The state is advising hunters not to eat wildlife harvested in parts of Unity, Unity Township, Albion and Freedom after finding potentially harmful levels of PFAS chemicals.

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife tested 54 deer and 55 turkeys in eastern Kennebec and western Waldo counties and found they had “levels of PFAS in their muscle tissue that warranted an advisory.”

“The Department and the Maine CDC recommended that no one eats deer or wild turkey harvested in these wildlife consumption advisory areas,” according to a Thursday press release from IF&W.

The latest “do not eat” advisory follows one issued in 2021 for Fairfield and parts of Skowhegan. That advisory continues to be in effect.

The state tests wildlife in areas known to have high levels of PFAS, a family of chemicals linked to certain types of cancers and decreases in infant and fetal growth. The chemicals contaminated some farm soils when municipal or industrial sludge was spread on farm fields from the 1970s to the 2000s.

The deer and turkey that feed in these areas “have ingested these chemicals and now have PFAS in their meat and organs,” according to IF&W.