Assessing Lead Levels in New York-Donated Venison

Lead (Pb) hunting ammunition is known to fragment in target animals and result in Pb particles with small surface areas, which increase bioavailability and make detection more difficult. Dietary exposure to Pb presents significant human health risks to vulnerable groups, especially children and pregnant women. Each year, 34 tons of venison are donated to New York State food banks and pantries without oversight of the potential for Pb contamination. A project was launched in 2022 to sample donated venison and to determine if and at what concentration this meat might be contaminated with Pb. Tests for Pb were first conducted by medical radiography (X-ray) of 0.45 kg (1 lb) and 0.91 kg (2 lb) samples followed by subsampling for quantitative analysis using inductively coupled atomic plasma emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). Among venison packages, 19% (11/ 59) were confirmed to contain metal fragments via radiography and/or Pb via ICP-AES. This includes seven packages with observable metal fragments via X-ray, three packages with suspected metal fragments via X-ray and detected via ICP-AES and one package with no radiographic evidence of Pb, but detected via ICP-AES. Pb concentrations among package subsamples ranged from 0.38 to 135.7 mg/kg dry matter, representing a range from 1 to 617% of the FDA Interim Reference Level (IRL) of 2.2 µg Pb/day for children. Although some states routinely radiograph venison donated to food banks and pantries prior to distribution, New York State does not. Most New York State food pantries also do not postwarnings of the potential for Pb contamination in donated game meat. In conclusion, there is a high likelihood that people consuming donated hunted meat in NY will consume lead, and the FDA IRL may be exceeded in a single bite.