It’s actually less of a particular type of poppy seeds and more of a blend.
Some geniuses over at a global ingredient supply company in London (FDL) created a proprietary mix of Eastern European poppy seeds recognized for having low levels of morphine — which often creates a false-positive for heroin in drug tests — and cheaper poppy seeds from the UK that have a higher amount of the opioid.
While there is a drug test that factors in poppy seeds, produced by the opium poppy plant, eating too many can still inaccurately peg you as a heroin addict.
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In 2013, a Pennsylvania woman won a nice chunk of change in a settlement after the state took away her newborn when she failed a hospital mandated drug test after eating, you guessed it, a damn poppy seed bagel.
The lawsuit claimed that “Elizabeth Mort never imagined that the last thing she ate before giving birth to her daughter —  a poppy seed bagel —  would lead to the loss of her newborn, but that is exactly what happened…”
FDL’s Dr. Gareth Elwin tells FoodNavigator that the company’s blend has residual morphine levels below 20 parts per million compared to the 900 parts per million for average poppy seeds in the UK.
Elwin says FDL has already scored a deal with a big bread maker to begin selling their hybrid poppy blend and thinks other bread companies will follow suit, as none of them want their image associated with being a drug test buzzkill.
No word when these low-narcotic poppy seeds will be available stateside.
