On these dates the gastronomic specialties change, introducing dishes made with game pieces. But the meat of these animals has particularities that must be taken care of
Autumn is synonymous with landscapes covered by fallen leaves, mushrooms, chestnuts and game.
This also means that in many areas of our country gastronomic specialties change, introducing delicious dishes made with pieces that hunters collect now and in the coming months.
But the meat of these animals has some peculiarities and must be observed when consuming them.
The experts from the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN) highlight some Game meat properties.
- It is a “lean meat, with high value protein and that it provides important micronutrients”, which makes it a healthy food.
- Also, it has a highly appreciated flavor and texture due to its origin of animals that are in freedom.
So far no problem. The ‘buts’ appear when we look at the way in which that animal is hunted, specifically if lead ammunition has been used for it.
What is lead and how does it affect our health?
From AESAN they explain that the lead is a polluting metal that is naturally present in our environment, in addition to that introduced as a result of human activity.
It can be found in both organic and inorganic forms, with the inorganic form being the predominant one in the environment.
It is present in the soil, in surface waters and human exposure to it is mainly through food.
- as eThey explain from AESAN“Although there are no known adverse effects from a single ingestion, chronic lead toxicity from repeated ingestions has a number of well-known effects on the body.”
Specifically, a high consumption of foods rich in lead affects the central nervous systemespecially to the developing brain, with important neurotoxic effects in fetuses and young children.
In addition, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) considers inorganic lead compounds as “probably carcinogenic to humans.”
In the case of game meat, the pieces are shot with ammunition that contains lead. After the shot, the ammunition fragments are deposited at the impact site and in the adjacent areas.
- In addition, the remains of the ammunition that remain on the ground after a day of hunting can be involuntarily eaten by the animals, which “could give rise to the presence of residual lead in their viscera”, explain the food safety experts. .
Normally it is easier for ammunition remains to remain in the hunted piece in self-consumption meats, being very unusual among meats marketed through the usual channels.
Therefore, exposure to lead will be more likely among hunters and their families.
What should we do before consuming game meat?
Does this mean that we should not eat game meat? Nope.
What we must do is take a series of precautions to reduce the presence of lead to a minimum.
How? Well, the first question concerns hunters, to whom AESAN recommends the use of alternative ammunition that does not contain leador that it does so in very small quantities.
- It is also especially important that children under 7 years of age, pregnant women or those who are planning a pregnancy, and lactating women, refrain from consuming game meatunless they know that the hunter has not used lead ammunition.
For the rest of the population, the AESAN recommends:
- Eliminate the impact area, the discolored meat, with remains of earth, grass, bones or lead fragments.
- Do not wash the pieces before removing the damaged parts, since contamination can spread to the rest of the piece.
- If it is consumed in the form of minced meat, it is advisable to clean the mincer between different pieces, since the metals of the ammunition are soft and can get trapped in the machine, contaminating the meat.
- It is better not to cook this type of pickled meat.