Five Chinese central government departments have jointly declared a ban on sales of poppy seeds and related food products on the market.

Recently, some dealers advertised the functions and advantages of poppy seeds in sales promotion of poppy seed dressings such as jam, which has seriously misled the consumers, said the Ministry of Health on Wednesday.

The ministry did not give examples of such misleading advertising.

The ministries of Health and Agriculture, the State Food and Drug Administration, the State Administration of Quality Supervision and Quarantine, and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce jointly announced the ban on sales of poppy seeds and relevant food, noting poppy seeds can only be used to extract edible oil.

The announcement said the only legal company for poppy seed oil is Nongken Co. Ltd. of northwest China's Gansu Province, but the poppy seeds produced by this company cannot be sold in market either.

The joint announcement also said poppy seed oil should be controlled by the government as a kind of new resource food, which has to be tested before sale. The package and advertisement of poppy seed oil should abide by law.

No organization or individual is allowed to import poppy seed and poppy seed dressing, it noted, calling on local authorities tostrengthen control.

Poppy seed does not have narcotic properties like morphia or cocaine. It contains 36 to 50 percent of oil and is mostly used to extract edible oil.

China is one of the six countries to produce and reserve poppy seeds approved by the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs.

(Xinhua News Agency September 8, 2005)