Hoyts Poppy Seeds recalled due to the potential presence of a chemical (thebaine)

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Hoyts Poppy Seeds recalled due to the potential presence of a chemical (thebaine)

Products Recalled:

Poppy seeds were recalled due to the potential presence of a chemical (thebaine), and Hoyts food manufacturing Pty Ltd, Australia, produced the Poppy seeds.

Problem:

  • The NSW government Food authority announced an immediate recall on November 15, 2022. This product contains a chemical- thebaine- that can cause potential health risks for humans who consume the contaminated food.
  • The product has been recalled by Hoyts, who had contacted the allergy support organisations, who will subsequently inform their members about the recall. Additionally, the business has sent its clients a point-of-sale notice. Customers are informed in these notices about the cause of product recall and what they should do if they have already purchased it [1].

Scientific Evidence:  

  • The poppy seeds contaminated with opium alkaloids are becoming increasingly common in recent years, making Europe concerned. The seeds can be contaminated during processes like harvesting [2].
  • Therefore, a person can be exposed to thebaine by consuming food that contains poppy seeds. Animal studies suggest that thebaine has a higher acute toxic potential than morphine, causing mortality. It can also cause fetal malformations, and neurotoxicity, which is evidenced by increased respiratory rate. Higher doses may cause Central Nervous System (CNS) hyperactivity, causing increased urination, defecation and salivation. Convulsions and death could occur at even higher doses.
  • Because the reliability of the available data on the acute toxicity of thebaine is limited, it appears appropriate to consider the chronic Threshold of Toxicological Concern (TTC) values for a conservative estimation of risks resulting from acute exposure to thebaine.
  • Assuming a high short-term consumption of 55 g poppy seeds in adults (70 kg body weight) or 19 g poppy seeds in children (23 kg body weight), the thebaine content in poppy seeds would have to be lower than approximately 2 mg/kg to avoid an exceedance of the TTC value of 1.5 µg/kg body weight set for substances of “Cramer class III”. However, data from the European food market show that the contents of thebaine in poppy seeds can be significantly higher [3].

Product Image:

What Regulations Clarifies: 

health-based guidance value, known as the Acute Reference Dose (ARfD), of 10 μg morphine per kg of body weight, based on the lowest known oral therapeutic dose of morphine, is recommended by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) [4]. 

 

 

 

 

 

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