To prevent toxoplasmosis and other food-borne illnesses, food should be cooked to a safe temperature (71.1°C [160°F]). A food thermometer should be used to ensure that meat is cooked all the way through.

Fruits and vegetables should be peeled or thoroughly washed before they are eaten.

Cutting boards, dishes, counters, utensils, and hands should be washed with hot soapy water after they have been in contact with raw meat, poultry, or seafood, or with unwashed fruits or vegetables.

Pregnant women should wear gloves when they are gardening or touching soil or sand, because of the possible presence of cat feces. Afterwards, they should wash their hands thoroughly.

If possible, pregnant women should avoid changing cat litter pans. If no one else is available to change the cat litter, pregnant women should wear gloves for this task and then wash their hands thoroughly. The litter box should be changed daily, because Toxoplasma gondii oocysts require more than 1 day to become infectious. Pregnant women should be encouraged to keep their cats inside and not to adopt or handle stray cats. Cats should be fed only canned or dried commercial cat food or well-cooked table food; they should not be given raw or undercooked meat.

Health education for women of childbearing age should include information about preventing T. gondii transmission from food and soil. At the first prenatal visit, health care providers should educate pregnant women about food hygiene and avoiding exposure to cat feces.

Health care providers who care for pregnant women should be educated about two potential problems associated with T. gondii serology tests: (1) no assay can determine precisely when initial T. gondii infection occurred; (2) in populations with a low incidence of T. gondii infection (e.g., U.S. population), a substantial proportion of positive IgM test results probably will be false positive.

The government and meat industry should continue efforts to reduce the presence of T. gondii in meat.