Impacts of lead and mercury on reindeer(Rangifer tarandus)meat food safety:a systematic review and meta-analysis

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to consolidate information about(1)Pb and Hg concentrations in reindeer(Rangifer tarandus)meat from different Arctic regions and the factors affecting the concentrations and(2)the effects of Pb and Hg on human health in the Arctic.The study was performed following guidelines outlined in Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statements.We performed literature searches using the databases Cochrane Library,CrossRef,CyberLeninka,eLibrary,Embase,Medline,PubMed,and Scopus.A total of 3614publications from January 1980 to November 2023 were scrutinized.Thirty-four relevant studies from Canada,Finland,Greenland(Denmark),Norway,Russia(covering six high latitude regions),Sweden,and the United States were selected for synthesis.The highest Hg concentrations in reindeer meat from Arctic regions were found in samples from Alaska(USA),Canada,Greenland(Denmark),the Nenets Autonomous Okrug(Russia),and Sweden,and the highest Pb concentrations were found in samples from Greenland(Denmark),the Nenets Autonomous Okrug(Russia),Norway,and the Taimyr Peninsula(Russia).The Pb and Hg concentrations in reindeer meat from Finland and the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug(Russia)were relatively low.The results indicated that extractive industries in Arctic regions are important sources of toxic metals such as Pb and Hg in reindeer meat.