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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A slew of research on country foods has appeared in recent weeks; health advisories, revisions and warnings dealing with mercury, cadmium, tranquillizers and international pollution.

But all the reports have come with a similar caveat: don't panic.

"You have to get the information out; you don't want to sugar coat it," said Deh Cho regional biologist Nic Larter. "But you don't want to scare the bejeesus out of everyone, especially the elders."

Larter is one of the researchers behind a health advisory that came out last week concerning moose in the Deh Cho region. The advisory warns of elevated cadmium levels in moose found in the Mackenzie Mountains, as well as throughout the Mackenzie Valley.

It suggests hunters should limit the number of moose livers and kidneys they consume in a given year: One serving of valley moose kidney every two months, or one serving of valley moose liver per week. For moose found in the mountains, the warning is more stringent: Only one serving of mountain moose liver every three months and no kidneys at all, due to high cadmium levels.

"Moose meat is still a healthy choice," said Kami Kandola, deputy chief medical officer for the NWT. "We have not limited the level of moose meat that people can eat."

She said cadmium occurs naturally in soil, and is taken up by leafy plants. When consumed by animals over time, the toxin can build up in the liver, kidneys and muscle tissue. In humans, chronic or acute exposure to cadmium, which is used in batteries, can cause liver and kidney damage when consumed and lung damage when inhaled. It's also linked to osteoporosis - or brittle bones - and cancer.

However, both these Northern experts say the levels present in moose aren't a major concern, and for several reasons. Some will come as no surprise to frequent and traditional hunters in the region.

"Very, very few people go up into the mountains to hunt moose," Larter said. "Why would you? There's plenty of them in the valley and they're much more accessible."

He said hunting in the mountains is mostly left to outfitters, who fly travellers in via helicopter to hunt. "And they are mostly after the meat."

With valley moose, Larter said the limit of one kidney every two months matches up with what many hunters are already doing. "A moose can last a family for a couple of months," he said.

And then there's the ugly reality of where most cadmium related-illness comes from: smoking. Cadmium is present in cigarette smoke, where it is inhaled into the lungs. Kandola said the body retains much more cadmium through inhalation than through eating - some 25 to 50 micrograms a day if you have a pack-a-day habit. Safe levels are less than 70 micrograms per day for men and 60 per day for women.

"If you really want to cut down your cadmium levels, quit smoking," she said.

The advisory is based on the GNWT's work with the Northern Contaminants Program, a federal initiative that has spent decades studying pollution and natural toxins around the North.

Just last week, News/North reported the program's findings on NWT caribou and sea mammals. Its recent studies have found rising levels of mercury in both.

Again, the 'don't panic' refrain was loud and clear.

"The levels of mercury in caribou are well below levels where there might be a concern of adverse effects," said environmental scientist Jason Stow in a follow-up e-mail with News/North. He said this goes both for caribou and the people who eat them.

The increase is also small, he said, some two to five per cent per year over several decades, depending on the species and the region. Stow said this is still concern, and could drive future international regulation of the element - mercury can still have serious health consequences at larger doses.

The information, he said, is pulled from samples donated from hunters around the NWT from 2004-2007.

Larter said his department was impressed with the numbers of kidneys and livers hunters were willing to donate to the cause, especially considering how prized they are.

"Kidneys are a real delicacy for the local people that go out and harvest."

Among the warnings and worries, there is some good news. Health Canada recently loosened its recommendations on how long hunters can wait before harvesting a polar bear that has been tranquillized - down to 45 days from one full year.

In various media reports, health representatives have said they lowered the limit after doing more research into the effects of Telazol and Zoletil, the two most common bear tranquillizers.

The announcement isn't likely to ease all hunters' concerns about tranquillizing, however. Reports from elders and hunters have come in from around the North about spoiled meat and unhealthy bears - and they blame scientists' practice of chasing and tagging the animals.

In the end, all of the experts News/North spoke to said their goal is to educate the public, not to worry it. The message: watch the guidelines, but keep doing what you're doing.

"I know people that have lived to 100 just eating country food," Larter said. "We want people to feel safe and secure in what they have been doing."