Research shows that over 2/3 of the cattle examined had dioxin levels above the legal standard. Cattle used for wildlife management are called 'wilderness meat' by the NVWA. They hold the managers and keepers of these animals responsible for ensuring that the dioxin content of the beef remains within the legal standard. If this fails, the sale is banned.

The NVWA's Risk Assessment & Research Office (BuRO) conducted extensive research into this. This showed that in 70% of the cattle examined, dioxin levels exceeded the legal standard. This large deviation has caused the NVWA to monitor this strictly. For BuRO's risk assessment, Wageningen Food Safety Research (WFSR) analysed cattle, grass and soil samples. The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) and WFSR also mapped the consumption of wild meat by Dutch consumers and developed a first model to simulate dioxin levels in meat.

The investigation was conducted because 2 reports were made to the NVWA in 2020 about possible health risks related to eating game meat. These showed that in some of the liver and meat samples analysed, the levels of dioxins and PCBs were above the legal maximum limit (ML). A number of foundations subsequently stopped selling wilderness meat.

Wilderness meat has a small market. Annually, there are about 4,000 private buyers. Eating fattier game meat every week, and throughout life, can have negative effects on consumers' health, writes BuRO. Other environmental contaminants, such as heavy metal and PFAS levels, were also included in the study. In a number of cases, the standard for heavy metals in bovine organs was exceeded. Most of the samples remained within the standard. The presence of PFAS in game meat is unlikely to lead to health risks for adults.

The NVWA is in talks with managers and providers of wild meat following the results of this investigation. They are therefore only allowed to sell this meat if it can be shown that the dioxin content of the meat remains within the standard. This can be done by testing the dioxin content in fat of dead animals. In addition, the NVWA will carry out spot checks to ensure the food safety of this wild meat.