The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) is advising people that eating lead-shot game on a frequent basis can expose them to potentially harmful levels of lead. The FSA has advised frequent consumers of lead-shot game to eat less of this type of meat.
FSA Food Safety director Alison Gleadle said that this advice is targeted specifically at the small number of people who eat lead-shot game on a frequent basis.
"This advice is especially important for vulnerable groups such as toddlers and children, pregnant women and women trying for a baby, as exposure to lead can harm the developing brain and nervous system," Gleadle added.
The FSA noted that usually, the large game sold in supermarkets is farmed and will have no or very low lead levels. This advice is not applicable to consumers of such meat. People unsure about whether their game has been shot using lead ammunition should ask their supplier for information.
This advice has been based on a study of consumers of wild game, conducted by the FSA in Scotland, and pre-existing data on lead levels in these types of food in the UK.
There is no agreed safe level for lead intake. Independent scientific expert groups across the European Union advise that exposure to lead should be reduced as far as possible.
