Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the effect on human health of the use of lead ammunition for shooting.

In October 2012, the Food Standards Agency assessed the risk to human health from exposure to lead from lead bullets and shot used to shoot wild game animals.

The FSA concluded in its risk assessment that frequent consumption of game meat could increase exposure to lead. This increased exposure would be a concern in the case of toddlers, young children and pregnant women because of the neurotoxicity of lead to the developing brain.

This risk assessment is available on the FSA’s website:

http://www.foodbase.org.uk//admintools/reportdocuments/776-1-1354_Risk_assessment_for_lead_in_wild_game_-_Final_5_October.pdf