INUVIK - A study to ensure the safety of traditional foods has been concluded and the results are good.

Barb Armstrong has been working with the Northern Contaminants Program, which is a division of the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs.

Albert Bernhardt and Barb Armstrong have found the level of pollutants in traditional foods has dropped over the past seven years. They studied blood samples from young mothers in the region. - Dez Loreen/NNSL photo

"We want to ensure that traditional food is safe to eat," said Armstrong.

A base study was made in 2000, to gauge the number of contaminants found in young people in the region.

Those numbers were compared to a newer study that was done over the last three years.

The study shows that the number of contaminants found in new mothers has decreased in the last seven years.

Armstrong said they did the test on women who were giving birth because they had already given blood, which was needed for the tests.

"We used pregnant women for a few reasons," said Armstrong.

"They were already in Inuvik, which meant no travelling to other communities."

Since the old study focused on young people, Armstrong said pregnant women fell into the same age group.

"We wanted young people who were women of child-bearing age," she said.

Armstrong said she wanted to test people for airborne contaminants, not from close sources like the dump, or the old DEW line sites, but foreign matter in the air.

Mercury, lead and PCBs were observed in the study, said Armstrong.

"Lead, mercury and cadmium levels are down from the first study," said Armstrong.

"The women in the region are healthy."

Armstrong said she wanted to test the connection between animals and people.

"We tested hair samples and mercury exposure in the blood," she said.

Armstrong will be at Ingamo Hall tonight to present the full results of the study and to celebrate the good news of healthy women with a cooking demonstration.

Albert Bernhardt will be cooking traditional foods and showing people healthy ways to cook their food.

Bernhardt said the show will feature foods from the region.

"We'll have a surprise fish dinner, with muskox and a cranberry dessert," said Bernhardt.

Armstrong said this is community-based research that can be used by people in the region.

"We want to help the community make healthy lifestyle choices," she said.

"We have to know about the safety of our food, and now."

Armstrong plans on bringing the information to other communities in the region later this year.