Restaurants caught using illegal poppy shells as spice   

滬川陜多地餐館調料檢出罌粟殼 監管部門稱查處難

你是不是曾體會到，某種火鍋、小龍蝦或者搟面皮等特別好吃，吃了還想吃？有沒有一家飯店，你經常光顧，隔了一段時間不去就想得慌？你肯定想不到，食品里這“給力”的味道，有可能是因為被添加了特殊的香料——罌粟殼。[查看全文]

(ECNS) – A number of restaurants in China have been found illegally using poppy seed shells in food, the Beijing News reported.

Poppy seed shells, from which opium is derived, have been listed as "inedible material" since 2008 by the Ministry of Health. But investigations found that some restaurants and snack shops in Shaanxi province, Sichuan province, and Shanghai had added the ingredient to their dishes in order to make them more addictive.

In September, a few consumers reportedly tested positive for drugs after they ate snacks in local restaurants.

Liu Ying, an official at the Yan'an food and drug department in Shaanxi province, said the problem was difficult to detect. "Some restaurant owners mix poppy shell powder into other seasonings, making it harder for us to find evidence."

Zhao Lan, a physician at a Chengdu hospital, said poppy shells contain alkaloids, which can lead to addiction and cause damage to the nervous systems of people who consume them frequently.

Nevertheless, poppy shells are easy to acquire, either at markets or online.

A shop owner in Sichuan said the shells cost about 400 yuan per kilogram, and sell under aliases such as "mi qiao" and "yingshu powder."

According to China's public security management regulations, anyone trafficking, selling, buying, storing or using poppy shells can be detained for 10 to 15 days and fined up to 3,000 yuan.

Hu Yinglian, a vice professor at the National School of Administration, said the continued use and trading of poppy shells exposes the country's deficiencies in supervision and management of food safety.