A self-employed restaurant owner in China was caught using opium poppies, a controlled narcotic, as a seasoning in a hot pot. Under relevant laws, the restaurant owner is permanently banned from working in the food manufacturing industry.
According to Xiaoxiang Morning News, on Thursday, during a recent food safety inspection of local restaurants in Yichang, Hubei Province, the public security bureau and market supervision authorities discovered traces of morphine—a narcotic substance—in the food waste of one restaurant.
Authorities immediately investigated the restaurant and discovered a transparent spice container in the kitchen filled with a suspicious powder.
The restaurant owner, Mr. Li, claimed, “The seasoning was homemade” and said it contained spices such as star anise and tsaoko. However, an on-site narcotics test conducted by police detected the presence of morphine in the mixture.
A subsequent analysis by a professional testing agency confirmed that the seasoning contained opium-derived substances, including morphine, codeine, thebaine, and narcotine.
According to the investigation, Mr. Li had been grinding opium poppy pods and mixing them with spices for use in food since February of last year.
Li stated, “I found that adding opium poppies as a seasoning makes hot pot taste better,” and admitted he used them to enhance the flavor and attract more customers.
Police stated that Li likely believed grinding the poppy pods would make them harder to detect, which led him to commit the offense.
As a result, Li was sentenced to six months in prison with a one-year suspended sentence for producing and selling harmful food. He was also fined an amount equivalent to ten times the sales revenue and was permanently banned from working in the food manufacturing and sales industry.
Concerning this, China strictly regulates opium poppies, as opium extracted from the pods can be used to produce highly addictive drugs such as morphine, heroin, and codeine.
However, it is still reported that many restaurants in China continue to use opium poppies as a seasoning.
During a crackdown in 2016, it was revealed that as many as 35 well-known restaurants had been using opium poppies as a seasoning.
