End of the Venison Donation Program

[BradB]

 Originally Posted By: snapcrackpop

You can't tell me that some meat lockers (USDA approved or not) are going to be "less picky" than others. I think this guy found hamburger that had ground up(missed) bullets in it.

I know of two that are vastly different, neither of which are USDA. I believe that how picky a locker is will vary, and the ones that are more picky have a potential competitive advantage to the discerning consumer.

I agree that there was a ground up bullet in what he found, or he used damaged meat that had lead residue from impact, or he just skewed the test on purpose for his own reasons. But with Iowa and Wisconsin doing their own tests (Minnesota, too, I think) there will very shortly be more comparative data to (hopefully) debunk this guy with.

[Sandmannd]

Wow, looks like taxes will go up because they can't eat donated deer and will have to buy food. Sheesh, never heard of such nit pickyness. I'm gonna continue to eat what I want. If you die from lead, it shouldn't be before you die of old age anyway.

[jkcmj]

I wonder if they cut their food stamp budget amount if they get donated venison. Most of those who visit food shelves also are recieving food stamps and can afford to eat a lot better than I do. If I couldn't finish my venison(which hasn't been a problem so far), it would be better for my dogs than the cheap dog food they get now!

[Jackpine Rob]

Our neighboring state of South Dakota has a fact sheet on their HSOforum, which seems to make a lot of sense.

They are advising that adults eat no more than 3 meals a day of venison....

http://www.sdgfp.info/Publications/LeadFactSheet.pdf

[Bowfin]

 Originally Posted By: Jackpine Rob

They are advising that adults eat no more than 3 meals a day of venison....

Good advice! I know when I eat more than 3 times a day I start to suffer ill effects. My midsection starts to swell and I get heavier.

[Sandmannd]

 Originally Posted By: Jackpine Rob

They are advising that adults eat no more than 3 meals a day of venison....

What the H311 is that all about? Only three meals?? That doesn't mean I still can't have snacks of jerky or sausage throughout the day does it? What am I gonna do if I can't eat a deer a week?

[Scott M]

Minnesota officials announced today that laboratory tests have confirmed the presence of lead fragments in a number of venison samples collected from Minnesota food shelves.

No reports of illness associated with the venison have been made, but the state has directed food shelves to destroy remaining venison. Consumers who have venison obtained from a Minnesota food shelf are asked to throw it away.

“The venison donated through this state program is subject to the same standard set for regulated food companies,” Agriculture Commissioner Gene Hugoson said. “One person could eat this venison and receive a high dose of lead, whereas another person might not ingest any lead at all. Since it can’t be determined with certainty who might receive meat with a high dose of lead, we need to err on the side of caution.”

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) laboratory tested 299 samples of venison donated to food shelves through Minnesota’s Hunter Harvested Venison Donation Program. The tests found lead fragments in 76 samples; The amount varied from 0.185 milligrams to 46.3 milligrams. The high level of variability among samples means that no generalizations can be made and that additional testing is needed. However, because food shelves often serve at-risk individuals such as young children and pregnant women, state officials chose to have food shelves destroy the product.

The initial venison samples came from a custom processor in Bemidji and distribution centers in Duluth and Rochester. Since November 2007, the program has distributed nearly 78,000 pounds of venison to 97 food shelves across Minnesota. As of April 8, the food shelves had roughly 12,000 pounds of venison remaining.

Samples first were examined by X-ray radiography at a commercial food inspection company, and the MDA laboratory conducted subsequent lead analysis. The tests examined both ground venison and whole cuts. Results varied according to the type of venison (ground vs. whole-cut) and the location from which the sample was collected. MDA tests found the lead fragments were not uniformly distributed in the meat. This made it difficult to assess an “average” dose a person might consume from a single serving.

According to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), elevated levels of lead in the bloodstream can harm both children and adults, but the exact level at which health impacts occur can depend on a variety of factors. The most at-risk groups are children under 6 and pregnant women. While high-level lead poisoning can be fatal, the symptoms of low-level lead consumption may not be obvious.

