I started to get a bitter taste in my mouth after eating. At first I thought I was going to die so I Googled on it – how many people a minute go through that process! My scatter gun approach to diagnosis came up with a series of suggestions. I either had jaundice or I was diabetic or I had eaten pine nuts (possibly from China) in the last few days. My skin isn’t yellow and my pee isn’t orange and I am not thirsty all the time but I had eaten a new kind of pine nut in the last few days so the third option looks like it warrants attention. After Googling start blogging.
There is a very short scientific-like paper out there Taste disturbances after pine nut ingestion. In the initial case the pine nuts were oxidized and not fit for consumption but six other cases are mentioned and it is not clear if these were oxidized. A test subject also consumed two portions of nuts which I guess they wouldn’t do if they were oxidized. Importantly there was no fungal contamination, no pesticide contamination and they didn’t know what species of tree the nuts were from but they had come from China.
The wikipedia pine nut page currently summarises and has a few links to discussion groups where the effect is mentioned.
Now I eat pine nuts a lot (I am a veggie) and this is the first time this has happened. It is also the first time I have had ‘Baby’ pine nuts which were sold as being small. My theory is that these are actually a different species of pine nut. This would be fun to investigate.
What candidates do we have among commonly eaten pine nut species ( according to Wikipedia)
Pinus gerardiana, known as the Chilgoza Pine, ‘noosa’, or ‘neoza’, is a pine native to the northwestern Himalaya in eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan, and northwest India, growing at elevations between 1800-3350 m. It often occurs in association with Blue Pine (Pinus wallichiana) and Deodar Cedar (Cedrus deodara).(Wikipedia) – This is a possible one. Are its seeds smaller than P. koraiensis I wonder?
Pinus koraiensis is Korean Pine. It is native to eastern Asia, Manchuria, far eastern Russia, Korea and central Japan. Korean Pine differs from the closely related Siberian Pine in having larger cones with reflexed scale tips, and longer needles. The seeds are extensively harvested and sold as pine nuts, particularly in northeastern China; it is the most widely traded pine nut in international commerce. – Very likely. (Wikipedia)
Pinus pinea Stone Pine (or Umbrella Pine) Native of Southern Europe in the Mediterranean region (Wikipedia) – not likely contender.
Pinus edulis Colorado Pinyon or Two-needle Pinyo is native to the United States and so not likely contender.
Pinus cembroides Mexican Pinyon – mexican so not likely to bother us.
Pinus monophylla Single-leaf Pinyon – USA native so not likely to bother us.
Looks like there are two contenders. Common things happen commonly so I have probably been eating P. koraiensis for years as it is the most commonly traded. Perhaps these new seeds are P. gerardiana?
I will investigate further.
You may also be related in a related blog post.
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Hi Roger,
I too have suffered this problem and until this weekend had not made the link to pine nuts. I have to admit to snacking on them whilst cooking in the kitchen. I was fine on Saturday and then ate some Saturday evening while preparing a casserole for dinner. The casserole tasted horribly bitter.The pine nuts I ate were the smaller and cheaper variety form James Grieves. This seems to fit in with your experience. I started buying this smaller variety last Summer and that is when I started to experience the bitter taste. Unfortunately I don’t have the original packaging any more to see whether they came from China. As an ex-chef I was devastated to find that my taste had gone making it impossible to season food.
This morning I think I am a little better – should be over it by tomorrow. The only thing I can eat with relative good taste is muesli but I still get the bitterness afterwards. Water is the only drink unaffected.
We should start a campaign to get these nuts removed from the market.
AT
Sorry – for James Grieves read Julian Graves – the former is of course a sort of apple!!!!!
Hi Roger
I have also just gone through what you have – ate pine nuts (baby ones from Julian Graves) on Sat night and now have a constant bitter taste in my mouth and can’t taste the food I prepare for my 8 month old baby! I am going to contact the people I had over for dinner(!) to see if they are experiencing the same as me and I am also going to contact Julian Graves! I also did think I had something nasty and made a doctors apt then googled it and couldn’t believe what I was reading!
If I may ask, how would you describe the sensation? Was it incredibly unpleasent or merely somewhat disconcerting?
I have a nearly uncontrolable sweet tooth, and I’m wondering if snacking on these nuts from time to time might help me bring that under control to some degree and perhaps lose some weight. If everything tastes bitter for a few days, I’m unlikely to do as much snacking.
Your opinion, given your experience of this?
I have had two replies from Alison at Julian Graves. Firstly she says:
“The pinenuts are from China although specific variety varies from region to region. The pinenuts are graded on the size, to do this they use different sieves to determine if it is classed as a normal pinenut or a baby pinenut.”
I find it fascinating that we don’t know the species that the nuts come from but I guess this is the case for many foods we it. Just another lesson in biodiversity. Alison sent a sample of the nuts I had eaten off for analysis and the technical report said:
“Thank you for your recent comments with regard to the after taste you have associated with pine nuts. We have had experience of sporadic complaints with regard taste and pine nuts. Unfortunately there has been no commonality to enable us to full identify why some people are experiencing this taste as it appears not to be batch related. We have carried out analysis and enquired with an independent food association we are members of, and no one can give a definite reason for the taste. It has been suggested that pine nuts can carry a natural chemical which only a small number of the population can taste and is only present under certain growing conditions or when the pine nuts have been cooked or eaten with another food.”
This is as I suspect. My wife ate these nuts as well and didn’t suffer any ill effect. It could be the variety of nut or some other factor but it doesn’t happen often enough to find a pattern. Possibly it is only the internet (and Google) that lets us discover these things. I have been eating regular pinenuts again without any problem so maybe I’ll just wait and see if it happens again.
From the point of view of eating pinenuts to put you off eating other foods this sounds like it would be pretty unpleasant. The taste really is bad and you get it after eating most foods it just seems worse after refined carbohydrate (in my experience). Because the effect isn’t predictable and may be genetic it would be difficult to isolate. If, however, you isolate a compound that could be turned into a functioning appetite suppressant then I claim my share of the proceeds!
Thank you for letting me know I am not crazy or worse yet suffering from some deadly disease. This week I have been munching on a small bag of pinenuts and also have a slight chest cold. I thought maybe the chest cold was really some kind of infection due to the taste of in my mouth each time I ate anything.After googling and finding this info. I looked on the package and they are from China. The nuts are now in the garbage. Thanks again for the heads up.
Thank you for this!!! This is the second time I suffer from this bitter metallic taste in my mouth after eating… When I got it last year, my doctor told me it was an infection and gave me some anti-nausea medication. (The bitter taste left only 3-4 days later, so I couldn’t really tell if it was the medicine that made it really go away). This time, I decided to google it and you are so right!!! I ate a salad (at a restaurant) 2 evenings ago that had a handful of pine seeds… And the bitter taste started yesterday noon.
What a relief to know this! I was starting to get worried about a recurring infection…
Thanks again!
I bought some pinenuts from Sprouts and was eating them on Saturday while I was cooking. Sure enough the last few days I have been tasting an awful bitter burning taste in the back of my mouth. My daughter in law came by for lunch today and after eating a cheese sandwich, she said the same thing….that she had a bitter aftertaste and yes everything taste Nasty…..YUCK! I was wondering if China is trying to poison us with Pine nuts? What good is the FDA if they cannot regulate imported food to be sure it’s safe for Human and Pet consumption? I am getting very upset by this!
WOW-These messages were a God send. I ate a handful of pines from Safeway for the first time in a long time. I now have bitter
taste in my mouth especually after coffee. Thanks for all the information. It all makes sense. Who needs a doctor 🙂
I ATE PINE NUTS ON CHRISTMAS EVE, MAYBE ONLY THREE OR FOUR OF THEM AND TWO DAYS LATER CAME DOWN WITH THIS AWFUL BITTER TASTE ESPECIALLY AFTER ANYTHING SWEET. I AM ON MY TENTH DAY AND STILL HAVING THIS PROBLEM. I AM GETTING VERY DEPRESSED. DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW LONG THIS WILL LAST.THE PINE NUTS WERE FROM CHINA.
I’ve made a salad with pine nuts a couple times since January 1st, two different packages bought from Albertsons on two different days. The second time we ate it was Sunday, January 3rd. Today, Wednesday the 6th when I had my first food of the day, it all tasted nasty. After I finished I recognized a chemically type taste. I had just had my hair colored so I thought maybe some of that or a soap from my hands got into my mouth, but then, at dinner, I had pizza and it happened again. Upon googling I saw all the connection with pine nuts. No one else that ate it has been bothered by this.
SAME HERE THE PERSON THAT BROUGHT THE PINE NUTS OVER WAS NOT AFFECTED, I HAVE AN ALLERGY TO SOME NUTS BUT NEVER TO PESTO SO I THOUGHT PINE NUTS WOULD BE OK. I WILL NEVER EAT THEM AGAIN, THIS IS MY TWELVE DAY. HAS ANYONE ELSE GONE THIS LONG ?IT SEEMS TO BE GETTING A LITTLE BETTER.THIS IS GREAT FOR DIETING, YOU ARE AFRAID TO TASTE ANYTHING.
I’m also experiencing the same bitter taste and I’m wondering if we can somehow find a link since our posts are all in a very close time period. Does anyone live in New York? I purchased my nuts from Fairway supermarket and I’m going to look into analyzing them. If it’s just a natural chemical component in the seed then were all suffering from a strange allergic reaction but if there’s more to them coming from China and a possibility of a foreign contamination I think this warrants further investigation. I’m willing to champion the cause if anyone wants to give me additional information.
