Some seeds intended for human consumption have high levels of opiates

Irene Vega

The seeds of Papaver somniferum L. (opium poppy) are used more and more frequently not only for the preparation of different foods, such as bread, pastries, dairy products or snacks, but as a dressing for creams and salads or for the preparation of infusions. In recent years, various food safety authorities, including the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (Ministry of Consumer Affairs), have shown interest in studying the presence of opiates such as morphine, codeine, thebaine or papaverine in these foods. These alkaloids are found in the latex of the opium poppy plant, whose seeds become contaminated due to poor harvesting practices. The Research Group in Analytical Chemistry applied to the environment, food and drugs (GQAA-MAF) of the URJC has analyzed the current situation regarding the presence and analysis of these toxics in some commercial products.

The results of this work, published in the magazine Trends in Food Science & Technology, reveal the presence of high levels of opiate alkaloids in some seeds intended for human consumption. "ANDThese results confirm the need to continue studying the real exposure of the population to opiate alkaloids, examining not only the consumption of this type of seeds, but also of other foods that contain them in order to establish harmonized legislation in all the states. members of the European Union”, points out Dr. Isabel Sierra, director of the GQAA-MAF group and principal investigator of the EVALKALIM project, financed by the Ministry of Science and Innovation and whose objectives are to evaluate the presence of some alkaloids in food and study their adverse effects on public health.

Within the framework of this project, the GQAA-MAF group has developed a fast, simple and efficient analytical method based on the use of magnetic nanoparticles for the determination of six opiate alkaloids in commercial opium poppy seeds. The method allows to extract and purify, in just four minutes, the opiates present in these samples. The first results, published in the magazine Foods, found that 73% of the commercial seeds analyzed, from 14 different commercial products, had morphine levels that exceeded the reference value of 10 mg/kg established by the European Union (EU). “Thanks to this novel method we have also been able to demonstrate that the labeling of some of these products is erroneous because they indicate that they contain Papaver rhoeas (poppy) seeds lacking opiates instead of opium poppy.”, stresses Dr. Sierra.