Recently, the Food and Drug Administration notified 35 catering service units suspected of illegally adding poppy shells to food. Beijing Huda Restaurant Co., Ltd. and other 5 Beijing restaurants are "on the list" and are being investigated by the Food and Drug Administration.
So, why can't poppy husks be used as food condiments? Is it true that the saying that "adding poppy shells to food can increase the umami taste of food" that is popular on the Internet is true?
Concerns about poppy husks added to catering businesses are not without reason. Because long-term consumption of foods containing poppy husks is addictive, it will damage the body's nervous system and may cause chronic poisoning. The main cause of these damages is the alkaloids in the poppy husk, such as morphine, codeine, papaverine, tibaine, nacotin and so on. The most well-known of these are morphine, codeine and papaverine, and are found in the highest amounts in poppy husks.
The derivative of morphine is morphine hydrochloride, which is a commonly used anesthetic agent in clinical practice, has a strong analgesic effect, and can also be used as an antitussive and antidiarrheal agent, but its biggest problem is easy addiction. The diacetate of morphine is the infamous drug heroin. Codeine also has antitussive and analgesic effects, and its effect is stronger than that of general antipyretic analgesics. Papaverine can mainly relieve spasm of smooth muscle, especially vascular smooth muscle, and can inhibit the excitability of the myocardium, treat angina and arterial embolism and other symptoms.
These substances in the poppy husk have different degrees of addictiveness, although the content is not as high as in the poppy juice and leaves, but long-term consumption will pose a danger to human health. There is also another saying on the Internet that "poppy shells are added to food to prevent diarrhea." In fact, the use of poppy husks requires strict dosage, and for this requirement, it is impossible for food companies to add it to food. Therefore, poppy husks are explicitly prohibited by regulators from being added to food as condiments.
As for the fact that poppy shells can increase the umami taste of food, in fact, it has been debunked by experts n times. Poppy husks themselves do not have any taste, and they have a slightly sour and bitter taste, so the statement of "using poppy husks to enhance the taste" is wrong.
However, poppy seeds are a seasoning that is widely used around the world. Poppy seeds are not addictive, and contain a large number of aldehydes, limonene, butyl isobutyrate and other compounds related to the spicy flavor, which are widely used in the production of pastry spices in Europe and the United States.
Poppy seed oil, a by-product of poppy seeds, is also widely used in food. Millet seed oil contains a variety of vitamins, trace elements and rich in polysaccharides, polypeptides, alcohols, flavonoids and other natural substances, as well as more than a dozen kinds of unsaturated fatty acids and amino acids that are essential to the human body but cannot be synthesized by themselves, which have miraculous effects on health.
After the poppy was introduced to China, it was cultivated in Gansu, Yunnan and other places, and the poppy seeds were mainly used to cook porridge and rice, or to squeeze oil from it. Over time, the farmers of the planting area discovered that poppy seed oil had a miraculous effect on health, and in ancient times, local officials regarded it as a precious treasure and used it as a palace tribute for the emperor's royal use, and the name of poppy seed "royal rice" came from this. (Tadpole stave)