Man claims he failed job interview drug test after eating Tesco poppy seed bread
A MAN failed a drugs test for a new job after eating his “favourite” Tesco poppy seed bread, it’s been claimed.
His sister – who has not been named – told how she gave him four slices of the seeded loaf to make sarnies on the morning of his interview.
She claimed a later drug test indicated he had opium in his system – even though he had not taken any medication.
The woman told Plymouth Live she now wants to raise awareness of the issue.
She added on social media: “My brother went for a job interview today and had to do a drugs test which he failed, with opium in his system.
“He doesn’t take painkillers as he is scared of drugs and painkillers.
“Yesterday he came to mine and had his favourite bread. He took four slices home with him..and made a sandwich to take with him today as he was going to be at this interview all day!!
“POPPY SEEDS caused him to fail his drugs test!! As he failed he didn’t get the job no matter how much convincing he tried.
“So just a warning DO NOT eat seeded bread with POPPY SEEDS 2-3 days before a drugs test,” she added.
Medical journals say this type of bread – and other foods – can cause this to happen.
Why do poppy seeds affect a drug test?
Poppy seeds are oilseeds that come from the opium poppy.
The opium poppy itself produces a milky fluid from which drugs like morphine and codeine are derived.
As a result of this, poppy seeds can often contain trace amounts of opiates which can trigger false positives during drug tests.
Morphine levels in poppy seeds range between 4–200 mg/kg.
Detection during a drug test depends on how contaminated the seeds were at the time of consumption, how much was eaten and how concentrated urine is at the time of testing.
In the US, the cut-off for morphine testing used to be 300 ng/mL.
However, in 1998 the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration raised it to 2,000 ng/mL for workplace testing to account for a large number of resulting errors.
Although poppy seeds do not contain any opium initially, the seeds can absorb opium or become coated by it in the harvesting process.
Healthline says that, although poppy seeds go through a thorough cleaning before being processed, they could still contain traces of opiate residue.
Tesco says it has a number of policies in place and works closely with its suppliers to make sure that they source from low opiate varieties.
It added it follows guidance developed by the EU and UK to minimise the levels present as far as possible through good practice from harvesting onwards.
The supermarket chain also makes sure that suppliers are working to the limits advised in the EU and UK and monitor that they remain below this to make sure that they are safe to eat.
Information on the Healthline website said: “Poppy seeds come from the seedpod of the opium poppy.
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“When harvested, the seeds can absorb or become coated by opium extract. Opium extract is used to make opioid drugs, such as morphine, codeine, and heroin.
“Though poppy seeds go through a thorough cleaning before being processed for consumer use for baking and cooking, they may still contain trace amounts of opiate residue.
“The concentration isn’t enough to give you any of the effects of opioids, but it can be enough to produce false positive drug tests.”