Why Trader Joe's Everything Seasoning Is Banned in South Korea
A plot line straight out of “Seinfeld” is playing out in the real world on the other side of the Pacific.
On July 9, South Korea’s MBC News reported on a growing phenomenon happening at airports involving an in-demand stateside spice: Trader Joe’s Everything But The Bagel Sesame Seasoning Blend.
The über-popular American seasoning includes a combination of white and black sesame seeds, dried garlic, dried onion, poppy seeds and sea salt flakes. It’s gained a cult-like following that’s spawned copycat recipes, more than one spinoff product and even unofficial merch.
According to MBC, people who have tried to bring the shakers into South Korea have had their TJ’s haul confiscated by border authorities, and it’s all because of the poppy seeds.
“Please note that food products containing poppy seeds, including popular bagel sesame seasoning blends, are considered illegal in Korea,” reads a warning on the U.S. Embassy & Consulate in the Republic of Korea travel guidelines.
The blend has been banned in South Korea since Jan. 2022, according to a notice on Korea’s Ministry of Food Safety website. Still, it’s seen a recent uptick in popularity from Korean citizens who are excited to bring a little piece of America back home.
Representatives for Trader Joe’s did not immediately respond to TODAY.com’s request for comment.
According to the U.S. Embassy, attempting to travel into Korea with contraband products could spur a “criminal investigation resulting in fines, entry and exit bans, or even imprisonment.” The Embassy also recommends people traveling from the U.S. to Korea refer to the republic’s Ministry of Food Safety website for more guidance.
Representatives for the Korean Embassy in the U.S. or Korea’s Ministry of Food Safety did not immediately respond to TODAY.com’s request for comment.
Even though Elaine Benes’s poppy seed plot on “Seinfeld” seems far-fetched, there is a scientific reality behind why countries are banning the seed. In South Korea, poppy seeds are considered a narcotic because of their relation to opium and are therefore banned.
While poppy seeds themselves don’t contain opiates, they can be contaminated during the harvesting process. The contamination would come by way of the poppy plant’s milky fluid, which does contain opiates. Since contamination levels can vary, it’s difficult to track the amount of narcotics that might end up being carried by affected seeds.
Americans surprised by this information should know that while the U.S. doesn’t ban poppy seeds, it is wary of them in some instances. In 2023, reports emerged of pregnant women testing positive for drugs after they claimed to have only eaten poppy seed bagels.
The Defense Department also said in a Feb. 2023 memo that eating poppy seeds can cause diners to test positive for codeine on a urinalysis. Gilbert R. Cisneros Jr., undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said at the time that eating poppy seed products can trigger positive drug tests that would “undermine the department’s ability to identify illicit drug use.”
While you can fail a drug test after consuming poppy seed products, experts say there are many other factors at play and that the chance of products like TJ’s spice blend — or a lemon poppy seed muffin — containing enough opiates to trigger a positive drug test is low.
Michelle Carlin, an assistant professor of toxicology and forensic chemistry at Rutgers University, told The New York Times that it depends on the amount of seeds, their growing location and sunlight levels, and even how hydrated the poppy plants are.
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