One man who took a drug test before working onsite at the New Zealand Oil Refinery in Whangarei was shocked when he tested positive for opiates.
Fifty-four-year-old fitter Peter Corkill's chance of working with contracting company South Pacific Industrial at the refinery swiftly came to an end after his pre-employment urine screening test had a positive result for morphine, according to the New Zealand Herald.
He blames poppy seeds in his bread for the result. Mr Corkill had four slices of Freya's Lower Carb five-seed bread for breakfast before he was tested two hours later.
"I had not taken any medication or recreational drugs and was at a loss to what may have given the result," he told the Herald.
Mr Corkill is unsure how he can prove his innocence and get his job back, as he cannot appeal the decision. However, he would undergo another drug test in order to get back to work.
Dr Paul Fitzmaurice from the Drug Detection Agency told the Herald poppy seeds themselves do not contain morphine but the seed surface could be contaminated with opiates from the poppy plant.
"It's not an everyday occurrence but certainly poppy seed ingestion is a well-described event," he said.
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