One of America’s most popular exports is illegal in South Korea — Trader Joe’s Everything But the Bagel seasoning mix.

The blend, which is popular with influencers and regularly spotted in recipes on TikTok, contains salt, minced garlic, sesame seeds and poppy seeds — the last of which is banned in South Korea.

Travelers arriving at Seoul’s Incheon Airport recently have reported seeing signs specifically mentioning the Everything But the Bagel seasoning mix not being permitted.

One poster on X, formerly known as Twitter, shared a poster from the airport. The sign had a picture of the seasoning mix and read in Korean, “We would like to inform you that the following products containing poppy seeds are restricted from being brought into the country as ‘Papaver Somniferum L,’ an ingredient of the poppy family designated as narcotic substance under South Korea’s narcotic drugs control law, has been detected.”

The poppy plant is a vital source for the same compounds which are found in painkillers like codeine and morphine as well as street drugs like heroin, although the seeds themselves don’t contain any opiates.

Recently, a blogger on Korean website Naver posted about their experience bringing Trader Joe’s products back from the U.S. to South Korea.

In a July 14 post, the blogger reported that she brought back 20 bottles of the seasoning, which she learned about online. However, they came out of the luggage conveyer belt with a yellow lock on them, and she had to speak with airport officials to explain why she had brought the forbidden items into the country.

Ultimately, “I gave up the seasoning bottles and then I was let go,” she said.

South Korea is not the only country with restrictions on poppy seeds. In Singapore, the seeds are officially classified as “prohibited goods” by the Central Narcotics Bureau, but people who want to bring them into the country — whether in seed form or in food products — can apply for an exemption through the country’s Health Sciences Authority.

Trader Joe’s is a California-founded grocery store chain with more than 500 locations across the United States.

(SD-Agencies)

Trader Joe’s超市的全能贝果混合调味料是美国最受欢迎的出口商品之一，不过它在韩国被列为非法。

这种混合调料很受网红欢迎，经常出现在TikTok的食谱中，含有盐、蒜末、芝麻和罂粟籽，而其中最后一种成分在韩国是被禁止的。

最近，抵达首尔仁川机场的旅客报告说，他们看到告示牌提醒不允许带全能贝果混合调味料进入韩国。

一位发帖人在 X（以前叫推特）上分享了一张机场张贴的海报，上有这种调味料的图片，并用韩语写道：“我们想通知您，以下含有罂粟籽的产品因为检测出罂粟成分被限制携带入境，根据韩国麻醉药品管制法，这种成分被认为是一种麻醉剂。”

罂粟植物是可待因和吗啡等止痛药以及海洛因等街头毒品中同类化合物的重要来源，尽管罂粟种子本身不含任何阿片成分。

最近，韩国网站Naver上的一位博主发布了他们将Trader Joe’s的产品从美国带回韩国的经历。

在7月14日的一篇文章中，博主称她带了20瓶调味料，她从网上了解到这种产品在美国很流行。然而，行李从传送带上出来时被上了一把黄色的锁，她不得不与机场官员交涉，解释为何将违禁物品带入境。

她说，最后，“我交出了调料瓶，然后就被放行了”。

韩国并不是唯一限制罂粟籽入境的国家。在新加坡，罂粟籽被中央缉毒局正式列为“违禁品”，但想要将其带入该国的人 —— 无论是以种子形式还是以食品形式 —— 都可以向该国的健康科学局申请豁免。

Trader Joe’s是一家成立于加利福尼亚州的连锁食品杂货店，在全美有500多家分店。

(Translated by Debra)

Words to Learn

相关词汇

【调味料】tiáowèiliào

seasoning

salt, herbs, or spices added to food to enhance the flavor

【止痛药】 zhǐtòngyào

painkiller

a drug that is used to reduce or remove physical pain