Why One Country Is Confiscating Trader Joe's Everything But The Bagel Seasoning

The concept of an "everything bagel" has gone from a simple bagel variety to a standalone pantry staple all its own, thanks to the popularity of Trader Joe's Everything But the Bagel Sesame Seasoning Blend. This seasoning includes sea salt, white and black sesame seeds, dried minced garlic, dried minced onion, and poppy seeds. It has even found popularity in other countries, including South Korea — my mom even brought some to our relatives there once. But don't bother trying to bring it into South Korea now, because if you do, you're not going to like what happens next. If authorities find that you have everything bagel seasoning in your luggage, it will likely be confiscated. 

That's because there's one particular ingredient in this seasoning that's restricted in South Korea, and that's the poppy seeds. Poppy seeds, which come from the papaver somniferum plant (also known as the poppy plant), can have trace amounts of opium on their exterior, thanks to the poppy latex present on the seed's coating. Poppy latex is the milky white fluid that comes out from poppy pods when they are cut, which contains opium alkaloids such as codeine, thebaine, and morphine. However, the actual seeds themselves don't contain any opiates.

This Trader Joe's seasoning has actually been on the restricted list since 2022. However, since it has only continued to grow in popularity in South Korea since then, the frequency at which it's being brought into the country has increased, leading to closer scrutiny by officials.

South Korea is particularly known for its strict drug laws, hence the sensitivity to that one particular ingredient. Technically, if you eat poppy seed products like Trader Joe's Everything But The Bagel Seasoning, there's a possibility that you could register opiates in your system during a drug test. However, since there are also other ingredients in this seasoning, the likelihood that this could happen is fairly low. 

But South Korea isn't alone in banning poppy seeds. Other countries that restrict their use include Singapore, Taiwan, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. So, if you were planning on visiting those countries and bringing some shakers of this Trader Joe's seasoning along too, maybe don't bother packing them, because you might be in for a very uncomfortable situation at the airport.