Lead concentration in game migratory upland bird meat: Influence of ammunition impacts and health risk assessment

Abstract

Consumption of Pb-contaminated game meat is a concern for the population, as it poses a potential risk to consumer health. Thus, this study is aimed at determining Pb content in muscle tissue of migratory birds, evaluating the influence of the use of Pb ammunition on the content of this element in migratory upland game bird meat, and estimating the health risk arising from consumption thereof. Breast muscle of common woodpigeon (Columba palumbus) (n = 27), European turtle-dove (Streptopelia turtur) (n = 21) and song thrush (Turdus philomelos) (n = 35) were analyzed. Pb concentrations in breast muscle were 3.4; 0.98 and 0.82 mg/kg ww in common woodpigeon, European turtle-dove and song thrush, respectively. Risk assessment was performed using a benchmark dose, and margin of exposure (MOE) and plug in estimator (PI) were calculated. The estimated mean and 95th percentile Pb-intake for an extreme consumption (90 meals per year) werepar 0.045–0.079 and 0.083–0.14 μg/kg bw per day for adult and child consumers, respectively. Risk assessment showed that consumption of meat from common woodpigeon, European turtle-dove and song thrush hunted using traditional hunting methods for these species in Spain does not pose a significant health risk to adult and child consumers. Nonetheless, a particularly high risk occurs when animals carry excessive Pb concentrations, i.e. when they show a high number of impacts, in which case they would not be suitable for consumption and would need to be discarded. Future research is required to further improve the food safety of game meat in the domestic environment of hunters and their households, who are the primary consumers of this type of meat.