Lead Contamination in Meat and Offal from Game (Ruminants), Destined for Raw Feeding of Dogs and Retailed in Austria

Abstract

Bullet-derived lead (Pb) is a food safety hazard in meat from hunted wild game. Dogs can be exposed to alimentary Pb when fed with meat from wild game. We studied Pb contamination in 47 commercial “bones-and-raw-food” (BARF) packages from wild game meat and offal sold in Austria. Samples were first tested with a metal detector (calibrated for 2.5 mm diameter objects), then by X-ray, and Pb content was determined in sample areas free from metal-dense particles (as assessed in radiographs). Three samples tested positive by the metal detector (particle sizes ranged from 3 mm × 2 mm × 2 mm to 10 mm × 8 mm × 5 mm), with two particles from lead and one from tombac. Metal-dense objects were found in radiographs of 35/47 samples. In 13/47 samples, particles > 1 mm in diameter, and in 33/47 samples, smaller ones (median of five particles per sample) were noted. Lead content was above 1.5 mg/kg wet weight in 19/47 samples and exceeded the limit for general animal feed of 10 mg/kg wet weight in 5 of these 19 samples. The Pb contents as well as the presence of metal particles indicate that there is a feed safety issue in the samples analyzed. By a metal detector, the presence of large fragments was indicated in three samples, which casts doubt on whether all producers use a metal detector to scan the packages before delivery.