Algunas semillas destinadas al consumo humano presentan altos niveles de opiáceos

The seeds of Papaver somniferum L. (poppy) are used more and more frequently not only for the preparation of different foods, such as breads, pastries, dairy products or snacks , but also as a dressing for creams and salads or for the preparation of infusions. In recent years, various food safety authorities, including the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (Ministry of Consumption), have shown interest in studying the presence of opiates such as morphine, codeine, thebaine or papaverine in these foods. These alkaloids are found in the latex of the poppy plant, whose seeds become contaminated due to poor harvesting practices. The URJC's Research Group on Analytical Chemistry applied to the environment, food and drugs (GQAA-MAF) has analyzed the current situation regarding the presence and analysis of these toxins in some commercial products.

The results of this work, published in the journal Trends in Food Science & Technology , reveal the presence of high levels of opiate alkaloids in some seeds destined for human consumption. “ These results confirm the need to continue studying the real exposure of the population to opiate alkaloids, examining not only the consumption of this type of seeds, but also of other foods that contain them in order to establish harmonized legislation in all we are members of the European Union ”, says Dr. Isabel Sierra, director of the GQAA-MAF group and principal investigator of the EVALKALIM project., funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation and whose objectives are to evaluate the presence of some alkaloids in food and study their adverse effects on public health.

Within the framework of this project, the GQAA-MAF group has developed a quick, simple and efficient analytical method based on the use of magnetic nanoparticles for the determination of six opiate alkaloids in commercial poppy seeds. The method makes it possible to extract and purify, in just four minutes, the opiates present in these samples. The first results, published in the magazine Foods , confirm that 73% of the commercial seeds analyzed, from 14 different commercial products, had levels of morphine that exceed the reference value of 10 mg / kg established by the European Union (EU ). "Thanks to this novel method, we have also been able to demonstrate that the labeling of some of these products is wrong because they indicate that they contain Papaver rhoeas (poppy) seeds devoid of opiates instead of poppy ”, emphasizes Dr. Sierra.