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Stephen Hacala Poppy Seed Safety Act
To prohibit the sale of food that is, or contains, unsafe poppy seeds.
Summary
This bill establishes that poppy seeds contaminated with opioids such as morphine and codeine are considered adulterated food and cannot be sold in interstate commerce. It requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue a proposed rule within one year establishing specific contamination thresholds for morphine, codeine, and other compounds above which poppy seeds are deemed unsafe for consumption, and to finalize the rule within two years. The bill clarifies that contaminated poppy seeds remain subject to regulation as controlled substances under federal drug law. The action addresses concerns about opioid contamination in poppy seeds causing overdose deaths and other adverse health effects.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
- Sen. Cotton, Tom [R-AR] (R-AR)
2 cosponsors
- Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] (D-CT)
- Sen. Boozman, John [R-AR] (R-AR)
Money behind the sponsor
Top reported contributors to Tom Cotton’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.
- NULL $80,461
- APOLLO MANAGEMENT $25,600
- APOLLO GLOBAL MANAGEMENT $19,800
- BRODIE GENERATIONAL CAPITAL PARTNERS $13,200
- APOLLO $11,600
Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for Tom Cotton → · Outside spending →
Actions (2)
- Apr 2, 2025 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. · senate
- Apr 2, 2025 Introduced in Senate
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Full text
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 2, 2025
Mr. Cotton (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, and Mr. Boozman) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
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, above which poppy seeds shall be considered adulterated foods 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 any other compound which the Secretary may designate, above 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.). <all>
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