Where are poppy shells from?

Restaurants and food retailers illegally transporting, selling and using poppy shells should be punished according to the law, and the authorities should conduct a thorough probe to find out where these poppy shells are coming from, says an article on xinhuanet. Excerpts:

Some reports say that in many regions of the country, including Shaanxi province, some hotpot restaurants and snack bars add poppy shells to the food to attract customers.

Poppy is the raw material of opium, and poppy shells contain more than 30 types of alkaloid, including morphine and codeine. Long-term use of poppy shells can turn people into addicts and damage their nervous system. Chinese law clearly says that poppy shells are inedible and adding them to food is strictly prohibited.