,i  #aahth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #feab  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,november #bi1       
#bjbc,mr4 ,womack introduced the        
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce 
,a ,,bill  ,to prohibit the sale of food
 that is1 or contains1 unsafe poppy     
seeds4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may 
be cited as the ,stephen ,hacala ,poppy 
,seed ,safety ,act4  #b4 ,findings2     
purpose  7a7 ,findings ,congress finds  
as follows3  7#a7 ,stephen ,hacala was a
 #bd-year-old from ,fayetteville1       
,arkansas1 who was dearly loved by      
family and friends when he died from    
morphine intoxication caused by         
consumption of contaminated poppy seeds4
  7#b7 ,at least #ai people in the      
,united ,states have been confirmed to  
have died from morphine overdoses from  
contaminated poppy seeds4  7#c7 ,women  
in the ,united ,states have tested      
positive for opiates in hospitals at    
childbirth due to poppy seed consumption

 in food1 leading to unwarranted        
scrutiny from child welfare officials4  
7#d7 ,in #bjbc1 the ,department of      
,defense issued a warning to all        
servicemembers to avoid poppy seed      
consumption due to opiate contamination 
and the risk of positive drug tests4    
7#e7 ,studies of pharmaceutical opiates 
have found that a dose of just #bj to   
#ej morphine milligram equivalents per  
day increases the risk of overdose and  
death among patients prescribed morphine
 for pain treatment4  7#f7 ,poppy       
products purchased in the ,united       
,states have been found to have up to   
#b1ghh milligrams of morphine per       
kilogram of seeds after extraction4     
7#g7 ,cleaning processes are available  
that have proved effective at reducing  
morphine contamination from #ej to #bbj 
milligrams per kilogram down to #d      
milligrams per kilogram or less4  7#h7  
,while poppy seeds are excluded from the
 definition of opium poppy and poppy    
straw under the ,controlled ,substances 

,act 7#ba ,u4,s4,c4 #hja et seq471 that 
definition does not exclude unwashed    
poppy seeds that have been contaminated 
with opium alkaloids from the latex of  
the plant4 ,the opium alkaloids         
7inclusive of morphine1 codeine1 and    
thebaine71 if present as contaminants on
 poppy seed material1 are also not      
exempted from control under that ,act4  
7b7 ,purpose ,it is the purpose of this 
,act to prohibit the distribution and   
sale of contaminated poppy seeds in     
order to prevent harm1 addiction1 and   
further deaths from                     
morphine-contaminated poppy seeds4  #c4 
,unsafe poppy seeds as adulterants in   
food  7a7 ,prohibition ,section #cja of 
the ,federal ,food1 ,drug1 and ,cosmetic
 ,act 7#ba ,u4,s4,c4 #cca7 is amended by
 adding at the end the following3  7jjj7
 ,selling1 or offering to sell1 directly
 to consumers a food that is or contains
 poppy seeds1 including concentrates1   
metabolites1 constituents1 or extracts  
of poppy seeds1 that contain levels of  

morphine1 codeine1 or other alkaloid    
compounds that may render the food      
injurious to health4  4  7b7            
,regulations ,the ,secretary of ,health 
and ,human ,services shall--  7#a7 not  
later than #a year after the date of    
enactment of this ,act1 issue a proposed
 rule establishing a maximum level for  
contamination under section #cja7;jjj7  
of the ,federal ,food1 ,drug1 and       
,cosmetic ,act 7as added by subsection  
7a77 by morphine1 codeine1 and any other
 alkaloid compound which the ,secretary 
may designate2 and  7#b7 not later than 
#b years after the date of enactment of 
this ,act1 finalize such rule4  #d4     
,poppy seeds as an adulterant ,nothing  
in this ,act and the amendment made by  
this ,act shall be construed as         
preventing the ,secretary of ,health and
 ,human ,services from-- 7#a7           
determining that poppy seeds            
contaminated with morphine1 codeine1 or 
another alkaloid compound that may      
render food injurious to health are     

adulterated under section #djb of the   
,federal ,food1 ,drug1 and ,cosmetic    
,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #cdb71 in violation 
of section #dbc of such ,act 7#ba       
,u4,s4,c4 #cejl71 or in violation of any
 other provision of such ,act2 or  7#b7 
exempting such contaminated seeds from  
regulation under the ,controlled        
,substances ,act 7#ba ,u4,s4,c4 #hja et 
seq474