Thanks for starting this discussion; I am very relieved to hear that someone out there has experienced this too, and has found the connection. I bought baby pine nuts from Julian Graves (my first time having the baby pine nuts) and I seriously hope that this taste goes soon. I suspected it was either my cold (been sneezing and sniffling all week), or the fruit I have been eating all week to combat the cold! You know how bitter plums can be in your mouth anyway? I will stop by Julian Graves some day soon and see what they have to say. I might phone them now!
Thank you!
I am having this same problem two days after eating pine nuts. The taste at the back of my mouth after eating or drinking is awful. This is my second day and I am anxious for it to remedy.
I have found that only water and peppermint tea taste normal and have been chewing gum to get rid of the taste after eating. I am hungry but don’t really want to put myself through the experience of eating the taste is so bad.
Does anyone know how long it lasts?
It is now the fifteenth day for me, how long is it for everyone else? It is getting a little better. I live in New
Hampshire. To the lady in New York have you found anything else out? Is it going away?
I’m in Southern California and purchased pine nuts from Trader Joe’s on Thurs, Jan 8. Ate them in a salad wrap that night…fast forward to Saturday morning, I’m eating an apple and notice a bitter taste in the back of my mouth. Tossed out the apple, thinking it had gone bad… But hours later at a restaurant, every appetizer I try is giving me the same bitter aftertaste – which rules out the apple as the culprit! Wasn’t sure if there was something seriously wrong with me, until I googled and found this thread. The package of pine nuts says “Produced in Korea, Russia, or Vietnam” (I guess they don’t know for sure???) Is there anyone else from So Cal with this problem?
I have spent a miserable weekend with this awful taste in my mouth after anything I ate, worrying about what could be wrong, I googled the problem this morning and find all of you experiencing the same! I too have been eating pine nuts, a healthier option I thought! I bought mine as a salad mix from Lidl’s (pine nuts, pumpkin seeds & sunflower seeds) does anyone know what chemical it is that ic causing the problem?
Thank God. We thought we were going mad or were ill (have been thinking it was contaminated water or washing up liquid or something!!) We used baby pine nuts from Julian Graves on Saturday night- today ( Tuesday) and yesterday we both have hideous bitter taste all day. Dan has been chewing gum all day to remove the taste and i have been eating sweet things to try and mask it! These nuts should really be removed from sale- I may print this and take it in the Julian Graves this week. Hope this doesnt last too long……..
Thanks for everyone’s comments. First time I’ve had this bitter taste sensation and it’s after eating anything at all. It’s totally yuck! I’ve just started eating pine nuts and never would have suspected a connection. I’ll be checking the country of origin before I buy an more. It sounds like reports of this come from various countries. BTW, I’m in Canada.
Elisabeth, if you are willing to champion – here’s my info.
We also bought pine nuts from Fariway ( 74-th street ) around Jan 9-th & we also experience the same bitter taste for the last couple of days.
I’m in New York and I got my pine nuts from Fairway as well. I bought them Saturday the 10th, had a small handful tuesday with lunch and again in a salad on Tuesday night and the bitterness started last night (Wednesday).
I’ve read elsewhere that it’s likely genetic. My husband hasn’t been affected at all and he’s been eating the same pine nuts.
considering this is the same batch from fairway ( bought about the same time ) it does bother me a bit ( e.g., could be some toxin ). We’ve bought pine nuts from Costco for years and have never had a problem before. The front sticker on the fairway bag says PINE NUTS ( pignolas ). Bar code is: 2 28109 70991 8. Sticker on the back is ripped.
I live in Austria and have the same problem. I bought my pine nuts from a supermarket chain called Zielpunkt. The nuts were relatively small but not sold as baby pine nuts. Do you guys also feel a bit heady when the bitter taste is there?
I live in NY and bought a batch of pine nuts from Amish Market. Cooked them on Saturday and started experiencing a bitter aftertaste after eating any food Monday night onwards.
I live in Southern California. I and my husband bought pine nuts from trader joe’s. We both ate from it yesterday and my husband eat more with a salad today. We both have a very bitter taste in our mouth. I also ate an apple and thought it was gone bad until my husband mentioned the bitterness taste in his mouth so we started tracking what was it that we both ate since our kind are OK. It was the pine nuts. Does any one know how to get rid of it and hol long it lasts if no remedy
Thanks
Essia
I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I bought a bag of pine nuts from an Italian Market store, from a bulk food display. I toasted some of these pine nuts three days ago and have experienced the bitter, metallic taste that everyone here has described. I will return to the store tomorrow to find out where these pine nuts have come from. I will try to get the remaining pine nuts (from this bag) tested, but I’m unsure where to begin. I have read that this bitter taste can last for 21 days. In answer to the Austrian blogger, question 24, no, I don’t feel heady. The pine nuts are rather large; they don’t seem to be the small variety that is also described here and there.
I live in the UK. My girlfriend and I have been experiencing this problem for the past few days after consuming Tesco pine nuts from China. Bitter taste at the back of the tongue whenever eating anything, especially if it is sweet.
This should definitely be investigated, anything that can affect your sense of taste for a prolonged period is potentially serious. Anyone got any suggestions as to what can be done?
Thanks
John
@Essia – the Fairway variety pinenuts left a bitter taste for about 7-8 days. The Fairway corporate guy has never returned calls, which is annoying. I’ll give them a few more chances before escalating.
@John, i saw on the web that people actually took this to poison control/department of health. There is no reason consumers should endure this nuisance ( or health hazard? ).
After 4 days, the bitter taste is lessening, but only a little. I threw a perfectly good bottle of wine away before I discovered what this problem actually is. Everything tastes like metal, or bitterness. Only a glass of Contreau does the trick. I recommend it to everyone on this list!
I have been suffering the same bitter taste all this week, and was close to convincing myself that I would have to see my doctor, suspecting an ulcer. But as soon as I read this thread I knew it was the same pine nut problem!
(I purchased mine from Julian Graves store in Eastbourne, East Sussex, UK last month, but only got round to eating some last weekend.)
Like everyone else above I would like to know how long I will have to endure this problem, is it dangerous, and yes indeed why should consumers have to put up with this?
I am so grateful to have found this site! I too was thinking there was something horribly wrong with me. I put together what I thought was a healthy mix of dried fruit and nuts and began munching on them about a week ago. The bitter taste started a day or so after I began munching. I don’t know that I would have figured this out without your help. I will throw it all away and begin again without the pine nuts. I have eaten pine nuts for years with no adverse reaction until I bought and ate these. These weren’t labels as baby pine nuts, just pine nuts. I live in Central Illinois so it sounds like these are being distributed very widely. I have thrown away the bag so I don’t know the country of origin but the next time I go to the store I will check it out and write a note to the company that is distributing them.
I bought my pine nuts at Trader Joes in Seattle WA. Horrible metal, chemical, medicine taste for 4 days now. The nuts tasted fine. Now everything is bleak tasting. I’ve tried tabasco, horseradish, garlic, & honey, but nothing will wash the taste out. I’ll be drinking lots of water, pure cranberry juice to flush out my system & taking milk thistle to protect my live. In this day & age of food borne illness…E.Coli-you’d think the businesses would be giving better feed.back. Are they toxic? I already have liver disease & would like to know if I just incurred more damage.
I ate some pine nuts two nights away and have also started to get a bitter taste as I eat. They reccomend brushing your teeth with baking powder on one website which i don’t much fancy. The Cointreau sounds much more appealing so thanks for the heads up. Does it just alleviate thte symptoms for a couple of minutes or get rid of the taste till you eat again? I’m quite worried about what will happen if i have the symptoms for a full 21 days as my taste buds are pretty sensitive so now every time I eat something i throw up. It might actually become a health hazard. I’m from the uk and got mine from asdas.
Same problem since eating a handful of toasted pine nuts 4 days ago: bitter taste after eating. ASDA WHOLEFOODS range, purchased in the UK: batch 83376M 12:25, best before 10.10.09. Produce of more than one country.
I am on my fourth week with this awful bitter taste, it has gotten a little better. I eat a couple of bites of something and then it makes me sick. I have been taking a a product called Tanalbit which takes toxins out of your body.The only good thing is I lost the ten pounds I wanted too. Is anyone else lasting this long?
An update! After one week of bitter, metallic taste my mouth has almost returned to normal. I have no idea whether this pine nut “taste disturbance” is related to the type of pine nuts (which originate in China) or some chemical which they put on to the pine nuts. I bought these pine nuts from Lina’s market in Calgary, and notified them afterward, but they didn’t take my complaint seriously. They remain on the stands. As for the my Cointreau suggestion, I mentioned it because it is the only drink which doesn’t become corrupted with a bitter aftertaste. For the record, I’m not an alcoholic who needs a drink every day, but I have to say, it was great to find some drink (besides water) which didn’t remind me that I was poisoned. It’s pretty good, too. I would like to add my thanks to those who started this string, and those who continue to discuss this mystery. It does seem more personal than “a health mystery” when you are worried about your health and what might have happened to it. I will continue to investigate this problem, by bringing my remaining pine nuts to a health authority for deeper examination. Until then, I hope you are all feeling better soon.
I am glad I searched all this out too, I ate Pine Nuts from China and I have the most rancid taste when I eat food or drink anything – the nuts are from a distributor by the name of Frieda’s, http://www.friedas.com – while I was eating them they had not bad taste, but after approx 24 hours I could not hardly eat anything becuase everything tasted horrible- I was thinking it was zinc lozenges that I was using, so I stopped them, a couple days went by and the bad taste was dissapating, then I grabbed a handful of the pine nuts and it was so apparent at that point, the pine nuts were the cause. I wish I could tell everyone what makes this taste go away, but I cannot yet, I only know what makes it worse and that would be eating more pine nuts – I will contact the distributor and let them know ASAP – and I think I will also let the FDA know – I hope everyone lets the FDA know, because things like this only get resolved when people collectively speak out
I also live in Southern California and bought pine nuts from Trader Joes recently. And yes I have this dreadful taste in the back of my mouth and yet my husband and kids are ok. To be fair I did consume more than they did. I too thought I had some awful liver problem and went so far as to run out and buy some liver detoxifying herbs! I am so glad I came across this site… I am amazed at how many people have had this experience and why isn’t this being reported on the news or something?!
