Stephen Hacala Poppy Seed Safety Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2615 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2615

 To prohibit the sale of food that is, or contains, unsafe poppy seeds.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 2, 2025

    Mr. Womack (for himself, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Hill of Arkansas, Mr. 
 Westerman, and Mr. Crawford) introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To prohibit the sale of food that is, or contains, unsafe poppy seeds.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Stephen Hacala Poppy Seed Safety 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Stephen Hacala was a 24-year-old from Fayetteville, 
        Arkansas, who was dearly loved by family and friends when he 
        died from morphine intoxication caused by consumption of 
        contaminated poppy seeds.
            (2) At least 19 people in the United States have been 
        confirmed to have died from morphine overdoses from 
        contaminated poppy seeds.
            (3) Women in the United States have tested positive for 
        opiates in hospitals at childbirth due to poppy seed 
        consumption in food, leading to unwarranted scrutiny from child 
        welfare officials.
            (4) In 2023, 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 tests.
            (5) Studies of pharmaceutical opiates have found that a 
        dose of just 20 to 50 morphine milligram equivalents per day 
        increases the risk of overdose and death among patients 
        prescribed morphine for pain treatment.
            (6) Poppy products purchased in the United States have been 
        found to have up to 2,788 milligrams of morphine per kilogram 
        of seeds after extraction.
            (7) While poppy seeds are excluded from the definition of 
        ``opium poppy'' and ``poppy straw'' under the Controlled 
        Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), that definition does 
        not exclude unwashed poppy seeds that have been contaminated 
        with opium alkaloids from the latex of the plant. The opium 
        alkaloids (inclusive of morphine, codeine, and thebaine), if 
        present as contaminants on poppy seed material, are also not 
        exempted from control under that Act.
    (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to establish levels for 
contamination of poppy seeds by morphine, by codeine, and by other 
illicit compounds, after which poppy seeds shall be considered 
adulterated substances that are prohibited in interstate commerce.

SEC. 3. UNSAFE POPPY SEEDS AS ADULTERANTS IN FOOD.

    The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall--
            (1) not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
        this Act, issue a proposed rule establishing levels for 
        contamination of poppy seeds by morphine, by codeine, and by 
        other alkaloid compounds, and by any other compound which the 
        Secretary may designate, after which poppy seeds shall be 
        deemed adulterated under section 402 of the Federal Food, Drug, 
        and Cosmetic Act (42 U.S.C. 342); and
            (2) not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of 
        this Act, finalize such rule.

SEC. 4. POPPY SEEDS AS A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed as exempting poppy seeds 
that are contaminated by morphine, codeine, another alkaloid compound, 
or any other compound designated by the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services under section 3 from regulation under the Controlled 
Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.).
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