What studies have been conducted on lead levels in humans caused by eating venison?
At the request of the North Dakota Department of Health, the CDC tested blood lead levels in 738 residents of that state. Results were released in November 2008, and not one individual tested had levels considered elevated. According to the CDC, blood levels are considered “elevated” in children when they are above 10 micrograms per deciliter of blood; and in adults 25 micrograms per deciliter. The highest level in the whole CDC test was 9.8 micrograms per deciliter. The geometric mean of the CDC study of 1.17 micrograms per deciliter was lower than the geometric mean of lead in the overall U.S. population (1.60 micrograms per deciliter). More than 86 percent of the people in the CDC test reported eating more than one type of wild game. The lead levels of children under 6, those who the Minnesota Department of Health deems “the most at risk,” had a mean of just 0.88 micrograms per deciliter of blood. That’s just one part per billion and less than half the national average.