I have had the same bitter taste in my mouth for a couple of days and didn’t know what was causing it. I made a salad and warned my husband that the raw shredded cabbage tasted bitter but he couldn’t detect it. I came online to try and find out if I was deficient in something etc then found your site. I ate a few handfuls of pine nuts mixed with pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds over the last couple of days. I bought them in Lidls packaged in Germany but who knows where the nuts originate from.
Sonia
I noticed other people saying the same thing: the pine nuts from Trader Joe’s seem to be causing the bitterness. I’ve had this unbearable bitterness in my mouth since last night, even though I ate pine nuts three days ago. I buy pine nuts from TJ’s fairly regularly, and it’s the first time this has happened. It is truly driving me insane.
Hi: Thanks for this – arrived here after googling “pine nut bitter fairway”.
To the New Yorkers who mentioned this( Elizabeth, JS, LK) I seem to have had the same experience with nuts purchased at the usually reliable Fairway Market, uptown. Admittedly this was a large amount consumed in one sitting, and oddly enough, I was reading the Wikipedia article with the mention of bitterness right about the time I ate them. But the bitter taste did kick in 3-4 days after the fact, and has stayed the week. I only experience it when eating or drinking anything sweet.
I picked up another batch today, will test it and call Fairway. It’s likely harmless, but it’s also a quality issue.
RC
I too have eaten pine nuts bought last week from Asda and have been experiencing this terrible bitterness in my mouth. I suffer from Chronic Fatigue and was beginning to think that this was just another symptom, so I was very relieved to find this forum.
Concerned about Pine Nuts? … Do a Google search for aflatoxin pine nuts then do one for aflatoxins. I am here also because of the same unpleasant taste after eating anything now lasting 5 days. Pine nuts were from Trader Joes.
Hi fellow suffers.
I’ve been googling trying to find an explanation for the extremely bitter taste I experience whenever I eat and you guys appear to have the answer.
I found a half pack of pine nuts in the cupboard several days ago and munched a few. I have suffered the symptoms you all describe since. I believe my nuts were from Tesco but I’ve thrown the pack away. The pack had been open since Xmas so there could be an element of the oxidation mentioned in a previous post involve. I’m certainly going to give pine nuts a miss in the future – I just hope it doesn’t take me 12 days to get rid of it!
I cannot believe this. I too have been suffering from this bitter taste after eating anything. I had no idea that it would be linked to these pine nuts that I bought from Trader Joe’s a couple weeks ago. I have been snacking on them here and there. This package is going in the garbage after I call Trader Joe’s.
Thanks to this string of postings I relinquished the idea that I had to see a doctor. I experience exactly the same symptoms as all the other contributors described. I live in Tucson, AZ and bought the pine nuts from Trader Joes (product of Korea, Russia or Vietnam). I had exactly the same ones before and never experienced this awful bitter taste. I also had a huge package from Costco (those were from China) and did not notice anything. It seems to me that either I developed some sort of allergy and from now on pine nuts will do this to me (not sure if I want to test my theory by eating them again some time soon) or that only some arbitrary bags are contaminated with something that does not do well with my taste system.
thanks again to all of you.
Relief! was going through all sorts of things in my head as have just finished a low fat/carb diet. Thought maybe gall stones or something nasty like that ( no pain anywhere was telling me otherwise!!) but would never have even thought about about pine nuts. Had a bar of Green & Blacks Milk as a treat for loosing Christmas blubber and it tasted horrid, how unfair is that??!!! Hope you all get your taste buds back to normal ASAP……
Me too – I thought I had sclerosis of the liver and like you thought I might be about to die!!! Not too weird a possibility taking in to account how much wine I drink. Anyway – I bought my pine nuts in a supermarket here in France. I think the pine nuts are the smaller variety you mention although unfortunately I have thrown away the packaging so can’t check. Would storage in fridge have any effects? which is what I did.
Amanda – France, Feb 4th 2009
Bought “baby Pine Nuts ” from Julian Graves in Wheatley’s shopping center in Bayswater, London on January 28th 2008. I have really bad bitter metalic taste in my mouth for the past week (Almost ate the entire bag)
I mentioned to my wife that i had noticed a bitter taste after eatin
ing. She had me check on line, glad i did. I bought pine nuts from
trader joes also and other nuts and made a mix that i munch on
throughout the day. I know it’s not absolute but now i’m sure
the pine nuts are causing the problem. although
in my case the bitter taste is not severe. and it says on the
package the pine nuts are from korea, Russia. or Vietnam.
I am in Shanghai, China now. I just googled “bitter taste after eat sweet” and ran across this page. This is the third time in about four weeks that I have had this bitter taste in my mouth after eating and especially after something sweet or citrus. Interesting theory about the pine nuts. Turns out I have eaten pine nuts on three separate occasions. Once in the form of toasted nuts someone brought to the offices. Twice in a pesto sauce.
I posted a few weeks ago and wanted to update that for me the taste lasted for 8 days and then very mildly for a couple of days after. I am never going to eat pine nuts again. I think that research is needed as to why this bitter taste happens.
I have had the same problem, on and off for the last few years. I normally have pine nuts with my cornflakes,firstly I thought it was due to indigestion or tooth decay but a visit to the dentist confirmed that this was not the case.
After an Internet search I came across this forum which described the exact same symptoms that I have been experiencing and that it can be traced back to consumption of pine nuts.
Like many of you I have noticed that the pine nuts from Tesco were produced in China.
Tesco and many other supermarket chains should carefully consider the country of origin of their pine nuts and other products in future.
I have just returned from a week in St Lucia at an All Inclusive resort. From the end of the second day there I experienced a bitter, almost metalic taste every time I ate or drank something. I made a mental note after four or five days that I would see a Doctor on return. However having read this, maybe pine nuts is the cause. I ate ample pine nuts with my breakfast every day with out realising they might be the cause. This is my second day back and the taste is still with me, so I am spending some time researching. Maybe it is the pne nuts after all. I’ve no idea where the pine nuts were from.
Update – bitter taste gone after about ten days ….thank goodness. Hope no other longer lasting and as yet unseen effects. In future will not eat them unless I can be assured they are not affected and this will only happen if suppliers take this issue seriously. I do not blame any country in particular, the suppliers may not be aware of the problem. Clearly some research needs to be done in to species, storage methods etc etc…. A big thanks to this BLOG.
I’ve also had this happen this past week with pine nuts imported from Siberia. No quick way to identify the species just from the kernels. Very unpleasant, strong, taste sensation.
Acid food (vinegar, citrus juice, tomato) seems to lessen the bitter sensation, so acid food it is. I look forward to the time when this sensation diminishes. Most distracting.
Has anyone done any research to see if pine nut tasters are also brussels sprout tasters (PTC) or cilantro tasters?
I have started with this bitter mouth problem yesturday. One of my managers came round to my house with a cheese roll and it tasted awfull. I didn’t want to say anything!!. In the evening we all sat down and ate a stew and it tasted dreadfull. It was then I confessed to the bitter mouth and explained why I never ate the cheese roll. Today it is just as bad. I ate steak for tea, I am brushing my teeth and gums several times a day.
Does anyone know who long this will continue. I too ate baby pine nuts from Julian Graves. It doesn’t say where they are from but the code number is 8290T4A bar code 5 0302548 092002. Perhaps its to do with a certain batch?
I posted last week with these symptoms.It has now gone after about a week and i`m vowing never to touch pine nuts again!!!. I too hope somebody looks into this to find out the cause and if there is any quicker way of getting rid of the problem once it occurs.
I ate pine nuts Sunday at dinner (also snacking on them raw while cooking), and experienced bitter taste beginning Tuesday morning — so this is my third day. Per another forum (copied below), I tried Alpha Lipoic, but have only taken 100mg last night and 200mg this morning (I’m not a big pill taker of anything). But I think it is helping some. At least I suppose it can’t hurt. Food is still bitter, but less so. I think my “bitter” taste buds on the back of my tongue seem enlarged and there is also a whitish coating on my tongue in the back. Any one else? My pine nuts were purchased at Trader Joes (From “Korea, Russia or Vietnam”) in Tucson AZ. BTW, I found that hot green tea still tastes okay (I haven’t tried Cointreau…).
