US troops warned of poppy seeds ahead of military drug testing

WASHINGTON (TND) — Those who have watched the sitcom "Seinfeld" are likely familiar with an episode that highlightedJulia Louis-Dreyfus’ character, Elaine, failing a drug test after she ate a poppy seed muffin.

The episode premiered in 1996.

Now, the U.S. Department of Defense is warning troops to be mindful that poppy seeds and products that contain poppy seeds — such as muffins, bagels, cakes, and other baked goods — might have an impact on drug tests.

Concerns with poppy seeds and drug testing are not new," Gilbert Ray Cisneros Jr., who serves as undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness in the Biden administration, said ina memo dated Feb. 17. "Poppy seeds are naturally sourced from the poppy plant, a commercial crop cultivated by the pharmaceutical and food industries. Seeds my be contaminated during harvest with morphine and codeine, and the Department of Defense uses drug testing to distinguish morphine and codeine use from poppy seed ingestion."

But Cisneros also noted that recent data indicates certain poppy seed varieties have higher codeine contamination than previously reported.

Consumption of poppy products could cause a codeine positive urinalysis result and undermine the Department's ability to identify illicit drug use," according Cisneros.

As a result, Cisneros urged service members to avoid poppy seeds "out of an abundance of caution."

While Elaine's failed drug test was meant to humor "Seinfeld" fans, it was no laughing matter for a woman in New York who said she was separated from her newborn baby in the hospital in 2019 when she failed a drug test after eating a poppy seed-covered bagel. Elizabeth Dominguez previously told the New York Post she ate an everything bagel before she was induced.

“I felt like a terrible mom even though I’d done nothing wrong,” she said.

Dominguez, however, was eventually reunited with her child.

"A second, more thorough urine test eventually cleared her, and she was finally able to bring (her baby) home," according to the report.