It sounds like a joke, but poppy seeds are infused with opioids.
Indeed, that was the plotline of the sitcom Seinfeld. But for some, it was a tragedy.
People died after drinking tea brewed from unwashed poppy seeds.
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Additionally, mothers who ate lemon poppy seed bread and Everything Bagel were reportedly separated from their newborns after failing drug tests.
Poppy seeds are derived from plants that produce opium and are the source of drugs such as morphine and codeine. During harvesting and processing, the seeds can become coated with opium liquor.
Lawmakers in the House and Senate are proposing legislation that would “prohibit the distribution and sale of morphine-contaminated poppy seeds to prevent harm, poisoning, and further death from morphine-contaminated poppy seeds.” The bill was one of several items to be discussed during a Sept. 10 House hearing.
The day before the hearing, Marshall Project and Reveal revealed that she ate a salad with poppy seed dressing before giving birth, tested positive for opiates at the hospital, and child welfare was notified and the baby was taken into custody. reported on the woman who was watching the scene. Almost two weeks passed before she was allowed to take the baby home, according to the article.
“This is not an urban legend. Eating poppy seeds may cause guests to test positive for codeine in a urine test,” the Pentagon warned military personnel in 2023.
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency issued a similar warning to athletes long ago.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a watchdog group, petitioned the FDA in 2021 to limit the opium content in poppy seeds. After more than three years without a response, the government sued authorities in May to force the measures.
“So far, the FDA has failed to protect consumers,” said Steve Hakala, who lost his son after drinking poppy seed tea and works with CSPI.
The case was put on hold in July after the FDA announced it would respond to the group’s petition by the end of February 2025.
The FDA did not respond to questions for this article. Spokesperson Courtney Rose said the agency typically does not comment on lawsuits.
A 2021 study co-authored by CSPI staff found that between 2000 and 2018, there were more than 100 reports to poison control centers due to intentional abuse or misuse of poppy seeds. , said CSPI scientist Eva Greenthal, one of the study authors.
Baked goods and other foods containing washed poppy seeds rarely result in positive drug tests, according to doctors who have studied the issue.
It’s “highly doubtful” that the “relatively small” amounts of morphine in foods like Everything Bagel will harm anyone, said Irving Haber, a painkiller and author of a book about poppy seeds. , signed the CSPI petition. F.D.A.
Meanwhile, doctors said tea made from large quantities of unwashed poppy seeds could lead to poisoning and overdose. The risk increases if the person drinking this beer is also taking other opioids, such as prescription painkillers.
Benjamin Lai, a physician who chairs the opioid program at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., said he has treated patients who developed long-term opioid addiction after consuming poppy seed tea. The patient, a man in his 30s, found it at a health food store and believed it would help him relax and recover from his gym workout. After a few months, Lai said he tried to quit but experienced withdrawal symptoms.
Another patient, an elderly woman, developed withdrawal symptoms in a similar situation, but responded well to treatment, Lai said.
Some websites tout the health benefits of poppy seed tea. Also, some sellers use the words ‘raw,’ ‘unprocessed,’ and ‘unwashed’ to indicate that their products contain higher concentrations of opiates than properly processed seeds. may use certain words, such as,” the CSPI lawsuit states.
According to the lawsuit, poppy seed tea is touted as a natural treatment for Steve Hakala’s son, music teacher Stephen Hakala, who suffers from anxiety and insomnia. In 2016, at age 24, he ordered a bag of poppy seeds online, washed them with water, and consumed the washed residue. He died of morphine poisoning.
The only source of morphine found in the home where Stephen died was commercial poppy seeds, the coroner at the Arkansas State Crime Lab said in a letter to his father. . The coroner wrote that it was “very likely” that poppy seeds caused Stephen’s death.
Steve Hakala estimated that the amount of poppy seeds in a one-liter plastic bottle at his son’s home could have released more than 10 times the lethal dose.
Steve Hacala and his wife Betty funded CSPI’s efforts to bring attention to this issue. (David Rousseau, publisher of KFF Health News, is a member of the CSPI Board of Directors.)
The lawsuit also names mothers who violated rules meant to protect their newborns, as well as those investigated by the Marshall Project and Reveal. For example, Jamie Silakowski did not use opioids during her pregnancy, but she was initially prevented from leaving the hospital with her baby, the lawsuit says.
CSPI said in its petition that Sirakowski recalled eating lemon poppy seed bread at the fast food chain Tim Hortons before going to the hospital. “No one in the hospital believed Mr. Sirakowski or appeared to realize that the test results could have come from poppy seeds.”
People from Child Protective Services visited her home unannounced, interviewed other children and questioned teachers at her school, she said in an interview.
Sirakowski said she had to take a drug test while on maternity leave. “It was just humiliating to pee in front of people, like I was a criminal.”
She said even her family questioned her but there was nothing she could do to dispel her suspicions. “Relationships were torn apart,” she said.
Tim Hortons’ parent company, Restaurant Brands International, which also owns Burger King and Popeyes, did not respond to questions from KFF Health News.
In July, the Washington Post reported that Trader Joe’s non-bagel seasoning was banned and confiscated in South Korea because it contained poppy seeds. Trader Joe’s did not respond to inquiries for this article. The seasonings are sold on the company’s website.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says unwashed poppy seeds can be deadly when used alone or in combination with other drugs. While poppy seeds are exempt from drug regulations under the Controlled Substances Act, the opium contaminants in the seeds are not exempt, officials said. The Department of Justice has filed criminal charges over the sale of unwashed poppy seeds.
Meanwhile, laws regulating poppy seed contamination have received less attention.
The Senate bill, introduced by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), has two co-sponsors.
The House bill introduced by Rep. Steve Womack (R-Arkansas) contains nothing. Although it was on the agenda, it was not brought up in recent public hearings.
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