/chap6.html If you notice ANY symptoms, please call your doctor IMMEDIATELY.

Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease that can be caused by eating contaminated meat, coming in contact with contaminated cat feces, or contaminated drinking water. Chances are very slim that this would be present in the calzone. A good resource on toxoplasmosis is: http://www.cdc.gov/NCIDOD/dpd/parasites/toxoplasmosis/factsht_toxoplasmosis.htm

If you have ANY flu-like symptoms, please contact your physician immediately.  You might want to call the pizzeria and ask to speak to the manager to discuss how they handle the calzones after preparation and if they mention they are not refrigerated after preparation, you might want to call your local health department (environmental health division) and talk with a health inspector about this practice.

Good luck Kris with your pregnanacy. If you have any additional questions, please let me know.

Carol C. Schlitt
Extension Educator, Nutrition and Wellness
University of Illinois Extension