April 2, 2025
Mr. Cotton (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, and Mr. Boozman) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
To prohibit the sale of food that is, or contains, unsafe poppy seeds.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Stephen Hacala Poppy Seed Safety Act
.
Sec. 2. Findings; purpose
(a) Findings
Congress finds as follows:
(1)
Stephen Hacala was a 24-year-old from Fayetteville, Arkansas, who was dearly loved by family and friends when he died from morphine intoxication caused by consumption of contaminated poppy seeds.
(2)
At least 19 people in the United States have been confirmed to have died from morphine overdoses from contaminated poppy seeds.
(3)
Women in the United States have tested positive for opiates in hospitals at childbirth due to poppy seed consumption in food, leading to unwarranted scrutiny from child welfare officials.
(4)
In 2023, the Department of Defense issued a warning to all servicemembers to avoid poppy seed consumption due to opiate contamination and the risk of positive drug tests.
(5)
Studies of pharmaceutical opiates have found that a dose of just 20 to 50 morphine milligram equivalents per day increases the risk of overdose and death among patients prescribed morphine for pain treatment.
(6)
Poppy products purchased in the United States have been found to have up to 2,788 milligrams of morphine per kilogram of seeds after extraction.
(7)
While poppy seeds are excluded from the definition of opium poppy
and poppy straw
under the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), that definition does not exclude unwashed poppy seeds that have been contaminated with opium alkaloids from the latex of the plant. The opium alkaloids (inclusive of morphine, codeine, and thebaine), if present as contaminants on poppy seed material, are also not exempted from control under that Act.
(b) Purpose
It is the purpose of this Act to establish levels for contamination of poppy seeds by morphine, by codeine, and by other illicit compounds, above which poppy seeds shall be considered adulterated foods that are prohibited in interstate commerce.
Sec. 3. Unsafe poppy seeds as adulterants in food
The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall—
(1)
not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, issue a proposed rule establishing levels for contamination of poppy seeds by morphine, by codeine, and by any other compound which the Secretary may designate, above which poppy seeds shall be deemed adulterated under section 402 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (42 U.S.C. 342); and
(2)
not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, finalize such rule.
Sec. 4. Poppy seeds as a controlled substance
Nothing in this Act shall be construed as exempting poppy seeds that are contaminated by morphine, codeine, another alkaloid compound, or any other compound designated by the Secretary of Health and Human Services under section 3 from regulation under the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.).