The two limits
| Food | Maximum level (morphine + 0.2 x codeine) |
|---|---|
| Whole, ground or milled poppy seeds placed on the market for the final consumer | 20 mg/kg |
| Bakery products containing poppy seeds or processed products thereof | 1.50 mg/kg |
The limits appear in Annex I, section 2.5 ("opium alkaloids") of Regulation (EU) 2023/915. They were introduced by Regulation (EU) 2021/2142 and carried over into the 2023 regulation, which replaced the older contaminants regulation. We checked the consolidated text on EUR-Lex and a March 2026 summary by the Bavarian food authority on 11 October 2026; the values are unchanged.
Why codeine counts for one fifth
Morphine is the more potent of the two. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) expresses the combined exposure in morphine equivalents and converts codeine with a factor of 0.2. A kilogram of seed with 10 mg morphine and 20 mg codeine therefore counts as 14 mg/kg and is within the limit.
The safety basis: EFSA's group ARfD
The limits rest on EFSA's risk assessment. In 2011 EFSA set an acute reference dose (ARfD) of 10 micrograms of morphine per kilogram of body weight: the amount that can be taken in within one day without appreciable risk. In its 2018 update EFSA confirmed that value as a group ARfD for morphine and codeine together.
EFSA's findings in 2018:
- Exposure from poppy seeds of high-alkaloid varieties, mainly grown for the pharmaceutical industry, exceeded the ARfD at average and high consumption in most age groups.
- Exposure from low-alkaloid food varieties exceeded it at high consumption in most surveys.
- Thebaine might also pose a risk, but the data were too limited for a full assessment.
Source: EFSA news, May 2018, which summarises the scientific opinion published in the EFSA Journal (2018, 16(5):5243).
What the Commission based the levels on
In the 2021 regulation the European Commission noted that the seeds themselves contain no or very little alkaloid, that they can be contaminated, and that processing can lower the content by 25 to 100 percent. That is why there are two separate levels: one for the seed as sold, one for the finished bakery product. Germany's BfR had earlier proposed a guide value of 4 mg/kg for seed and asked producers to bring levels down to what is technically achievable.
What the limits mean in practice
- They apply when the product is placed on the market. Food produced lawfully before 1 July 2022 could stay on sale until its best-before or use-by date.
- The 20 mg/kg level is written for seed sold to the final consumer. The Bavarian authority still finds noticeably contaminated batches among seed traded between businesses for further processing.
- Controls show compliance in shops. The Bavarian authority reported in March 2026 that consumer poppy seed met the limit, and that the bakery limit was reached or exceeded only in individual cases.
- The limit does not make a drug test safe. Even seed well within the limit can leave measurable morphine in urine. See poppy seeds and drug tests.
Outside the EU
United States. There is no legal limit for opiate alkaloids on poppy seeds. In February 2021 the consumer group CSPI, six families and two experts petitioned the FDA to set one and to control imports. On 14 January 2025 the FDA denied the petition for lack of sufficient data and published a request for information on growing, harvesting, cleaning and testing practices; the comment period ran until 16 June 2025 (FDA, CSPI statement). The Stephen Hacala Poppy Seed Safety Act, named after a young man who died after drinking poppy seed tea, would require federal limits. Versions were introduced in 2019, 2023 and again in April 2025 (S. 1258); as of October 2026 we found no record of it passing beyond committee.
Singapore. Poppy seeds may only be imported after a laboratory test shows no morphine, which in effect is a zero limit for imports. See the legal status page.
Where to go next
Updated