Morphine on your sandwich?

Several employees of different companies have tested positive to opiates following hospital visits. The cause was found to be their lunchtime sandwich, or more specifically the poppy seeds on their bread.

Following this discovery, the Paris anti-poison centre conducted several tests and analysed the morphine concentrations per gram of poppy seeds from the bread of different bakeries. They found that just one sandwich with poppy seeds contained the equivalent of 4mg of morphine. To put that in perspective, it’s the equivalent of half a Skenan® tablet, AKA the drug given to cancer patients.

According to the French General Directorate of Competition, Consumption and Fraud Repression (DGCCRF), the cause could be batches of poppy seeds contaminated by poppy stalks containing opiate alkaloids, rather than due to the seeds themselves. To avoid contamination, the seeds should be carefully washed.

In a report published on March 1, the DGCCRF thus recommended avoiding all products featuring poppy seeds until further notice. People with certain health conditions, such as pregnant women, should take particular care not to eat such products.