Restaurants In China Add Opium On Their Foods To Lure More Customers

Almost 35 restaurants in China were discovered to have added opiates, such as morphine and codeine, on their foods. The authorities have carried out investigations on these establishments in order to know exactly how they've done it. 

Some of the foods that were found laced with opiates include noodles, hot pots, and lobsters.

Wei Tao, Deputy Chief of the Food Institute with Guizhou Provincial Centre for Disease Control, had stated that consuming soup or hot pots mixed with poppies for a long period of time will make a person addicted and may eventually lead to drug abuse in serious cases.

A restaurant owner from Beijing was sentenced to 18 months of imprisonment for lacing a spicy fish dish with poppy powder, a potent opiate. He did it, not only to add flavor to the dish but also to get his customers addicted to his unique recipe, thus, luring more people to eat in his restaurant.

When opiates are mixed with chili oil or Chinese salt, they are hard to detect, especially if they are added in low quantities. However, even these low quantities of the drug will build up in the body after some time and can have serious effects on the person's health.

Written by Kristine Ang, Lucis Philippines contributor.