South Dakota food
banks are again distributing venison to the needy, but they're
warning takers about the possibility of lead in the
meat.
According to Matt
Gassen of Community Food Banks of South Dakota, the organization is
asking food pantries to provide each client that receives meat a
copy of an informational notice on the danger of trace lead
fragments in wild venison.
The lead fragments
are sometime left in the carcass after the deer has been
shot.
South Dakota food
banks did temporarily suspend distribution of venison that had been
donated after North Dakota officials ordered no more venison be
offered through its food banks for fear of lead
contamination.
The new
informational notice says people who have concerns about the meat
shouldn't eat it and that the Food and Drug Administration
indicates some risk with any level of lead exposure.
It presents the
following guideline to limit ground venison consumption to no more
than the following:
- Children under
the age of 6, two 4-ounce servings per week.
- Pregnant women,
one 4-ounce serving per day.
- All other adults,
three 4-ounce servings per day.
Venison is a key
source of free meat for low-income people statewide. Since 1993,
the organization Sportsmen Against Hunger has donated more than
110,000 pounds.