This is from another forum:
I am experiencing the same thing. Ate some pine nuts last Tuesday and Wednesday and Friday morning my tea tasted terrible and then everything after that. I took 300mg Alpha Lipoic Saturday with dinner and the after dinner snack I had a few hours later did not taste terrible. Breakfast on Sunday tasted bitter, but less so so I took another 300 mg and lunch and dinner yesterday were fine. Alpha Lipoic is an antioxidant, it seems to be doing something. Try it if you’re experiencing this, it may help!
hi so glad i found you all. i have the metalic bitter taste and a dry mouth. i was searching to see if it was a thyroid problem or if i had become diabetic of did i have thrush in my mouth. You can all tell that im a complete hypercondriac. but i was really panicking its so revolting cant find a way to make it go away. I have been snacking on pine nuts just a few, say 30 nuts, in the evening as im trying to diet. my nuts are Tesco brand produce of china packed in the uk. its a 300g bag and the sell by date is september 2009. im definately going to complain have we been poisned is it a pesticide being used in china. No one has really said how long this goes on for are some of you ok now?
leanda
hi again, just read sues comments and glad to hear your symptoms have gone and you lasted a week. i shall let you all know when mine have gone
leanda
Okay, my taste disturbance is all but gone now. Ate pine nuts Sunday dinner, noticed bitter/metallic taste Tuesday AM (though breakfast was just turning rancid), threw out lunch — too disgusting, bad tastes all Tuesday through Wednesday. Googled Wednesday afternnon and found this and another thread. Wednesday evening I bought Alpha Lipoic (at the health food store) and took it once Wed (100mg) and 3 times Thurs. (200 mg each). Dinner last night was good — I enjoyed the food (beets and pasta) and only had slight bitterness after swallowing. Food is good today. If anything, there is only very slight hint of bitterness a minute or so after eating, then it dissipates. Not sure if its the antioxidant, a placebo effect, or my metabolism, but mine lasted 3 days.
I ate 2 portions of pine nuts last week and have had a very bitter taste at back of mouth after eating or drinking ever since. If i dont eat or drink for a while the taste goes away. Any cures out there??
Hello everyone. I made a few comments on this site. I had this bitter taste since Christmas. Everyone seemed to get rid of it in less than a couple of weeks but I did not. I decided to go to a Doctor who of course had no clue. I had to tell him to order blood work. I asked for a lead and mercury test. I am a very healthy person except for a high mercury level which the doctor knew nothing about. Good thing I work for Naturpathic Doctors and I know that I need a chelating agent. My theory is that people with mercury in their blood may get more of these reactions than people without toxic metals in their blood. I believe I got mercury poisoning from having a old amalgam filling replaced in
October. I am still investigating, my taste is back 90%. Please let me know if anyone gets mercury test done, I would be curious to know. Having high mercury is nothing to fool around with and most Doctors do not test for it.
I am relieved to find what is causing the bitter taste in my mouth. I bought a packet of pine nuts from Lidl in the UK I have been eating them over the last 3 days and now have this bitter taste that wont go. Now I know the pine nuts are causing the bad taste I have thrown them away. The packet says they were produced in Germany.
Same thing here. Ate a handful of pine nuts with my salad 2 days ago and today I started experiencing the symptoms that everybody is describing. I live in Vancouver, BC – Canada. The pine nuts were from the bulk section of “Save On Foods”. They tasted good, and seemed very fresh.
I also bought pinenuts from Lidl which are the brand Sirius and from Germany. I have the same bitter taste everyone ese is complaining about after eating anything. I ahve had this for 5 days and iys still going strong so I am off to the health food shop for a remedy. I’ll also check out mercury poisoning although my dentist says there are no problems with my fillings
I bought some pine nuts from the Co-op and unfortunatly shared them with my colleagues, we have all experienced the same bitter-death taste at the back of our mouths, intensified by eating. I found this website after googling our strange problem. The nuts did indeed come from China and I agree they should be taken off the market. If I dont find a campaign to abolish this disgusting product then I will try to create one. Before I do I would just like to know if anybody knows of anything that can ease this suffering of being unable to enjoy food?
Sorry, nuts were from Sainsbury’s not Co-op, definately produced in China though! Yuk, yuk, yuk.
I ate them twice this week and I am concerned because my small daughter loves to snack on them and ate heaps. I have been going silly trying to figure out the cause. If anyone can tell if they are poisonous – heck that would be a help.
thanks for posting this, my wife and I both experienced the metallic taste in our mouth and couldn’t figure out what the hell it could be. Well, we cooked in on Sunday and enjoyed some roasted pine nuts from the Farmers Market….looks like PROBLEM SOLVED!
-zack
Quick update. Bitter day #3 has started… and it’s still quite bad. I’m starting to get impatient. So far, mint is the only thing that I found that temporarily helps. Does anybody have other remedies?
I have also been suffering the same problem and was surprised to find that it was caused by the pack of pine nuts i ate a few days ago. I am in Israel, and didn’t notice where the pinenuts were imported from, but wouldn’t be surprised if it is China too.
Thanks for this great discussion. Same thing happening to me — from pine nuts purchased at the Fairway market in Brooklyn. Ate the offending nuts over the weekend and the death-metal-bile taste started on Tuesday night. I’m hoping it’ll fade by the end of the weekend. Has anyone had any luck with the various “cures” mentioned further up the discussion chain? I find that I can still taste food “around” the problem but I’d love to knock it out completely!
Bitter day #4. Still about the same, or slightly better — perhaps I’m getting used to it. It’s like the sweet component of foods enhances their bitter component. Can eat just sugar without problem, just coffee without problems, but sweetened coffee tastes bad. So does chocolate. I also confirm that salty and sour food is OK.
OMG! I’m sitting here with my mouth hanging open! Those damn pine nuts! I made a dish with pine nuts in them yesterday. I had the leftovers today, and the bitter taste has begun. I made some fresh juice and couldn’t figure out why it was so bitter. I’ve had oranges (bitter), spinach salad (bitter), rice (bitter)…I thought I was dying of something crazy. And this morning my husband asked me to try this “great” apple cider we’d bought this morning and it was so nasty to me, but I didn’t say anything because I hadn’t made the connection yet. I just bought some pine nuts while we were out this morning. Mine are “Ann’s House of Nuts” Pine Nuts. It says the nuts are product of China, Spain, and Portugal. Oh, and I started minor cold/sinus symptoms yesterday too. I will be putting this on my blog.
On day 6, the bitter aftertaste is probably down to a 20% of what it used to be. Looks like it’s going to be gone soon. A big relief.
I live in australia, adelaide, and ate at a restaurant had a salad and have been experiencing this bitter taste for the last 3 days. ill think twice about eating pine nuts
I may have found a solution – well it worked for me – vinegar! Before you go rushing off to down spoonfuls of the stuff, I ate it by grating some cheese and mixing this with generous quantity of vinegar from pickled beetroot. You will need to add extra vinegar to the juice -its got to taste like vinegar. I ate mine in a sandwich (it was really nich actually) and it worked. The day after eating, the bitter taste had reduced and after that, disappeared. Sounds a bit weird I know but my fiance is always going on about the benefits of vinegar and may he was right!
I too ate the pine nuts from Trader Joe’s this past week. I’m on day two with the bitter taste after everything I eat and today is worse than yesterday. I’ll update to inform how long it took to go away. Thank you for posting this string. I thought I had something seriously wrong with my stomach.
So glad I found this I was wondering what the heck was going on but I started munching pine nuts instead of chocolate at work this week. I guess I will go try the vinigar idea now.
I’m experiencing the same thing, got worried about it and googled. It’s nice to know I am not alone. I have recently rediscovered pine nuts and have enjoyed snacking on them. I live in Cardiff in the UK. Perhaps it would be interesting to see a distribution map of sufferers
I ate Trader Joe’s Dry Toasted Pignolas (product of Russia or Korea) a few days ago. I have had the bitter taste ever since. Was blaming it on all sorts of things. I was told by my husband yesterday that my breath was bad and an “unusual” smell. I am miserable. I hope it goes away soon. Listerine breath strips seem to help the bad taste (don’t know about the bad breath). Candy, fruit, citrus, coffee with milk, is bad. Most prominent a little while after eating. I was annoyed that I had not checked labels since I usually only buy USA foods.
thank gooodness for this website and everyones comments!! , we no longer feel alone .After eating my third bitter tasting meal of the day i decided it was time to google it as many of you have done . i got my bag of ‘cheap’ pinenuts from lidl on friday and only this morning have started suffering from ‘Pine nut mouth ‘ heard it can go on for week’s!!!
desperatley trying to find a cure A.S.A.P
you will be the first to know if we find one
=]
I also ate pine nuts from Trader Joe’s on Friday and have had the horrible bitter taste all weekend. I live in San Diego and I got the nuts from Carmel Mountain branch- I will try the vinegar solution!
I have been suffering from ‘Pine Nut Mouth’ for 5 days now, after munching on a bag from Lidl from Porthmadog, N.Wales. Has anybody thought about the manifestation of this toxin – and how it only arises after all food except water – could be related to mucus production in the oesophogus? Has anyone found any credible references discussing this strange and only symptom of ingesting possibly tainted pine nuts?
Thanks for all the info so far – the internet at work is a magical thing!
I wrote post #77. The solution that worked for me was ACTIVATED CHARCOAL. When I told my friends at work what happened, the all said the same thing: activated charcoal. Apparently that is what hospitals give people who’ve had food poisoning.
I ate the pine nuts on Thursday and Saturday. I took the charcoal at 4:00pm on Sunday. By Tuesday night, the bitter taste was completely gone.
This NOT the charcoal you grill with. This is a dietary supplement you can get at health food stores, GNC…I got mine at the Vitamin Shoppe. 50 capsules cost me @ $5.40. 100 capsules ran @ $9.00. Take 2 capsules every 2 hours.
I also called around to pharmarcies. None of them had it, but they all knew what I was talking about. So get on the phone and find this stuff!
I stumbled upon this site after having the exact same symptoms that many of the readers have brought up – bitter taste at the back of the mouth. At first, I thought I was having gastritis but after reading your entry, realize that I did purchase a bag of pine nuts from Trader Joes on Sunday and had added it to a cauliflower curry salad I had made. Glad to find a reason behind this bitter after-taste but I wonder if more should be done to look into this problem!
I ate pine nuts from China, purchased under the Kirkland label from Costco in Utah. I’ve had the bitter taste for 5 days and am looking forward to some of the home remedies helping. This is miserable.
