Bad news if you were hoping to beat a drug test by blaming it on your breakfast. A British company called FDL, a “global supplier of speciality ingredients,” is claiming to have developed a new type of poppy seed with reduced levels of morphine that won’t produce a false positive result on a drug test.
You’ve probably heard that eating too many poppy seed bagels, or other baked goods with the garnish, will get you flagged as a heroin addict if you take a drug test soon after. Improvements in opiate drug testing methods can now rule out that false conclusion (assuming you’re not actually a heroin addict), thanks to a 2014 study by researchers at King’s College in London. In 2008, the National Institute on Drug Abuse changed its guidelines and raised the limit for morphine in a person’s system, but scarfing down too many poppy seed-covered bagels can still push you past those accepted ranges, and get you in trouble.
Because simply asking people to stop eating poppy seeds is tantamount to stripping them off their freedoms, FDL has instead developed a new variety. By mixing Eastern European poppy seeds, known for their low morphine levels, with cheaper poppy seeds from the UK that have higher levels of the popular painkiller, FDL claims its new blend boasts morphine levels below 20 parts per million, compared to the 900 parts per million for the poppy seeds covering the bagel you probably ate this morning.
Food Navigator reports that the company has already signed a deal with a bread maker to start using the new poppy seed blend, but there’s no word on when or if it will make its way to bagel makers in New York. Gizmodo has reached out to FDL for more information, and we will update this post if and when we hear back. For now, you’ve probably still got a bit of time if you’re anxious about that drug test your employer’s been demanding.