Exposure of consumers to morphine from poppy seeds in Hungary

Abstract

Poppy seed-containing foods are popular dishes in Hungary and some other Central European countries. The alkaloids of poppy are used in the production of medicines. Poppy seeds used as food may also contain considerable amounts of alkaloids, which raises the question of food safety. Morphine, codeine, thebaine and noscapine concentrations of poppy seed samples from the period 2001–2010 and consumption data from two Hungarian surveys, carried out in 2003 and 2009, were evaluated. Exposure calculations were made for morphine intake by both point estimate and probabilistic methods, and the uncertainty of the calculated values was estimated. The point estimate for the acute consumer exposure, calculated using the 97.5th percentiles of morphine concentration and of poppy seed consumption and taking into account the reduction of morphine content by processing, was 78.64 µg (kg bw)⁻¹ day⁻¹ for adults, and 116.90 µg (kg bw)⁻¹day⁻¹ for children. Based on probabilistic estimations, the 97.5th and 99th percentile exposures ranged between 18.3–25.4 and 25.6–47.4 µg (kg bw)⁻¹day⁻¹ for adults, and between 32.9 and 66.4 µg (kg bw)⁻¹ day⁻¹ for children, respectively. As a no observed effect level (NOEL) had not been established, the significance of exposure could not be assessed.

Keywords:

• natural toxicants – alkaloids
• exposure – probability modelling
• exposure assessment

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the former National Institute for Food Hygiene and Nutrition (now named the National Institute for Food and Nutrition Science) and the Central Agricultural Office for providing the results of alkaloid analysis in poppy seed; and to Peter Craig, Durham University, for providing the Excel template for the calculation of percentiles with the Harrell–Davis method.