Lead ammunition leads to higher levels of lead in venison
presented the first results of a research project BMELV on the joint symposium "All (s) Wild?" by BMELV and BfR
If deer or other hoofed killed with lead ammunition, then that meat contains more lead than venison, which was obtained with lead-free ammunition. The higher levels of lead are demonstrated not only in the vicinity of the firing channel in the chest, but also in more distant meat pieces such as the back or leg. These are the first results of the analysis of numerous samples from different regions of Germany, the co-ordinated in the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) Project "Food Safety of hunting reclaimed game" of the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV) were examined. "These first collected using scientific methods data that lead-containing ammunition primarily represents the entry source of lead in wild game, while the entry on the Äsung plays a lesser role. The results confirm our recommendation, in households with high Wild consumption, including usually hunting families, to protect children and women of childbearing age to consume only game that has been shot with lead-free ammunition, "explained Professor Dr. Dr. Andreas Hensel, President of BfR the 300 participants of the symposium "All (s) Wild? - State of scientific knowledge on the behavior of lead-free ammunition for hunting and for entry of the ammunition components lead, copper and zinc in hunting wild game won ". Venison is a naturally derived, high-quality food. If, as in the general population in Germany usual, only one or two wild-meals consumed per year, there is by the ingestion of lead from recovered with lead ammunition venison no increased health risk, Hensel added. At the symposium on 18. and 19. March 2013 discussed the participants of the entry of lead in venison through leaded hunting ammunition and results of investigations on the killing effect of lead-free hunting bullets and their repulsion performance as compared to conventional lead ammunition and ecotoxicological issues.In the research project "Food Safety of hunting recovered venison" samples have been drawn from over 1000 pieces of deer and wild boar from different regions of Germany for the first evaluation. The group comprises the states of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Hamburg, Bremen and the German Hunting Association, the Bavarian Hunting Association, the Association of German Professional Hunters and the economy were represented by the European poultry, eggs , Wild Wholesale and import Association, and the Association of manufacturers of hunting, sports arms and ammunition. Some of the animals in each region was killed with conventional lead-containing bullets, one other part with lead-free ammunition. Each hunted animal samples from the marketable carcase near the firing channel, from the back and from the leg were removed. The recovered material was analyzed for lead, copper, and zinc contents. The now carried out the first evaluation of over 1000 records shows that game if it was obtained with lead bullets, significantly higher levels of lead than the analog samples from animals that were killed unleaded. The data show that the lead levels decrease with increasing distance from the firing channel. However, a difference in the total exposure to lead between leaded and unleaded recovered venison is also present in far removed from the bullet channel samples.
What is certain, however, is that bullet materials such as copper and zinc, which are used in alternative ammunition, are less toxic than lead. Therefore, lead-free hunting ammunition is to be assessed much more favorably than lead-containing ammunition with regard to the health risks of residues in the meat obtained.
In the two research projects funded by the BMELV to investigate the rebound behavior and the killing effect of lead-free projectiles in comparison to conventional lead ammunition, the contractors, the German Research and Testing Institute for Hunting and Sporting Weapons (DEVA) and the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development, showed that the The design of the bullet is an important factor influencing the proper killing of the game and the safety of the people involved in the hunt. The extent to which the materials in ammunition affect ecosystems was also discussed by the experts. The BMELV as well as the representatives of the hunting sector underlined their will to tread the path to alternative bullet materials together.
The Powerpoint presentations of the lectures at the symposium will shortly be published on the BfR website.
About BfR
The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) is a scientific institution in the business area of the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV). It advises the federal government and the federal states on questions of food, chemical and product safety. The BfR conducts its own research on topics that are closely related to its assessment tasks.
Source: Berlin [BfR]