I’ve been eating pine nuts forever and, for the first time, have just experienced this whacky taste-bud reaction. When googling “bitter saliva” I came up with a bunch of sites that indicated jaundice, dental caries, etc. But I had none of the other symptons. This morning, I noticed the bitter taste was not there when I woke up, but more pronounced after eating. Googled “bitter saliva eating” and a bunch of references came up relating to pine nuts! After clicking on your blog and reading it, I checked the back of the bag of pine nuts I purchased from Trader Joe’s last week and found that it was a “Product of Korea, Russian, or Vietnam” ;-> Thanks so much, printing your page and some of the other references out and taking my bag of pine nuts back for a refund ;->
Hi we live in Germany. My wife and I were about to head to the doctor this afternoon as we thought we may have ingested some sort of poison from the cookware in the furtnished flat we moved into last weekend. Monday night we snacked on a bag of pine nuts as we often do and we both have this rancid taste at the back of our tongue during and after eating. Not sure where the nuts were harvested from. Sweet food is worse.So glad we found this site.We are now on day 4!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Like everone else I’m extremely pleased to have found this forum. Does anybody know whether the food standards agency is informed about this problem? It should be relatively straightforward to identify the pine species or local variety using genetic makers. It would then be easy to impose inport restictions. I could do such an analysis in my lab but have unfortunatley none of the offending nuts left. Anyway I’ll look into it
Hi!
Pine nut victim from the Netherlands here. Bought them at Jumbo supermarket and used them untoasted in a veggie dish with pesto.. I’ve used the pesto before, that was fine, but I threw the nuts away right after reading all this.
Everything tasted afwul after 2 days.. especially sweetened food.
Cheap red wine seems to help a bit, as does hot food: chillies, sambal. Trying cointreau, vinegar and Norit (charcoal medicine) tomorrow. Máán, wednesday I’m having a fancy engagement dinner… 🙁
Thanks for all the feedback!
I live in San Francisco Bay area, and experienced this after having Pine Nuts for dinner on Saturday. This was at the Frankie Johnnie & Luigi, Italian restaurant in Mountain view. The salad contained chicken, spinach, and tons of pine nuts. I thought I was losing my mind, when the bitter taste (accompanying everything I ate — particularly carbohydrates & sugar), started on Monday morning. I am so glad I found you guys.
Two days ago bought and ate pine nuts from Save on Food ScotsDale mall Delta (Vancouver’s lower mainland (after 24 hours almost everything tasted very bitter) including honey or Milka milk chocolate . Now is March 10 / 09 The second day .
Today I complained and they took it seriously but in this forum #67 is in the same city … they don’t communicate Hey Save on Food’s management ….. we are poisoned by your products, imagine if it was you.
For all you beginners that suffer and want to eat something that is not too bitter taste, try “PURE CHOICE” CERTIFIED ORGANIC CRANBERRIES (Sweetened and dried a little bit) Everything else other than water …. bitter tomorrow I’ll try Unicum fight bitter with it’s own enemy… and of course the pickled red beet juice .
Cheers
Two days ago bought and ate pine nuts from Save on Food ScotsDale mall Delta (Vancouver’s lower mainland (after 24 hours almost everything tasted very bitter) including honey or Milka milk chocolate . Now is March 10 / 09 The second day , still the same.
Today I complained and they took it seriously but in this forum #67 is in the same city , the same company… they don’t communicate Hey Save on Food’s management ….. we are poisoned by your product, imagine if it was you.
For all you beginners that suffer and want to eat something that is not too bitter taste, try good quality bananas or “PURE CHOICE” CERTIFIED ORGANIC CRANBERRIES (Sweetened and dried a little bit) Everything else other than water …. bitter tomorrow I’ll try Unicum fight bitter with it’s own enemy… and of course the pickled red beet juice suggested here.
Cheers
Same as everyone – ate some pine-nuts – bitter taste – read this forum and tried an experiment – have temporary cure – Bicarbonate of Soda – 1/3rd teaspoon in small glass of warm water cleared the bitterness – until I had something more to eat – note: clean teeth very well after eating, then Bicarbonate, otherwise small food fragments stimulate bitterness over again…
i am giving this a go. its not tha i dont believe you guys but i have to try it to believe it. i have eaten some pine nuts that had ‘poisoned’ my friend. i willl keep you guys posted.
I am Leila’s friend and would like to confirm that she is an utter psycho and deserves all the bitterness she will get! Whoohahaha taste it and weep Leila!!
See above message for clarifications of this one.
Hi, I’d like to add my own thanks to the growing list. I am currently experiencing this for the second time. I was afraid to google, as last time I did every page I found seemed to sugest I had a brain tumour. Glad to have found this and made the connection. Ate pine nuts on Monday and again on Tuesday. First noticed effect on taste at lunch time on Tuesday. It is now Friday and it is still there, but not quite as pronounced, which makes me think that I’ll be all clear (which is exactly what I’ll be giving pine nuts in future) by the end of the weekend.
Anyone found a way to counteract this, or speed up the process of regaining your taste buds yet?
Hi everyone – just adding my name to the list. The more names the better. I bought pine nuts from Lidl last week – think they are from germany so the country doesnt seem to matter. The last time I ate them was Sunday and the taste started on Wednesday. Hope it goes away soon
Day 2 of having this bitter taste and now I realize it is from the Food Emporium (59th and 1st, NYC) pine nuts that I ate by the handful when I came home from work the past few nights having nothing else in my house. The article in the literature from 2001 says anaylsis of the offending pine nuts showed they were essentially spoiled and unfit for human consumption. I think we should try to get these off the shelves. Of corse we will look insane while doing so. I did notice when I ate very spicy Thai food for lunch the bitter taste was less overpowering. I suppose I will have Cointreau and Thai for the next several weeks.
We bought pine nuts from Julian Graves and I mixed them with other nuts and seeds. I have not been affected but my poor husband has had the most disgusting bitter taste for a fortnight now. So glad I googled it has put my mind at rest and needless to say we wont be buying any more! Should we report this to Julian Graves, Southampton where we bought them?
Hi, I get the effect after eating any foods which contain oils & fats – meat & fish are worst, but even chocolate has cocoa butter… I’m brushing & flossing teeth after food, then swilling oat milk to absorb remaining food oils (I’m dairy intollerant). Have found hard-boiled eggs are not causing bitter/rancid effect… yet! Hope this helps someone…
Thank you, thank you, thank you……… I thought I was going MAD. I too was snacking on pine nuts while cooking on Wednesday 11th March and I first noticed the bitter taste on Thursday. Friday breakfast time was a nightmare. I was cheking everything thinking that the milk was sour or the yogurt was off. Everything I have eaten since has been followed by this nasty taste in my mouth. I really hope is goes off sooner rather than later, I don’t think I could stand it for 21 days :o( I purchased my pine nuts from the wholefoods section at ASDA. Eating sweet foods doesn’t really help, just makes you want more sweet foods. I think I’ll just stick to water for the time being.
I’ve now tried the suggested Activated Charcoal capsules (Thank You Althea) and they’re suppressing the effect – it’s still noticeable with some foods (pistachio nuts, chocolate, port) but now quite faint… hopefully, it’ll go away for good soon…
I live in Fredericton, NB, Canada. Got a plastic container of pine nuts from Atlantic Superstore on Saturday, March 14, 2009. Since eating them have the same burning sensation, as many of you do, on my tongue after any food consumption + bitter taste, very bitter. It is a third day now. Yes, first breakfast (apple) was awful. I did go to the doctor who could not figure out what is that… Now I know, thanks a lot for this info. I wish it could go away soon. Mineral water helps, try. Some sauerkraut helps along with pickles….
I’ll go to the store with some printouts of these comments to show to the Customer Services there.
How amazing and what a relief to read the above comments. A rare reason for getting a bitter taste in the mouth is having a brain tumour, so thank goodness to find a much more likely explanation. Pity, though, I loved pine nuts!
Additionally to my above comment–could these nuts also account for me feeling “poorly” in an unspecifiable way?
Very interesting.. I have been suffering from the above mentioned posts. I just a few minutes ago ate something which brought on the bitter taste once again ( actually 5 nows now)..
Every nite I feed my Macaw and Amazon parrots some Pine nuts from Trader Joes.. and I steal a few for myself. I had read that the particular nut came from China.. and T. Joes said they removed the China nuts from thier shelves 3 months ago and replaced with nuts from Russia and Korea. I believe that I have found the reason for the bitter taste. I will stop eating..and have another family start to eat to see if infact this is it. Will post again after finding the results
Thank you!!
I’d been doing searches on the internet and all I could come up was that I might have an abssess or serious head injury!. None of these apply and then I found you site and all was explained. I bought pine nuts from Sainsbury’s (UK) and the nuts come from China. Thank you again, you’ve saved me a trip to the Doctor and I shall let Sainsbury’s know. Hope it goes away soon it’s ruining my food.
I bought a package of pinenuts on 3-14-09 from a Vons in Canoga Park, California for a falafel dinner that I had with my roomates. Since that Saturday, I’ve also been experiencing that real bitter taste while eating foods except when drinking water. The package is labled from Good Sense Pinenuts and is a product of Spain, China or Portugal.
I bought pine nuts from Bosa foods in Vancouver near Boundary and 1st. I have developed a bitter taste not unlike the lidocane that dentists use to freeze teeth. It has been three days since the bitterness started…it seems to be subsiding a bit. I hope it will go away soon.
Judging from all of the comments I am reading about this, it seems this is for real…there is no way that so many people would report these symptoms in association with pine nuts unless there was a real effect. The only other unusual thing I have eaten has been coated wedding almonds bought from Michaels. That was my original hypothetical culprit, but now I suspect it was the pine nuts.
