Poppy seed: a baking seed with a morphine footnote

The best trial involving poppy seed used it as the placebo. Overweight postmenopausal women ate 0.88 oz (25 g) a day for 10 weeks, and in the 26 on poppy seed plasma omega-3 did not change significantly, while milled chia raised ALA by 58%. Nobody has tested poppy seed itself for a health effect in a trial we found. What the evidence does cover is morphine. The alkaloids are thought to sit mostly on the outside of the seed, and EFSA sets a safe single-day limit of 10 micrograms of morphine per kg of body weight. For seeds from high-morphine varieties grown mainly for pharmaceutical use, EFSA estimated that ordinary eating could exceed that limit by up to 33-fold in most age groups, and with low-morphine seeds exceeding it was rare. Washing, soaking, heating and grinding cut the alkaloid content by 25 to 100%, depending on the method and the variety.

The numbers, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

How much is actually in it

• Poppy seeds are dense in minerals: 100 g carries about 1.4 to 1.6 g of calcium and 1.6 mg of copper, although a typical sprinkle is a teaspoon or two. — USDA SR Legacy Spices, poppy seed (FDC 171330); CoFID 2021 Poppy seeds (13-849) (n = 2 records) Evidence E source
  Per 100 g: calcium 1438 mg (USDA) vs 1580 mg (CoFID); copper 1.627 vs 1.63 mg; magnesium 347 vs 330 mg

What your body absorbs

• As a carrier for iodine supplements, poppy seed oil did worse than peanut oil: in a model built on a trial in schoolchildren, iodine retention from a 400 mg dose in peanut oil was 3 times that from poppy seed oil. — Schoolchildren aged 8-10 y, Indonesia, single oral dose of iodised oil, 50 weeks Evidence B source
  Iodine retention from peanut oil 3 times that from poppy seed oil; protection twice as long (P < 0.001)

What cooking and storage change

• Washing, soaking, heating and grinding poppy seeds can cut their opium alkaloid content by 25 to 100% before they reach the plate. — Raw poppy seeds processed for food, EFSA review of processing studies Evidence E source
  Alkaloid reduction 25-100% in the final product
• Morphine on poppy seeds is thought to come mainly from the outside of the seed, so washing and other pre-treatment can lower it by up to 90%. — Poppy seeds from food suppliers, laboratory analysis and literature Evidence D source
  Morphine reduction up to 90% with washing

What it does to your health

• Eating 0.88 oz (25 g) of poppy seed a day for 10 weeks, the placebo arm of a chia trial, produced no significant change in plasma omega-3, while milled chia raised ALA by 58%. — Overweight postmenopausal women aged 49-75, 25 g/day seeds for 10 weeks (n = 62 randomized, 56 analyzed) Evidence B source
  ALA +58% milled chia vs nonsignificant change on poppy seed placebo

Safety, limits and interactions

• EFSA's safe single-day limit for morphine from poppy seeds is 10 ug per kg of body weight, about 700 ug for a 154 lb (70 kg) adult. — General population, EU risk assessment of opium alkaloids in poppy seeds Evidence E source
  ARfD 10 ug morphine equivalents/kg bw, confirmed in 2018
• With high-morphine poppy seed varieties, EFSA estimated that normal eating could exceed the safe single-day morphine limit by up to 33-fold in most age groups. — EU consumers of poppy seeds, 'high-morphine' scenario Evidence E source
  ARfD exceeded up to 33-fold
• Tea brewed from non-food-grade poppy seeds poisoned 40 people in Australia in 2022-23, with muscle spasms in all confirmed cases and two cardiac arrests. — People drinking poppy seed tea, 7 Australian states and territories, Nov 2022-Jan 2023 (n = 40) Evidence C source
  23 with confirmed thebaine; all had muscle spasms; 2 cardiac arrests; 1 death
• People allergic to poppy seed may also react to sesame or buckwheat, and reactions can follow even traces in cakes. — Case reports of poppy seed allergy reviewed Evidence D source
  Cross allergy with sesame and buckwheat; reactions to minimal amounts

What people believe that the data does not support

• A single poppy seed pastry can make a urine drug test opiate-positive, but at the US federal 2000 ng/mL cutoff only one of 15 eaters was still positive at 48 hours. — Adults eating a commercial poppy seed kolachi ad libitum, urine collected over 5 days (n = 15) Evidence C source
  At 2000 ng/mL: codeine positive in 1 participant at 48 h; at 300 ng/mL: 7 positive at 48 h; detectable up to 108 h

Who this works differently for

• A baby was born with opioid withdrawal after the mother drank poppy seed tea through pregnancy, and her recipe gave about 7.8 mg of morphine per cup. — One mother-infant pair, USA (n = 1) Evidence D source
  About 7.8 mg morphine per serving, 5-6 days a week for about 7 months
• Poppy seed allergy is uncommon but can be severe: among 191 sensitized children, 38 were truly allergic and a quarter of those had anaphylaxis. — Children assessed for suspected poppy seed allergy at a tertiary center, 2020-2024 (n = 191) Evidence C source
  38 of 191 (19.9%) clinically allergic; anaphylaxis 10 of 38 (26.3%)

