These bagels are illegal in South Korea

The seasoning garnishes everything from bagels and scrambled eggs to fried chicken in many countries. But in South Korea, it tops something else: a list of unexpected goods travellers are banned from bringing into the country.

Trader Joe’s savoury Everything but the Bagel seasoning mix has a cult following in the United States, but many who have tried to bring the topping into South Korea have had the garlic, onion and poppy seed blend – often described as “everything seasoning” – confiscated by authorities, local news reports say.

Poppy seeds are illegal in South Korea.Credit: Shutterstock

Food containing poppy seeds, “including popular bagel seasoning blends”, is considered contraband in South Korea, according to the US embassy, making the coveted topping a forbidden treat.

The Trader Joe’s seasoning has been banned in South Korea since 2022, but the brand’s popularity in the region has rocketed, with influencers in Japan sporting Trader Joe’s canvas tote bags as a fashion statement.

As more travellers have tried to bring the popular seasoning mix into South Korea, local news and social media sites have reported in recent weeks on an increase in confiscations at airports.

Trader Joe’s Everything but the Bagel seasoning mix.Credit:

Poppy seeds are not opiates but may be contaminated by the plant’s fluid, which contains opiates, when they are harvested. The amount of contamination can vary, and thus the amount of opiates that end up on poppy seeds in bagels, cakes or seasonings is hard to pinpoint, researchers say.

In South Korea, poppy seeds are banned because they are considered a narcotic.

“You can fail a drug test by consuming poppy seed products,” said Michelle Carlin, an assistant professor of toxicology and forensic chemistry at Rutgers University who has studied poppy seeds. “It obviously depends on the amount of poppy seeds present, but there is much variation found in the opiate compounds in the poppy seeds.”

Growing location, sunlight and how hydrated the poppy plants are can affect the amount of opiate contamination on poppy seeds, Carlin added. Her research found that, though washing the poppy seeds can remove contamination, it is very difficult to tell if seeds had been washed before being put in food products.

Still, the chance of a seasoning mix having enough opiates in it to result in a positive drug test was relatively low, Carlin said. “With those seasonings, people are not using a lot. And the seasonings have other things like garlic or salt,” she said.

South Korea is among the few countries with laws regulating poppy seeds. The United Arab Emirates bans the seed, and Singapore requires anyone wishing to import poppy seeds to submit a sample for opiate testing.

In the United States, there has also been mixed messaging about poppy seeds. In 2023, the Department of Defence warned members of the military that eating poppy seeds could result in a positive drug test, despite the military previously feeding service members poppy seed breads in ready-to-eat meals.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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