“We don’t have enough information or samples to make broad conclusions yet, but based on the available data it appears there is a chance someone could get a harmful dose of lead by eating this product,” Health Commissioner Dr. Sanne Magnan said. “We support the decision to destroy the remaining product, and we will work with MDA and DNR to address any food safety concerns moving forward.”

Most adults can tolerate small amounts of lead exposure without noticeable symptoms, but pregnant women and children face potential risk from even short-term and relatively low-level exposure. MDH recommends that people contact a doctor if they have concerns about potential lead exposure.

The Minnesota Hunter Harvested Venison Donation Program is operated by MDA in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and state food shelves. The program requires that all donated deer be processed by licensed food processors.

FROM NEWS SERVICES

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Looks like indeed, the Venison Donation Program will be one and done. I'll still keep hunting. What I thought was a great program will be gone. I'm willing to bet there is going to be more attention on lead bullets, rifle hunting, and venison preparation in the future. While I'm a low risk case, some day when I have kids I'd like to not have to worry about them potentially ingesting huge doses of lead in their venison helper or venison spaghetti.

[tealitup]

I want my money back

[ripstick]

A good friend of mine was part of this program. The thing he could figure out was that some were trying to salvage as much of the meat as they could. There are deer that are shot and meat has to to wasted. Not washed or what ever but put in the garbage. Bad cleaning can bring one to this problem.

[Neighbor_guy]

It is just such a waste. The one drawback from the hunters side of this is are they caring for donated meat the way they care for thier own? Are the processors tossing the shock loss? I just dont get it. One small chunk of bullet fragment in a grinder and they toss out thousands of deer worth of meat. It is just a shame.

Wouldnt supries me to see an expanded shot gun or smoke pole only Zones. Thats what we get for living in MinNannysota.

[candiru]

I had a popular muzzleloader bullet disintegrate on me last fall. I never found much of it at all. I can imagine that if you are working at a processor and looking at a pile of 300 deer that things might get a little sloppy. I always do my own.

[Sandmannd]

I thought his year you could just drop off a gutted dear and they did it from there? Not sure, but I thought that's what I heard.

[Grant Pearson]

 Originally Posted By: candiru

I had a popular muzzleloader bullet disintegrate on me last fall. I never found much of it at all. I can imagine that if you are working at a processor and looking at a pile of 300 deer that things might get a little sloppy. I always do my own.

I do as well. I like doing it because 1) I know I'm getting MY deer back, and it's just one more thing that you can do to "lengthen" the deer season. Plus, after the initial set up costs, you can actually butcher a lot cheaper. Even with the initial set up costs, you'd break even in about 3 to 4 deer anyway.

[Roofer]

That is true if you consider your time, free.

Most people bring it in for sausage and things where you don't get your own deer back anyhow.

I agree with you as long as you have time for it, and are going to eat the venison for what it is, and not an over seasoned sausage.

[Thorn]

What to do when ingesting 206 lead bullets.....

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Florida Poison Information Center, Tampa General Hospital, 33601, USA.

A 45-y-o male with a history of schizophrenia was admitted to a local VA psychiatric unit. Five days later, endoscopy due to abdominal pain, gastrointestinal bleeding and blood hemoglobin of 5.6 g/dL revealed bullets in the stomach. On subsequent radiograph, > 50 bullets were visualized in the stomach and intestines. Poison Center recommendations included whole bowel irrigation and a blood lead level. After poor results with gastrointestinal decontamination and a repeat radiograph showing > 100 cartridges, surgical intervention was considered but not performed due to perceived risk of bullet detonation from electrocautery. The blood lead was reported as 391 mcg/dL. Calcium EDTA therapy was initiated, followed by aggressive gastrointestinal decontamination. Four days of whole bowel irrigation facilitated passage of 206 cartridges over the next 10 days. The patient was discharged on a 14-day course of 600 mg Succimer tid to treat the bone lead deposits and blood lead level of 49 mcg/dl. An outpatient visit 6 w later showed the blood lead level had dropped to 24 mcg/dl. Aggressive gastrointestinal decontamination and calcium EDTA and Succimer administration successfully treated an ingestion lead bullets and the resulting lead poisoning.

PMID: 11577935 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

easy enough...drink milk with every meal