The bottom line

A poppy seed pastry can turn a urine drug test positive. After 15 adults ate a commercial kolachi, opiates stayed detectable for up to 108 hours at sensitive cutoffs, and at the US federal 2000 ng/mL cutoff only codeine remained, in one person, at 48 hours. That was one pastry from one maker, with the dose of seed never measured. Per 100 g, poppy seed has 1438 mg of calcium by the USDA and 1580 mg by the UK table, plus 1.63 mg of copper. Nobody eats 100 g, the US survey tables list no portion for the seeds, and how much of that calcium the body absorbs has not been studied. Poppy seed oil is a separate product. In Indonesian schoolchildren given iodised oil, a model put iodine retention from peanut oil at 3 times that from poppy seed oil. Who should be careful. Poppy seed tea is where the real harm shows up. Between November 2022 and January 2023, 40 people in Australia were poisoned by tea brewed from non-food-grade seeds from a high-thebaine batch, with two cardiac arrests and one death. A mother who drank poppy seed tea through about 7 months of pregnancy, at roughly 7.8 mg of morphine a cup, had a baby born in opioid withdrawal, a single case with unwashed seeds. Poppy seed allergy is uncommon and can be severe. Of 191 sensitized children seen at one specialist center, 38 were truly allergic and 10 of those 38 had anaphylaxis. Case reports describe reactions to traces in cakes and cross allergy with sesame and buckwheat. If you face workplace drug testing, skip poppy seed pastries in the days before, since in the kolachi study opiates stayed detectable for up to 108 hours at sensitive cutoffs.

Sources

1. psd-daily-r1-01 · USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy and CoFID 2021, dataset
   Spices, poppy seed (FDC 171330, SR Legacy, Spices and Herbs): copper 1.627 mg per 100 g = 181% DV; calcium 1438 mg = 111% DV; magnesium 347 mg = 83% DV; CoFID 2021 Poppy seeds [13-849]: copper 1.63 mg, calcium 1580 mg, magnesium 330 mg; Foundation samples 0, FNDDS portion of seeds none, R6 retention none
   USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy, FDC 171330; CoFID 2021 (Public Health England), code 13-849 · checked 2026-09-29
2. psd-daily-r1-02 · randomized controlled trial
   In a comparison of preparations supplying 400 mg I conducted by using a mathematical model, iodine retention from the peanut oil preparation was 3 times that from the poppy seed oil, and the protection period for peanut oil was twice as long as that for the poppy seed oil (P < 0.001 for both).
   Am J Clin Nutr, 2006 · checked 2026-09-29
3. psd-daily-r1-05 · EFSA scientific opinion
   washing, soaking, heat treatment, grinding) may reduce the alkaloid content in raw poppy seeds by 25–100% in the final product.
   EFSA CONTAM Panel, EFSA Journal 2018 · checked 2026-09-29
4. psd-daily-r1-07 · laboratory analysis
   Importantly it has also been shown that washing, and other pre-treatments, of the seeds can reduce morphine levels by up to 90%; it is believed that the alkaloid content of poppy seeds is due to external contamination from the pod previously containing the latex and not from the inside of the seeds (Sproll et al., 2006).
   Front Chem, 2020 · checked 2026-09-29
5. psd-daily-r1-03 · randomized controlled trial
   Plasma α-linolenic acid (N=ALA) increased 58% (interaction effect, p=0.002) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) 39% (p=0.016) in the milled chia seed group (N=14) compared to nonsignificant changes in the whole chia seed (N=16) and placebo (N=26) groups.
   J Altern Complement Med, 2012 · checked 2026-09-29
6. psd-daily-r1-04 · EFSA scientific opinion
   The more recently available data do not provide a basis for revising the 2011 conclusions and therefore the CONTAM Panel confirms the ARfD of 10 μg/kg bw.
   EFSA CONTAM Panel, EFSA Journal 2018 · checked 2026-09-29
7. psd-daily-r1-06 · EFSA scientific opinion
   Considering data related to poppy seeds containing relatively high levels of opium alkaloids, such as those from varieties primarily grown for pharmaceutical use (‘high‐morphine’ group), mean and high levels of dietary exposure to morphine from poppy seeds result in the group ARfD of 10 μg morphine equivalents/kg bw being exceeded in most age groups by up to 33‐fold.
   EFSA CONTAM Panel, EFSA Journal 2018 · checked 2026-09-29
8. psd-daily-r1-08 · observational case series
   Forty cases presenting with multi-system toxicity following poppy seed tea ingestion were identified across seven Australian states/territories from November 2022 to January 2023. ... There were two cardiac arrests.
   Clin Toxicol (Phila), 2023 · checked 2026-09-29
9. psd-daily-r1-11 · case report review
   Reactions may occur even with minimal amounts or traces. In sera of patients allergic to poppy seeds, four IgE-reactive poppy seed proteins were identified. Cross allergy with sesame and buckwheat are reported.
   Allergol Immunopathol (Madr), 2026 · checked 2026-09-29
10. psd-daily-r1-12 · controlled feeding study
    At 2000 ng/mL, only codeine remained detectable, in a single participant, at 48 h.
    J Anal Toxicol, 2026 · checked 2026-09-29
11. psd-daily-r1-09 · case report
    This recipe produced a result of approximately 7.8 mg of morphine per serving which she reported to have drank 5-6 days per week, for an estimated 7 months during the course of her pregnancy.
    Neonatology, 2020 · checked 2026-09-29
12. psd-daily-r1-10 · retrospective cohort
    Of 191 PS-sensitized patients, 38 (19.9%) were clinically allergic. Anaphylaxis occurred in 10 cases (26.3%). ... Many children had multiple food allergies, most commonly to sesame and tree nuts.
    J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract, 2026 · checked 2026-09-29