Opiates in Our Food Supply - Congress Must Act to Prevent Harm from Contaminated Poppy Seeds - Poppy has caused dozens of overdoses and deaths in the U.S.

The seeds themselves naturally contain negligible amounts of opiate alkaloids, but other parts of the plant produce substantial amounts, including morphine, codeine, and thebaine.1 Because seeds can become contaminated with opiates from the plant’s sap and dust during harvest, thorough washing and processing are needed to reduce the opiate content of the seeds to safe levels. [...] S.— most involving consumption of poppy seed tea—have been reported in the medical literature and government publications, and most have occurred since 2016.7 These are likely underestimates, as additional deaths involving poppy have been reported in the popular media and adverse event data is typically incomplete.8 Poppy seeds with unsafe levels of opiates continue to be sold Despite the document. [...] A 2018 study analyzed the opiate content of 22 poppy products purchased online and found up to 2,788 mg morphine per kg seeds after extraction, with a median of 97.3 mg/kg morphine.9 For reference, a dose of 20 to 50 morphine mg equivalents per day increases the risk of overdose and death.10 In February 2023, the Department of Defense issued a statement warning service members to avoid all poppy s. [...] The Stephen Hacala Poppy Seed Safety Act will protect Americans from unsafe seeds The Stephen Hacala Poppy Seed Safety Act19 would remedy this gap in public health by prohibiting the sale of contaminated poppy seeds to consumers and directing the FDA to establish a maximum limit on the opiate content of poppy seeds, giving the agency one year to issue a proposed rule and two years to issue a final. [...] doi:10.1080/15563650.2020.1866766 17 Commission Recommendation of 10 September 2014 on good practices to prevent and to reduce the presence of opium alkaloids in poppy seeds and poppy seed products.