Bill in Congress aims to protect against deadly dangers of contaminated poppy seeds

WASHINGTON — Poppy seeds may look like many other items you have in your spice rack, but some come with a dangerous risk.

Some poppy seeds may contain high levels of opiates like morphine, which can be deadly.

Stephen Hacala Jr. was just 24 when he died in 2016 at his Arkansas home.

“You never expect a knock at the door, somebody telling you that your son had passed away,” his dad Steve Hacala told our Washington News Bureau.

At first, Hacala says the cause of death was puzzling for investigators and his family.

He said the toxicology report showed Stephen died of a morphine overdose, but there weren’t any signs of drug use.

Stephen’s death was later linked to poppy seeds he had purchased online.

His parents think he may have been using the seeds in tea, which some people do to help with anxiety and sleep.

“He was into holistic remedies and things and at the time there was a number of websites and articles that promoted poppy seed tea as a remedy for sleep issues and anxiety, depression, and we think that’s why he was taking it, but we’ll never know,” said Hacala. “It’s been quite the journey to understand the issue and then to try to get something done about it.”

Now, there’s a bill in Congress named after Stephen to crack down on this problem.

The Stephen Hacala Poppy Seed Safety Act bans the sale of poppy seeds with harmful levels of opiates and it requires the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate the maximum level of contamination.

Currently, there is no set standard.

“This legislation honors Stephen Hacala Jr.’s memory by protecting other consumers from falling victim to dangerous, toxin-laced poppy seeds sold online and families from experiencing the loss of a loved one from similar circumstances,” said Sen. John Boozman (R-AR), who sponsored the bill.

“Despite government warnings, unwashed poppy seeds, which can contain lethal doses of morphine, are still available for sale online and entering our food supply,” said Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), who also sponsored the bill. “As our country continues to fight the opioid crisis, it’s time to end sales of unwashed seeds so that no other families experience the pain the Hacala family has endured.”

We spoke with the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) about the dangers from poppy seeds.

“The poppy seeds we eat for food come from the same plant, the same species, that’s used in pharmaceutical production. So, while poppy seeds themselves don’t have opiates, the rest of the poppy plant can potentially have opiates like codeine, morphine,” said Sarah Sorscher, Director of Regulatory Affairs for CSPI. “The risk that we’re seeing of addiction and overdose are really coming from trying to concentrate that opiate by brewing it as a tea or other forms of poppy.”

We asked CSPI what consumers can do to make sure they are being safe if they are using poppy seeds.

“For everyday people I think the message is number one, avoid products that are marketed as unwashed or unprocessed,” said Sorscher. “But in general, we really can’t trust our seeds until FDA sets a standard.”

Food safety advocates point out contaminated poppy seeds can also lead to a false positive on a drug test, which can cost people their jobs or even have newborns taken away from a mother temporarily.

CSPI said it has tracked at least 20 non-fatal overdoses and 19 deaths from poppy seed in the U.S.

The Hacala family is urging lawmakers to pass the bill as soon as possible to better protect the public.

“We’re just very motivated to make sure that others don’t suffer what we’ve suffered in the loss of our son,” said Hacala. “We just couldn’t live with ourselves if we didn’t act and do something.”

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