loose poppyseeds?

[Eway]

Read this from "Extra Nutty! Even More Letters from a Nut" by Ted L. Nancy:

Dear Safeway Supermarkets,
Do you sell loose poppyseeds? ....... I need just a few poppy seeds. Maybe 5 or 6......My friends in the Gilroy area shop at your store and they said that if I wrote you I could order a few poppyseeds from you. Is that true?....

And the reply from Safeway was:

Safeway does carry poppy seeds as a seasonal item. ...but they do not come loose. They come in packets....

My question is ~~ what are loose poppyseeds?
I can "detect" that the letter was written in a humorous tone.
But what's the humor of it??

[twostep]

Read this from "Extra Nutty! Even More Letters from a Nut" by Ted L. Nancy:

Dear Safeway Supermarkets,
Do you sell loose poppyseeds? ....... I need just a few poppy seeds. Maybe 5 or 6......My friends in the Gilroy area shop at your store and they said that if I wrote you I could order a few poppyseeds from you. Is that true?....

And the reply from Safeway was:

Safeway does carry poppy seeds as a seasonal item. ...but they do not come loose. They come in packets....

My question is ~~ what are loose poppyseeds?

Were you trying to make fun of the grocery store? Poppy seeds are about the size of a pinhead. Buy a roll with poppy seeds and scrape a few off. As the high oil content causes nuts to spoil rapidly they are seasonal items at least unprocessed ones. An other option is a whole food store carying bulk items. Bulk means you can purchase a specified quantity not a prepacked one.
I can "detect" that the letter was written in a humorous tone.
But what's the humor of it??