Two US mothers sue hospitals over drug tests after eating poppy seed bagels

Poppy seeds do not contain opium themselves, but can ‘become contaminated with opiates contained in the milky latex of the seed pod covering them’. Photograph: Xinhua/Rex/Shutterstock

Few people would ever expect that the simple act of eating a poppy seed bagel could lead to the investigation of young mothers and their newborn babies over suspected opiate use, but that is exactly what two women in New Jersey say happened to them.

The pair of new mothers are alleging the hospitals in which they gave birth violated their rights after performing drug tests on them without their consent. The drug tests came back positive and led them to be reported for possible neglect or abuse just days after giving birth.