If you are a great fan of culinary arts, perhaps poppy seeds are quite familiar with you. To simply describe what they are, poppy seeds are very small seeds of an opium poppy taking the shape of a kidney and are harvested directly from the seedpods. For many centuries, poppy seeds have been used by various civilizations mostly on medical purposes. Presently, poppy pods play a very significant role on various dishes of home cooked meals and even on commercially manufactured foods.
Through time, some strong speculations have been brought out regarding the use of poppy seeds. These misconceptions are nothing more than just myths with no firm evidence supporting its speculations.
One very strong speculation as regards poppies is the possibility of having a positive drug test result after ingesting poppy seeds. This misconception was basically due to the fact that the resin from poppy seeds is used as a main ingredient in producing morphine, codeine, and heroine. Many people used to believe such misconception making them avoid poppy seed-containing commercial foods and home cooked meals. This propelled even further with a misleading claim that positive drug results from Opiates could also be derived from eating poppy seeds. Nonetheless, this is a just mere urban legend.
However, it is somehow far from possible to gain a positive drug test by eating foods with a poppy seed ingredient. With the help of drug testing laboratories utilizing GC/MS or Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrmetry, poppy seeds now have a safer reputation. This specific two-step process is specifically intended for the three main components of the Opiod class namely, codeine, morphine, and heroin. A person who has been excessively ingesting poppy seeds turn out to expose 300 ng/ml cut off level. But according to the Department of Health and Human Services, 2,000 ng/ml is the cutoff level for the Opiate class. With such guideline, only those who are truly taking morphine, heroin, and codeine will turn out to be positive on a drug test and not those who just happen to have ingested poppy seeds through various meals.
In most times, drug tests are needed to fill in a vacant slot for a job. This is one precautionary measure most employers do on any job openings. Another particular myth which is directly related to the previous one is the potential of poppy seeds in taking away your job opportunity. This myth suggests that eating foods that contain poppy seeds by any amount can definitely result to a positive drug test making you lose the chance of landing on a good job. Making the case even worse, it can also gain you the title of being a drug user. This may have been true and have been a misfortune to some back when the cut off level for the Opiate class was still at low 300 ng/ml. Such result was so alarming as ingestion of poppy seeds can also provide the same result making the Department of Health and Human Services raise the cutoff level to 2,000 ng/ml.
These days, such myths are already just considered as a thing of the past, which have caused confusion on a lot of individuals. With a new guideline set, such myths are already far from being true. They are just considered solely as a myth and nothing more.