No action will be taken against those who use poppy seeds for cooking as the opiate levels are too low to be condemned as drugs
By Martin Carvalho, Hemananthani Sivandam, Tho Xin Yi, and Rahmah Ghazali
Poppy seeds or, kas kas in Malay, used to spice up curry dishes that are signatures of Malaysia like nasi kandar and cakes will not make a person “high” like a drug addict, says Malaysia’s Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya.
While poppy seeds contained morphine, its use in food will not result in addiction. It is also safe to be used as a food condiment, he added.
“Malaysians commonly use poppy seeds or kas kas in nasi kandar, curry dishes and cakes. The seeds do contain morphine, but the amount is very low,” he told G. Manivanan of the PKR-Kapar party. The MP had asked whether the use of poppy seeds in food such a cakes was illegal under the Dangerous Drugs Act when its use is common in dishes in India and Europe.
On Tuesday, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said the ministry would not ban the import and usage of poppy seeds for culinary purposes.