So I was watching my new favourite TV show (since Angel has gotten so dorky and boring) Mythbusters
on the Discovery Channel. It is a show in which these two smart, geeky guys attempt to prove or dissprove urban legends by recreating them. In last's nights epsiode they ate a whole bunch of poppy seed bagels and lemon poppy seed cake to see if it would cause a false positive on urine sample drug tests. To everyone's surprise (at least mine) it did.
OK, now if this is true, I find this scary. My husband works a job that administers random urine drug tests, and according to their findings, he may very well eat one of my yummy homeade lemon poppy seed shortbread cookies, come out positive and get fired. This really seems not right.
I am curious if companies who rely on random drug testing realise the potential for false positives and if the concept is truly to deter drug use rather than to prove drug use?
In the meantime, this is a recipe for Lemon Poppy Seed Shortbread Cookies which I cannot eat anymore because of my diet. Bummer. This is not my exact recipe which is still packed away somewhere, but very similar. Enjoy and stay away from random drug tests.
This actually happened to my uncle several years ago... he had to take a drug test for a new job and had recently eaten something with poppy seeds in it, so the test came back positive. The good news of it is that he still got the job because they figured out that it was the poppy seeds. I have to go for a drug test for my new job on Monday and the first thing I thought when I got the papers in the mail was "ok stay away from poppy seeds" I'll have to try to remember to ask them about poppy seeds when I go in.
They should have a part of the form to list possible cross-reacting drugs. Be sure to list the poppy seeds.
I am deathly afraid of bagels, even though I eat them almost every day. I once did the incredibly stupid act of trying to slice a frozen bagel and earned myself five stitches for doing so. Them things are dangerous in more ways than one!
Erik the Chef-thaw the bagel first next time!
and use a cutting board!
Erik...I believe emergency rooms have a term for that all too common accident. Something like 'bagel laceration.'
I found out about the poppy seeds when a friend's daughter worked at a bagel shop and we would pick up the left overs at the end of the day to take to the local soup kitchen/homeless shelter. They were most appreciative of the bagels, but would not take anything with poppy seeds lest it show up on a client's urinalysis. Since these bagels were already written off as a charitable donation, my friend and I have been known to skim the poppy seeds bagels off and keep them for ourselves. I think that's OK - since we're usually keeping the wolves off the doorsteps ourselves and we don't face any drug testing. :)
Ellyn,
Yes, apparently it is rather common. The doctor actually rolled his eyes and instructed the nurse to demonstrate the safe way to slice a bagel, with the proper sneer. If I had a cooking student do what I did, I would probably explode at him.
Come to think of it, all of the serious kitchen injuries I have had were from doing very simple things stupidly. Last year on Dec 26, after my complicated Italian Christmas feast (for around 20 people) went off without the slightest hitch, I gave myself a stitchable gash slicing a ripe avocado! I decided against stitches (as it would have taken too long and would have ruined a night out with my cousins) and it healed fine, but what a stupid thing to do!
Our methadone patients are advised that they are not to eat anything with poppy seeds, as they are subject to random drug testing throughout pregnancy and "We will not accept the poppy seed baked good excuse".
There are also some herbs that give 'false' positives (actually they are not false, as they do contain detectable amounts of the drugs tested for - there is opium in poppy seeds just not enough to have a measurable biological affect).
I saw that same show and was immediately greatful that I had not eaten any bagels before all the the numerous random urinalysis in the Navy.
Actually Jeff,
They only test one in 12 samples of pee in the Navy. They pull one at random from the box of 12, if that tests positive, they test all 12.
(I know this for the same reason an FC NEVER accepts a general billet at Great Lakes. You spend a tour handling pee, day in and day out.)
I was astounded at the amount of drug use when I was in the navy. It wasn't nearly at the level of the civilian world, but you quickly realize that lots of people simply are not getting caught.
the only reason that companies dont talk about it (or dont want to), is that because of the hype of random drug test, this companies are making a proffit. To find out that 'false testings' are not just pausible but probable is just unthinkable, not because they dont believe, but if they recognise it they could lose millions. So it is more easy to sell a flaw product with the hush-hush that recognise that there may be some defects on it. Also most politicians dont understand the science and rather not deal with it. It is easy just to accept the testing than just deal with the probable consequences that it could be false...
Do poppy seeds do anything harmful to fetus or pregnant women?
Milton,
Good point.
Ann,
Um, I want to say I don't think so. I think I have always eaten poppy seed bagels while pregnant and my kids came out OK-I think. I guess too much might be harmful, but I have never heard a warning against poppy seeds like there is with tuna fish. On the other hand that could be like Milton says-then there would be a claim about the drugs in poppy seeds. OK, now my head hurts.