Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/07/13/the-trader-joes-seasoning-that-will-get-you-arrested-in-south-korea.html
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If they’re so nervous about the few bits of poppyseed in bagel seasoning, I wonder what they’d say about a Mohnkuchen.
A lot of Central and Eastern European cuisine uses poppyseed. That’s where the bagel is from as well, of course.
Eating the above can lead to a positive test for opiates up to five days after.
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Mythbusters tested poppyseed bagels, and found that eating just a couple of those would quickly show in an opiate test, too.
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The spice shop I used to buy stuff from stopped carrying poppy seeds years ago because of a rumor people were boiling them into a narcotic tea. Luckily now I’m by a Polish grocery where I can get pounds of poppy seeds for when I make Makoviec. It will definitely set off a drug test.
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I wonder if what authorities their are actually worried about is importation of seeds that could be used to grow poppy plants.
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I love Makoviec! When I travel to US cities, I often search for Polish bakeries just so I can get some.
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we keep that “everything” seasoning at home. i put it on top of homemade pretzels.
also loves me some poppyseed kolaches, like my first wife’s grandmother made. have had the makoviec, too, but not the mohnkuchen. that looks yummy!
i suppose that’s a good thing about being retired - no more employment-related random drug tests! (although i never had a positive from poppyseed pastries.)
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Seeds from these will definitely make you test positive, and if you make tea from the pods, you’ll have a great night’s sleep, but need to be careful about constipation. The pink one is growing in my garden.
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“… some unwashed poppy seeds of certain geographic origin may have measurable amounts of opioids on them.”
I’m certain that Trader Joe’s unflagging attention to product safety would never allow dubious poppy seeds into any of their items. /s
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I used to get those a lot when I lived in Texas. There was a bakery in Bryan, I think it was called Brazos Blue Ribbon Bakery, that had really good kolaches, including poppy seed.
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Maybe the truth is that the confiscating Customs Officers just really like poppy products themselves.
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Drinking “tea from the pods” equals taking Morphine, so yeah, it might help ya sleep.
The seeds themselves I don’t think, have morphine in them, but depending on how well they are washed by the supplier they will have residue on them. You can definitely get a morphine high from store bought poppyseeds if you make a tea with enough of them. I read at one time a report of a young guy actually dying of an overdose from doing this.
So yes, your average grocery store does carry an opium product.
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In fact, it’s papaver somniferum, I think the seeds contain opioids like chili seeds are spicy, because they’re right near the parts that contain the active chemical.
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I’m not sure if we are agreeing or disagreeing here, but papaver somniferum Is the opium poppy, where morphine comes from. I’m only saying this because I wouldn’t want someone to think they are taking a harmless thing when they are actually messing around with opium. I think it’s fine to make tea like this if you are just aware of the potential dangers of addiction.
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Yeah we’re in agreement, I grow em because they’re pretty, they grow all over the place here, and it’s not unusual to see them missing pods. I’m pretty sure most people realize what poppies are known for, but you’d need quite a bit more than a plant or two to have any real amount of opium, morphine is a derivative of opium, and more concentrated (also opium tastes horrible, nasty alkaloids).
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oohhh, but it smells so… dreamy.
like perfume. (as you know. you grow them!)
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Yeah, too perfumey for me, sort of like sweetpeas, pleasant from afar, but up close it’s overpowering.
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I doubt it. They’re easy enough to send by mail. My guess is that they don’t want people who legitimately test positive for opiates to be able to plausibly claim that it was just a seasoning.
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