Where is Health Canada on this?!!!!
I just ate a few pine nuts on Sunday or Monday that I bought in the bulk section of my Giant food store. Have had the bitterness since lunch on Tuesday and it does not seem to getting better. It makes me not want to eat anything. I will wake up in the morning and think it is gone, only to take my first bite of Kashi and taste it once again. Are there any early sufferers who can tell me how long it lasted for them?
I bought pine nuts at Andronicos in Berkeley, CA on March 14th from the bulk section. I called the store to complain/inquire about where the nuts are from. They say it’s a company who supplies all the nuts weekly and they will call me back with info on where they are from, etc. We’ll see if they actually call. I’ve had the exact same symptoms that hundreds of people are describing on message boards online and I am getting angry. I’m on day 4. I agree with others that coffee and oranges should be avoided. Sweet things taste bad (cereal, cake). Balsamic vinegar (or probably any kind, but balsamic is sweet), makes things taste better and doesn’t leave a bitter taste in my mouth. Pour vinegar on everything you eat. I’ve been chewing peppermint gum all day and that seems to help after meals.
I live in Modesto, CA. Not far from Sacramento. I purchased pine nuts from Trader Joe’s and have been experiencing a bitter, metallic taste for three days now. Food is disgusting. I’m wondering how long this will last. I’m going to take the nuts back to the store. I’m glad I found this thread.
Happened to me too. It’s been a week and the symptoms are exactly how everyone else describes them. Has anyone gotten a blood test to see if there is anything wrong with the liver or traces of heavy metals or toxins?
Tips: Try eating things with vinegar. That’s the only thing that tastes OK. The worst is coffee, oranges, or anything sweet. I’ve also been eating mint gum and breath mints all day long. I hope it goes away soon.
I bought pinenuts from TraderJoes on Tuesday. Ate in salad that night and the next. Friday Morning had a pear and it tasted bitter. I thought it was the pear. All day after eating things didn’t taste right. I chewed alot of gum. Then came home and ate 3 cookies and they tasted terrible. Didn’t find info on this till today so this is my second Day. Everything leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, especially sweet things. I am staying away from those. Even my beloved coffee does not taste right. Most people say 4days to 2 weeks. I’ll take the 4 days!!!This is gross. My pinenuts are RAW Pignolias(Pine Nuts)from Trader Joes.They are small and say product of Korea, russia or Vietnam. I live in NJ. I love Pignoli cookies and never had a problem with those. Maybe because they are baked???I will never take the chance eating them again. Not worth it. There are alot of other nuts out there!!!!
Hi – I’m pleased I came across this website as I was really worried I had something wrong. I bought a bag of pine mix from Julian Graves (a mixture of nuts including baby pine nuts)and was snacking on them for a couple of days. The following day I woke up, cleaned my teeth only to find a stong bitter taste all over my tongue. I had a cup of tea and the same reaction. I then had a biscuit to take the taste away which worsened it. It has now been 3 days and is still as strong. I can only drink water and any food especially sweet stuff leaves a nasty taste which last about 15 minutes. It has ruined my weekend and I shall be contacted Julian Graves tomorrow. I still have the bag of nuts so may take them to environmental health for analysing. On reflection, whether or not connected, I had severe stomach pains on one of the days eating the nuts and have also had headaches which I seldom get.
Ate a small handful of Pine Nuts bought from a Morrisons store (Glasgow, Scotland, UK) which i found in an already opened bag in the cupboard whilst cooking me dinner on Friday, now on Sunday I have the horrible bitter metallic taste after eating anything. I at first thought this was caused by myself trying to cut down smoking, but obviously it’s the darn Pine Nuts. No country of origin on the bag.
These things should be illegal, or used only as a form of Torture.
Hi – I’m pleased I came across this web site as beginning to worry there was something wrong. This bitter taste after eating almost anything started last week although I’ve not been eating pine nuts as such. However, I have recently eaten on 3 or 4 occasions sandwiches from marks and spencer which contain pine nuts[avocado salad with pine nuts and tomatoes]. Not sure there have been that many in them and whether I want to experiment by eating more! Besides pesto, I’m sure I’ve eaten them before without any strange effects but in this case, no obvious way of finding the source of nuts.
8 days after eating the pine nuts and I think it’s starting to go away! Yay!
For those of you that have been affected by this, how long did it take for it to completely go away? I some pine nuts with a salad a friend made on Friday night, started to get the horrible bitter taste while eating on Sunday afternoon. It is Monday today, and everything I eat is just giving me misery. This taste is simply unbearable and am worried about any effect this is having on my body.
Ate Pine nuts on thursday from Sam’s Club (Diamond Brand) and since sunday morning (it’s monday afternoon now) everything I eat I get a metallic, bitter taste. Can’t find out where they are from, but figured I should mention this brand as well. I was going insane thinking I was dying and am now convinced it’s the nuts. It’s such a weird phenomenon.
Has anyone tried calling the FDA to report this? I tried a few times with no answer and no response to the message I left. I think the more people that call, the more reason they will have to look into this. If you search for “FDA food complaints” there is a list of region specific phone numbers to call.
I am so glad I found this! I thought I had some serious disease. I bought pine nuts from Trader Joe’s in Hyannis, MA. They were the small dark nuts instead of the big white ones I usually buy at Trader Joe’s and Costco. Glad to know what is causing this problem. I usually like bitter veggies but everything is significantly more bitter and unpleasant.
Please check this out on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_nut
Had Pine nuts in a fish and salad dish (it tasted fine) at a bistro in Bellingen, NSW Australia on friday night and on Sunday lunch got the first bitter taste in my mouth. It is now Tuesday evening and its still there. Its always there even between meals. I’m getting cravings for sweet things but they dont taste sweet. The pine nuts looked like the short ones that usually come from China. I’m of Lebanese background and often eat the long pine nuts that come from Lebanon and dont have a problem with those. I wonder if this is a one off thing that the body will adjust too or will it happen every time I eat that type of pine nut.
As per post number 123, M&S avocado sandwiches with pine nuts in them and since then (a week ago now) bitter taste on eating or drinking anything. Thought I was going mad – and Dr seemed very uniterested when I mentioned it while consulting on something else.
I ate pine nuts on Monday and exactly 24 hrs ago, I had a horrible taste in my mouth. I also have a cold so thought maybe it was a sinus infection. I am floored after finally discovering the cause. I have been eating pine nuts my whole life and this has never happened before. I guess I could stand to lose a few lbs and this is really going to make it easy. I fear food, nothing tastes good especially after I eat. I want this to go away!!!
On day 5. Taste has certainly come down, but is still there. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Never having pine nuts again.
I ate these small round pine nuts 2 days ago, and now I am experiencing this horrible taste. I am glad to find that I will be OK and it will not last too long.
I live in France, but the nuts came from Asia
I bought the raw pine nuts (pignolias) from Trader Joe’s. I ate the whole package between Tuesday and Thursday night. The bad taste started on Friday, and I thought there was something wrong with my apple. I was hoping that I wasn’t being poisoned, but I don’t think I have any enemies. I google “symptoms, bad taste in mouth” and found this. I had thrown away the package, but I dug it out of the trash. It is distributed by Trader Joe’s, Monrovia, CA. PRODUCT OF KOREA, RUSSIA OR VIETNAM. I’m going out for dinner on Tuesday. I hope this taste is gone by then.
I ate some pine nuts on Wednesday night – they were from Asda in Edinburgh, Scotland. Asda Wholefoods, batch number 90686A Best Before 16.01.10. This morning (Saturday) I experienced the bitterness from the very first drink I took in the morning and am now getting it every time I eat or drink. I’m going to try the vinegar and shall purchase some alpha lipoic acid to see if that helps too (if it doesn’t help with this hopefully it’ll keep my cholestorol down anyway!).
I’m so glad I found this site.
Thank goodness for the internet and being able to google your symptoms.
Bought two packets of pine nut,raisin,pumpkin seed and walnut mix a couple of days ago from Julian Graves.
Now after eating the stuff I have got this fowl taste in the back of my throat which resembles having eaten a bit
of the skin/pith of an under ripe banana.
Husband going to take the other packet back to the shop to complain, the packet is in date but the raisins have all crystalised and the mix looks off, I suppose it may be caused by the pine nuts, who knows.
Glad I am not the only one suffering. The only trouble is everything taste bitter, one way to loose weight though.
I’ve had the bitter taste when eating sweet food on and off for 6 months or more. I regularly dip into a tub of mixed nuts, raisins and, would you believe, pine nuts! Only today I finished off the tub, thoroughly cleaned it and refilled with nuts. Then I discovered this forum. Thankfully there are no pine nuts in the pack I used to refill my tub and I tell you, I will never be going near them again! Hopefully, my problem will be solved and I will be able to enjoy sweet foods again, especially coffee.
i ate pine nuts purchased from trader joes (rhode island) in a salad late thursday night. while eating a breakfast sandwich saturday morning, i thought i was poisoned! ever since, i am experiencing a strong bitter, poison-like taste after eating ANYTHING!! has anyone found any info from people on long -term effect, or is this a relatively new phenomenon?
I am finally feeling some relief one week after eating the pine nuts. This is the craziest phenomena I ever heard of anf thank goodness for the internet. I ate the pine nuts at the Doral Hotel and Spa in Miami and am now in the process of speaking with their risk management department, trying to explain to them to pull those nuts out of their supply. I was at a luncheon that had almost 600 people and am dying to know if i am the only one who experienced this issue. Anyway, I can eat again so my “pns” (pine nut syndrome) is resolving. So much for the “pine nut diet”!! The real issue is why the heck does this happen to some people, is it toxic, does the length of time it needs to work it’s way out the system have to do anything with metabolizing some kind of toxin or WHAT???????????
