Risk Assessment of Cd, Cu, and Pb from the consumption of hunted meat: red-legged partridge and wild rabbit.

The objective was to assess that potential health risk from Cd, Cu, and Pb, through the consumption of hunted red-legged partridge and wild rabbit meat, with special focus on the population of hunters and their relatives. Mineral content was analyzed by atomic absorption methods (F-AAS for Cu and GF-AAS for Cd and Pb) after microwave digestion of lyophilized samples. The average concentrations of these elements were 0.008 and 0.01 mg/kg for Cd; 1.41 and 1.63 mg/kg for Cu and 0.98 and 1.28 mg/kg for Pb in wild rabbit and red-legged partridge meat respectively. The dietary, risk assessment was performed by assuming two intake scenarios based on the obtained results of the survey on game meat consumption and the current maximum recommended intakes of Cd, Cu, and Pb, and then, the hazard quotients (THQ and TTHQ) were calculated. The data show that exposure to these metals from eating red-legged partridge and wild rabbit meat from a hunting provenance is relatively low and generally greater in the hunter population. The risk assessment revealed that moderate or low consumption of meat of these species does not offer a significant public health risk. Moreover, hazard quotients values for these metals of red-legged partridge and rabbit meat consumption in hunters and nonhunters are below 1. However, a high Pb content in the meat of these species and a high consumption may pose a greater health risk to hunters.

Trace Element Concentrations in Migratory Game Bird Meat: Contribution to Reference Intakes Through a Probabilistic Assessment.

The aim of this study was to determine Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, and Zn content in migratory game bird meat and its contribution to DRI through a probabilistic assessment. A total of 89 wild birds of three species, woodpigeon (Columba palumbus) (n = 25), common turtledove (Streptopelia turtur) (n = 19), and thrush (Turdus philomelos) (n = 45), were analyzed. Concentrations ranged between the following values: Fe: 35.6-39.6 mg/kg ww; Cu: 2.3-4.0 mg/kg ww; Zn: 11.0-18.6 mg/kg ww; and Cr: 43-51 µg/kg ww. Co content in this kind of meat was negligible. Significant differences were found for Cu and Zn content among species and for Cu, Fe, and Zn between breast and thigh muscle. Breast was the muscle with the highest Cu and Fe content, and thigh recorded the highest Zn levels for all species. Finally, a probabilistic assessment showed that consumption of a serving size between 100 and 200 g of game bird meat (80% breast + 20% thigh) that could meet the DRIs of Cu and Fe for 95th percentile. Then, game meat of these species could be considered as part of a healthy diet and a food with a high nutritional value.