The degree of legal peril in eating a poppy seed bagel, long rumoured and feared by the public, became clear only when two doctors conducted an experiment.
Elizabeth J Narcessian and HoJung Yoon, both at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, published their finding in a 1997 study called False-Positive Urine Drug Screen: Beware the Poppy Seed Bagel. It concerned a patient whose urine mysteriously tested positive for morphine.
“The patient denied any use of illicit substances and denied obtaining medication from any other sources. Her pharmacy confirmed that I [Narcessian] was the only doctor prescribing Schedule II medications [illegal/classified drugs]. The patient was then questioned about her diet. She reported that her diet consisted predominantly of oatmeal cereal and bagels….
So begins this week’s Improbable Research column in The Guardian.