This happened to me last night after eating some pine nuts from Trader Joe’s. The bitterness, I assumed, was from the wine I was drinking. With each drink the bitterness increased so I was convinced that it was the wine. I had the pine nuts from the same package previously so there wasn’t a thought that it could be the pine nuts. Wow. This is amazing! What is the deal?! It stuck around till morning and popped up every once in a while and then later in the afternoon it got bad after eating some Cheese Nips.
The taste has been with me for about 1 month now. It is worse with any type of meat, nuts, and Red wine. The taste started after eating a Tuscan gourmet pizza, which contained pine nuts. I am not too sure where the nuts are from. I ate the pizza again a couple weeks later. Lets see how long it lingers. The bitterness seems to be from the saliva excreted when eating. Albuquerque, New Mexico
Like everyone else I am quite relieved to have found this site. I ate some raw pine nuts last week (didn’t seem to have a problem with them toasted which is how I prefer them) and a couple of days later at dinner – WHAM – everything started tasting bitter. That’s two days ago and the horrible bitter taste is with me in full force. Will be getting activated charcoal on the way home tonight. This is unbelievable – I’ve been eating pine nuts for years, I love them, and I’ve never had anything like this before. I don’t know where the nuts were from for certain, but I do know they were cheaper and I thought China was mentioned on the package.
I am having the same problem. Horrible! I bought the pine nuts at Trader Joe’s in Chicago. I ate them on Sunday in a kale salad, and Tuesday morning the terrible bitter taste began. Thank you for the suggested remedies, which I’ll try right away. I can’t eat anything without this horrid taste in my mouth. My pine nut package is already gone, and now the remaining nuts are in the trash, too. Has anyone been successful contacting Trader Joe’s or other companies about this?
I just put a call into the Southern California Trader Joe’s were I bought my pine nuts. The manager said I was the first to complain about the pine nuts. He said they would send a complaint to the buyers and to the corporate office.
I also put a call into my “scientist friend”. I’m going to ask him if he’ll run some lab test. Hopefully we aren’t all poisoned…
I’ve had the ‘pine nut mouth’ for 2 days now, I ate half a bag of pine nuts 3 days ago in a pesto sauce I made.
So far the only thing I can eat is raw pecan nuts.
Good Morning and greetings from Kajaani, Finland. I have lately bought a couple of times pine nuts at our neighbour city Kostamus, Russia, with no problems. It is known in Russian “кедровый орех” meaning literally Cedar nuts, but as a matter of fact, the term means seeds of Sibirian cembra pine, which has a magnificient reputation in Siberia for human health food. Now as bought 29. March 2009, such bag, we eated a 100 gram package, it was delicious, but already the next day four of us five got a very harsh taste in mouth, one of us did not, indeed. An elderly lady also told about stomach ache. This lady, earlier lived in Russia, told even when eating, that these are not necessarily so good!? Now the symptoms are getting over. Any way, the nut was sold in decent time, the day of package was 2. March. 2009, true enough, in the shop not in a cold place. Packen in St. Peterburgh as a trade mark “Atlanta Fresh”. I have now examined the matter from the net, and found research of the Belgian poison centre. Now I am willing to inform You about this new kind of suspicion. I really want to estimate, whether this is Siberian cembra seeds at all. I still have a bag..
With kind regards
Jukka Peltonen
Licenced Physician
Kajaani, Finland
Well, I am throwing a spanner in the works. I am from Australia, and have eaten pine nuts many times. I had some On Monday and by last night (Wednesday) I started getting the taste. I had just tried a very, very hot chilli, only a tiny bit to see how hot it was, and I have been blaming that, until I found this thread! I am off to Thailand in 6 days, and it will break my heart if I can’t enjoy the Thai food!.. I will keep reading for any ways of getting rid of this!
Same thing. Pine nuts from trader joes. Horrible bitter taste in mouth for the last week. Hope this isn’t some bigger issue or poison we should be concerned about. Anyone do any tests?
#143 was my post. Responding to #147 – I began experiencing the bitter taste when eating spicy Thai food. I had been eating a milder dish and all seemed fine. From my first bite of the spicier dish everything I ate or drank (Thai iced tea) was bitter. I’ve noticed the bitterness is worse for me with spicy or very sweet flavors and seems less pronounced with blander foods. I am on day 5 and have noticed some improvement, I think. I am taking activated charcoal and alpha lipoic acid as recommended here. As did Joanne (#147), I thought the chili in my food may have been at fault until I found this site and remembered the raw pine nuts I’d eaten a couple of days before.
Anyone with more info or remedies – please post!
I tried complaining/inquiring about the issue at Trader Joes in Northern California and they acted like they didn’t really care. The store I bought mine at said they would call me back (but never did). I called a poison control center (a doctor recommended I ask them) and they said that this bitter taste is a documented effect of eating pine nuts and therefore not considered dangerous or poison (she started reading something that sounded word for word like the risk section in Wikipedia). The poison control center suggested I call the FDA to complain. When I try that, I can never get through. I feel that just because it’s “documented” does not make it OK! I encourage others to make complaints so maybe they will do more research or put a warning on the packages.
I’m on day 4 of ‘pine nut mouth’. Seems to be better in the morning, so I’ve been eating my bigger meal then. As the day goes on the taste gets more bitter and then turns metallic by night.
My “scientist friend” said he’s too busy right now to run test for me. In the meantime I will keep hunting for more information.
I have one friend who said she’s willing to try my pine nuts to see if this happens to her. Will be interesting to find out.
Hi again,
I had my pine nuts with a friend, a salad we made at home, and she has not had the problem. I am wondering if you have to eat something in particular to set off the reaction later? It just seems strange that one person can get it and not the other.
Anyway, just a tip for any Aussies – Vegemite on toast doesn’t seem to taste too bad, with Vegemite being a pretty bitter taste anyway. It’s an Aussie thing guys… most people from other countries think we are crazy eating the stuff!
I called poison control. Was also told to call the FDA and complain. May not bother with that bureaucracy. I’m considering copying the Wikipedia page with “risks of eating pine nuts” and distributing to the stores where I shop. I’m not sure where I got mine, other than I know it wasn’t Whole Foods. I work in TV and will copy the Wikipedia article for our News Dept. However, would love to see this on the national news.
Would like to thank Roger Hyam for this site and for all the comments posted. I think it would be helpful if each of us posted how long this obnoxious malady lasts.
Just thought I would share. I have been to 2 Chemists today and explained to them what has happened. They had both never heard of it, but both suggested taking zinc. As I am sure you all feel, I would try anything at this point, and I am only in day 2! I agree with Patricia, this should really be made common knowledge to the public. I even think that doctors should be made aware of this, as how many people have gone to the doctor with this problem, with the doctor not really having a clue what caused it? There has to be some scientific explanation, which I would love to know!
#154, Doctors hardly know anything of this. I think that the only place where the matter has been scientifically examined is the Belgian poisoning center, see link on Mr. Hyan’s beginning.
Yours sincerelly
Jukka Peltonen
licenced physician
Finland
In my case, this started last Sunday, it is Friday here in Northern California and I can finally say that the “pine nut effect” seems to be nearly, but not quite, gone. Six days of most of my meals tasting terrible. One of the posters mentioned that morning wasn’t as bad and that was also my experience. Also similar to another, my problem started while eating spicy food.
I to have experienced the bitter after taste after eating raw pinenuts,going on day 5,I noticed right after eating the pinenuts,had no idea so many people have suffered the same. Bought mine at Cub Foods in Plymouth Mn a product from China,Portugal,Italy,Pakistan,Spain or Russia per label Brand name GoodSense from Waymouth Farms MPLS MN
Today is day 7 for me and I only have a hint left (if I eat something salty). I’m crossing my fingers this will be the last day. What a terrible experience!
Thank GOD. I really thought I had liver inflammation–and my acupuncturist thought I had gallbladder blockages. Just today, she told me to get a sonogram. I just pray that nobody goes under the knife because of this ridiculous pine nut scandal! I bought mine from Trader Joes on Long Island, NY. I come from a huge Italian family and never heard anything about pine nuts and this horrendous taste in the mouth. If I find out that this is just another case of big business playing hard and fast with our food supply, heads will roll. I will make sure of it.
Well I am pleased I took the time to google as i have felt really bad for the last week, didn’t think it was anything I was eating. I have had bad sinus problems recently and thought it was related to that. Now I see it was the pinenuts I started to eat last Friday. I bought these from Julian Graves in Lincoln, UK. Out of curiosity I will look when I get home to see if they came from China. Hope the bad taste doesn’t last too long as I am going on holiday in May to Greece and would like to be able to sample some nice food etc.
This may be my final post here, but wanted to share the course of my “pine nut syndrome” with others who have the symptoms:
I believe I had the pine nuts on a Thursday or Friday. The following Sunday, 2 or 3 days later, during dinner at a Thai restaurant, I began experience a bitter taste when I ate a spicy dish. The taste remained through the dinner. On Monday, everything tasted terribly bitter. This was the worst day, I think. By the following Sunday the bitter flavor was gone. At first I tasted the bitterness as I ate or drank only. Later, there was also a bitter aftertaste. Toward the end only a slight bitter aftertaste lingered. I took activated charcoal and alpha lipoic acid as suggested by posters on this site.
I too, experienced the bitter taste and inability to taste food after eating the Trader Joe’s Raw Pignolias, product of either Korea, Russia OR Vietnam, which should have been a clue. I also became very sick to my stomach and ended up in the Emergency Room where I was told that “uncured” nuts often cause this type of reaction. Trader Joe’s corporate rep. advised me to return the unused items to the local TJ store.
