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The Iowa Department of Natural Resources, which administers the Help Us Stop Hunger program, is working with the Iowa Department of Public Health to collect and sample deer meat to determine if there is potential for lead contamination.
The DNR has already contacted food pantries to begin collecting samples that can be analyzed for potential lead contamination that might occur when an animal is killed through firearms hunting.
North Dakota issued the advisory to its food pantries after 53 of 95 ground venison packages detected metals through X-ray testing. DNR spokesperson Kevin Baskins said Iowa's testing is precautionary.
"It's a new issue for us," he said.
Deer meat has never been tested, but Baskins said his agency and the IDPH decided it would be best to conduct tests, given North Dakota's findings.
"I received the advisory and have been calling our local pantries," said Vicky Barents, agency relations manager with the Omaha Food Bank.
She is advising pantries to hold the meat until further notice. Barents said her agency, which distributes to Omaha, Council Bluffs and surrounding areas, received 30,000 pounds of venison but did not have figures Friday on how much or where it was distributed.
She said the Omaha Food Bank has been distributing the meat since Jan. 1.
At least one Council Bluffs pantry has distributed venison to its clients.
Juanita Andrews, director of Fifth Avenue Methodist Church's Care and Share House, said she has an upright freezer full of the meat that she received last week.
"A lot of our people like it," she said.
Some clients received venison last Monday and Thursday, Andrews said. She said the pantry is closed the next two weeks anyway, and she hopes the issue is resolved when it reopens.
There have been no reports of lead poisoning in Iowa related to eating venison.
The DNR advises that anyone who is concerned about the safety of venison in their possession can choose to wait until sample results have been analyzed for further guidance. It is not necessary, nor recommended, to dispose of any venison at this time.
It is expected that test results will be available by next week.
"We will be collecting samples of venison collected through Iowa's HUSH program and having those samples tested by the University Hygienic Laboratory," said Ross Harrison, coordinator of the HUSH program.
The Iowa Department of Public Health is being consulted to review the sampling results when they become available.
Baskins said results could be available as early as Monday.
Harrison has advised food pantries and other social service agencies that distribute deer venison to cease distribution of the meat until sampling can take place but not to dispose of the meat at this time.
"Deer venison provided through the generosity of our hunters is a highly valuable food source for some of Iowa's less fortunate citizens. We certainly have an obligation to ensure its safety, but we also don't want to be wasteful of this valuable resource, if we don't need to," said Harrison.
Shari Poffenbarger, manager of the Community of Christ Food Pantry and Thrift Store, said she has never ordered venison.
"I always turned it down," she said. "I am afraid of it. There are too many unknown factors. I would rather be safe than sorry."
First Baptist Church has also steered clear of deer meat.
"We only have so much freezer space, and I didn't think it would be that desirable of an item," said Teresa Large, who coordinates the church's pantry. "People would be asking me how to prepare it, and I would have no idea."
The primary question that needs to be answered comes down to firearm ballistics. High-powered rifles harvest most of North Dakota's deer, while Iowa's are primarily taken with shotguns.
"There may be less fragmentation from a shotgun slug than a rifle bullet, meaning less potential for lead fragments to get ground up in the meat; but we need to do the sampling to make sure," said DNR Wildlife Bureau Chief Dale Garner.
Lead poisoning can cause significant health problems for young children and pregnant women.
Since 1992, more than 500,000 Iowa children and more than 25,000 Iowa adults have been tested for lead poisoning. According to Iowa Department of Public Health records, none of the cases of lead poisoning identified from this testing resulted from ingestion of venison.
More than 25,000 deer have been donated to hunger programs in the last five years, representing more than 4 million meal servings.
HUSH is a cooperative effort among deer hunters, the Food Bank of Iowa, meat lockers and the Iowa DNR. The two main goals of HUSH include reducing the deer population while providing high-quality red meat to the needy in Iowa.
