State to test donated venison meat for lead

St. Paul, Minn. — Deer meat donated to Minnesota food shelves through the state's venison donation program will be tested to determine if it contains lead.

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture said it will test the meat after a North Dakota doctor detected low levels of lead in that state's venison donation supply. The lead is thought to have come from ammunition fragments.

Ag Department spokesman Mike Schommer said tests on Minnesota's venison supply should take about a week.

"The meat was distributed to 97 food shelves across the state and nearly 2,000 deer were donated to the program," said Schommer. "We're still trying to determine exactly how much of that meat remains in the food shelves. But what we can find on the shelves, we will bring back and test to see what we can find."

Schommer said the Ag Department is not aware of any reports of lead in Minnesota venison. But the agency recommends that food shelves withhold distribution of the meat until testing is complete.