Mom tests positive for opiates from poppy seed bagel

WPVI logo
Wednesday, August 8, 2018
Mom tests positive for opiates from poppy seed bagel
Mom tests positive for opiates from poppy seed bagel. Tamala Edwards reports during Action News at 5 a.m. on August 8, 2018.

A Maryland woman discovered the hard way that eating a poppy seed bagel carries serious consequences.

Elizabeth Eden says she was in labor in April when a doctor told her she had tested positive for opiates.

Poppy seeds come from the opium poppy plant.

The seeds contain trace amounts of opiates and can cause a false positive.

"And I said well can you test me again, and I ate a poppy seed bagel for breakfast and she said no, you've been reported to the state," says Eden.

The test result meant Eden's daughter had to stay in the hospital for five days while her mother was assigned a caseworker.

After acknowledging the bagel defense, the caseworker closed Eden's file.

Copyright © 2024 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.