Budeme mít opiáty i v české kuchyni?
Will We Have Opiates in Czech Cuisine?

Summary/Abstract: Poppy seeds come to our table in different forms and at different stages of processing. There are approximately 80 alkaloids in poppy seeds (Papaver somniferum) and morphine, codeine, thebaine, papaverine, noscapine and oripavine are considered very dangerous for consumption. The European Union, by COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) 2021/2142 of 3 December 2021, has newly introduced a limit for opium alkaloids in poppy seeds and bakery products with effect from 1 July 2022, but only morphine and one fifth of the amount of codeine are taken into account. The same limit is introduced for both poppy seeds and ground poppy seeds. A completely different limit applies to bakery products. But are there alkaloids in baked poppy seed cakes? The opium alkaloid content varies with the processing or treatment of the poppy seeds. A lot of authors report that different methods - washing with water, washing using different temperatures, steam or heat treatment, or washing with water in conjunction with acid - reduce the opium alkaloid content by 30-100 %. Simply crushing the whole poppy reduces the alkaloid content by about 25-34 %. By COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) 2021/2142, thebaine is no longer monitored in poppy seed. However, the alkaloid thebaine is the starting material for many medicines. Industrial or technical poppies are specifically bred for its content. Nowadays, poppies with a higher thebaine content can be found on the consumer market. The risk of consuming poppy seeds of unknown origin is all the higher.

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