S Korea, Singapore pull Trader Joe's for poppy seeds — SkimNews
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- Singapore and South Korea pulled Trader Joe's Everything But the Bagel seasoning from e-commerce platforms because its poppy seeds can be contaminated with opiates from poppy plant fluid during harvesting.
- Singapore's Central Narcotics Bureau said on Wednesday it had removed more than 20 online listings of the seasoning and urged anyone with bottles to dispose of them.
- Seoul authorities confirmed last week that the seasoning tested positive for morphine and codeine, the opiates found in poppy plant sap.
- Singapore's narcotics bureau stated the country enforces a strict zero-tolerance policy, with possession, importation or trafficking of any trace amount of a controlled drug constituting an offence under the Misuse of Drugs Act.
- South Korean investigators found that some resellers had brought the seasoning home as souvenirs from overseas trips, with some unaware it contained controlled substances, per The Korea Herald.
Why it matters: This matters because a widely available American grocery product can become contraband at the border — Singapore alone erased 20+ listings and demanded disposal, while South Korea has opened investigations into souvenir resellers. For Trader Joe's, it exposes a compliance gap in a 2017 product line that has never been adjusted for these markets.
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