Berky et al. 2022 — Lead exposure from wild game consumption in the Peruvian Amazon
Berky et al. conducted two cross-sectional studies enrolling 307 individuals across 26 communities in Madre de Dios, a remote region of the southern Peruvian Amazon where indigenous and rural communities rely heavily on wild game as a food source. The study found that wild game consumption — specifically game hunted with lead ammunition — was a significant independent risk factor for elevated blood lead levels (BLL), after adjusting for indigenous status, sex, age, water source, and smoking. Background lead exposure was estimated at 20 µg/day, with a single meal of wild game contributing approximately 500 µg Pb. The authors also document a dual burden of lead (from wild game) and mercury (from piscivorous fish consumption) in communities dependent on local food systems, with a strong correlation between BLL and mercury exposure.
Key numbers
Blood lead levels (BLL), measured units µg/dL:
- Wild game consumption associated with BLL increase: 1.41 µg/dL (95% CI: 1.20–1.70)
- Two or more portions per serving vs smaller: 1.66 µg/dL (95% CI: 1.10–2.57) increase in BLL
- Indigenous status vs non-indigenous: 2.52 µg/dL (95% CI: 1.95–3.24) higher BLL
- Background Pb exposure estimate (EPA All-Ages Lead Model, AALM): 20 µg/day
- Pb dose from one wild game meal estimate (AALM): ~500 µg/meal
- Strong positive association between BLL and mercury exposure documented (wild game Pb and fish Hg as co-exposures in same population)
Lead source mechanism: Bullets upon impact fragment into hundreds of pieces, 34% under 0.01 g; many fragments are microscopic, making complete removal infeasible. An isotopic analysis cited by authors found 86% (in oil-extraction region) and 57% (non-oil region) of lead in hunted wild game traceable to bullet lead.
Regression model: community random effects to account for clustering; covariates included sex, age, indigenous status, water source, smoking, diet items.
Methods (brief)
Two cross-sectional studies pooled (2015 and 2018). Blood lead and blood mercury analysis (methods not fully detailed in abstract; BLL and hair mercury used). EPA All-Ages Lead Model (AALM) used for dose estimation. n=307 individuals, 26 communities. Oil exploitation absent from Madre de Dios at time of study — controls for oil-spill confounders.
Limitation: Cross-sectional design; BLL as endpoint rather than direct food Pb measurement. Wild game meat Pb concentrations are inferred via AALM rather than directly measured in this paper.
Implications
Certification: Wild game meat is not an HMT&C product category, but this paper is relevant to the ingredient/food-chain context for Pb exposure from non-commercial food sources in indigenous and subsistence populations. Documents a frequently underappreciated dietary Pb exposure pathway.
Courses: Key case study illustrating that lead ammunition in game meat is a meaningful dietary exposure source; that dual exposure to Pb (meat) and Hg (fish) creates compounded risk in communities reliant on local food systems; and that indigenous status is an independent predictor of BLL, likely driven by dietary patterns.
App: Wild game / bushmeat ingredient flag for Pb risk, particularly in subsistence contexts; dual-metal flag (Pb + Hg) for populations combining wild game and piscivorous fish consumption.
Microbiome: Not addressed.