Thank you everyone! I ate Pine Nuts from Trader Joe’s a few days ago and have been suffering the bitter aftertaste since then. At least I’m not worried any more; I’ll just wait it out till it passes and I won’t be eating raw pine nuts anymore.
I am thankful to read all of these accounts. I began having a bitter taste on Sat. April 11. I first noticed it after eating yogurt with fruit . The bitter chemical kind of taste has continued for two days and has spoiled any and all food I have attempted to eat. I realized that Thursday evening 4/9 I had added pine nuts to a heated dish with red sauce. My pine nuts came from Trader Joe’s in Cincinnati Oh ,Dry Toasted Pignolias from Russia or Korea. I have since contacted a manager at Trader Joe’s who has not heard from anyone else. My husband has also eaten some of the dish with the pine nuts but has not had the bitter taste. I had eaten pine nuts in the past in salads. I have tried baking soda rinses, lemon juice and mouthwashes but nothing has alleviated the bitter taste. It has spoiled coffee which I normally enjoy and has made wine taste terrible. I am glad to read that some of you have seen the end of the bitter taste within a few days.
Thursday night, April 9, I had pesto at a restaurant in the Chicago area. Friday night’s meal out tasted awful and yesterday’s food was disgusting. Easter dinner today will be really bad too…..( and I’m unmotivated to cook!)
I saw on another site that pine nuts – which I love and often eat — can cause it but I hadn’t eaten them and was disappointed because everyone’s symptoms matched mine. THen I remembered the pesto ( I make mine with walnuts, so didn’t think of it at first!) I emailed the restaurant to see where they bought their pine nuts. no word so far. Can’t wait for it to go away.
Have the same symptoms as everyone else… a drink of lime juice mixed with tonic water and sugar to taste (if necessary) seems to nullify the effect (can taste things like normal) for about 1 meal, but make sure all of the food bits are out of your mouth, to avoid the taste later.
Curious to see if this works for anyone else, discovered it by accident. Not sure if it’s the lime or the tonic or the combination that actually does the trick.
OKAY! I am really happy and really upset that I came across this string. I am elated because it means I know whats happening and the cause. 2 days ago I made a salad and loaded it with pine nuts. The following morning (Friday) I woke up and everything I have eaten or drank since – with the exceptions of water and alcohol, believe it or not, tasted bitter, and then left a HORRIFYING taste in my mouth. I was terrified something was seriously wrong. I bought them from Trader Joe’s in Atwater Village – Los Angeles, and the bag says PRODUCT OF KOREA, RUSSIA or VIETNAM! Funny thing is, I had a conversation with stock-boy about how expensive these had become recently. My husband ate the same salad, but I believe he had less nuts and he is not experiencing any bitter taste. It has been several days and food tastes good again WHILE I am actually chewing, but within minutes of eating, the horrid taste returns and does not subside for about 20 minutes. This would lead me to believe its going away. I certainly hope so considering the amount of nuts I ate was approx 50. My husband had about 20. Everyone who claims it lasted a length of time seemed to have consumed greater quantity and more than once. I ate them once and have not had any since. The one thing I have found I can eat which leaves very little bitter aftertaste in my mouth is MINT ICE CREAM!!! be warned – I didn’t say NO aftertaste, and your waste line will hate you for this if you go on the ice cream diet… but its one of the few things.
What are we going to do about this? I don’t want to give up eating pine nuts…
Three days ago I ate a chick filet sandwich and thought it was the dill pickle or the chicken causing this sudden bitterness in my mouth. It’s horrible and thank goodness I googled bitter taste and found this site. I too thought I had some kind of horrible disease. My Easter dinner was totally ruined …I had to get a guest to help me cook since I couldn’t taste anything but bitterness. I plan on taking this Diamond brand bag of pine nuts to the health department in hopes of having them analyzed. I will post my results. In the meantime, I think
I will try the contreau.
Hello all. Well I am also gald to find this site and I am going one step further…I have contacted an attorney here in Atlanta and am going to go after these companies that are distributing this product. In light of the peanut fiasco in Georgia I am sure there is going to be some action on this matter. How can they keep putting a producto n the market that can do this to someone is beyond me! I will keep you posted!
thanks for posting. I ate some raw pine nuts on Saturday from Whole Foods and on Sunday replaced the brake pads on my car. Sunday night, I noticed everything tasted bitter. I thought I was poisoned by brake cleaner or dust. I guess I’ll know in a couple days. monday, my latte still tastes bitter. Also, wonder why it took that long (1 day) to take affect.
OMG this is terrible. I ate a table spoon of pine nuts on Thursdy at dinner and the taste started on Friday around 9pm. It worsened by Saturday. I too found this site. I ran out and bought some charcoal at Whole foods and used it twice sat. and sunday. had upset stomach Sunday night with alot of belching of that bitter taste. I like all of you can not eat anything either EXCEPT… I found that a chinese chicken salad (from Abes Deli In Northridge)with mandarin oranges did NOT give me an after taste while eating. I had one Sunday and had to go back there tonight (Monday) to eat. I cant eat anything else (I did NOT eat the bread and butter though because that DID taste bad like everything else). My husband and I think it has something to do with the viniger in the dressing that made it not have a bitter taste. weird. try it. its the only thing I can eat.
I called the company I bought mine from. The name of the Company is called ‘its Delish’ they are here in Los Angeles. They came to my home to pick up a sample of the nuts that I still had. I bought the pack of pine nuts at Vons in Tarzana CA. I also went to the store and had them pulled them off the shelf.
Someone from Vons headquarters called me today to follow up and said he would investigate. I also found out from the Company Delish, that the nuts originally DID come from China. There is alot of info on the net about many products from China being tainted with Chemicals, like Melamine. It is scary. Funny that this problem was caused by nuts from China and the only thing I can eat is a ‘chinese chicken salad’ with mandarin oranges! The deli assured me that they make their own dressing and the ingredients are local.
I also called an attorney today and he said he has had a few other calls similiar to this recently. I think we all need to be proavtive and DEMAND answers.
I want to be assured that there is no lasting ill effect from this (such as with melamine).
i am also experiencing these symptoms. bought pine nuts (bulk, prebagged) last week at the Vitamin Cottage in Santa Fe, NM. eaten them in two meals about a week apart, both times triggering the bitter taste. relieved to find out the cause, but concerned about the cause behind the cause. i noticed several folks mentioning sinus problems happening in conjunction with the bitter taste. the same time the bitterness started for me i began having some kind of post-nasal drip, or something similar, which caused increased saliva production at night, when trying to get to sleep – never had sinus problems until this time. anyone else finding a correlation there?
Thank god for the internet… no point in rehashing my experience as it’s the same as the rest of you have described. Please tell me if any of you have found a remedy. It’s torture.
Myself and five others, from a bad bag from Sam’s club or something. I’m on day 2. This is awful.
Same here. Ate pine nuts from Trader Joe’s in Novato, Ca. Have had bitter taste for three days. Thought it was the Easter chocolate. Or the beer. Maybe the cheese. Mostly sweets brought it on. However, everything I ate had a bitter aftertaste. I’m taking the nuts back to Trader Joe’s and will also send them this blog. The product should be pulled from the shelves. Going to try vinegar and look for the charcoal tomorrow. I’m going to check packages from now on and try to avoid any food or products from China. This has to stop. Drywall, baby’s milk, paint on our children’s toys. They don’t seem to care what they export to America.
Yes, I should have mentioned that — don’t eat sweets. It makes it sooo much worse.
Pine Nuts Trader Joes Columbus Ohio (Easton) Russia Korea Vietnam. Two of us experienced the bitter taste since Saturday April 11 when we purchased them.
When does it go away?
I have eaten pine nuts on occassion for years and never experienced this. All I could think of when I read this thread and then read the bag and saw the origin of the nuts was “agent orange, Chernobyal, and Korean nuclear tests”.
Hi everyone! I’m so glad to have found this site & read all your comments (i’m not glad that you all have the same horrible bitter taste problem though!) I thought that I must have some sort of horrible disease as well, but when I put the symptoms into the computer & I read all your comments, I remembered that I had a salad in marks & spencer’s coffee shop on monday with loads of pinenuts on it(i love pinenuts) & the day before yesterday I started getting the bitter taste & threw away half a bottle of red wine that tasted gorgeous the day before!! I’m in Hertfordshire, England. Lets all pray that it goes away soon for all of us.
Hi everyone – Toronto, Canada here – same symptoms – now on day 4 – nuts were bought in bulk in Kensington Market and made into a (delicious!) pesto. Probably the last tasty thing I have eaten.
Only water tastes good. Also thought I had a brain tumor or was diabetic or both till I found this page. Whew. Side effect not discussed too often is that my tongue feels all wrong too – sort of sore and raw although it looks normal. I’ll post again when it goes away.
I just wanted to write in that my horrible bitter taste did go away after two weeks/ I really didn’t do anything to make it stop except I stopped eating unless absolutely necessary because everything was so disgusting! I did not have any nuts left over to take to trader joes to complain- I wonder if it is a toxin or a sensitivity certain people develop to pinenuts.
Here are some photos I took of the culprits – The larger nuts didnt cause the problem but the smaller ones did – they look completely different. The bigger ones are almost as big as a peanut or a large corn kernel and the smaller ones are like fat wheat berries.
If that html doesnt work this is the url of the photo: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3362/3447792759_5d50708da6_o.jpg
OKAY EVERYONE – So I posted a week ago and have since found a wonderful item which will detox your body from the crap that these pine nuts produced. My doctor did some muslce testing and found that suddenly (I have never tested positive for this before) I had heavy metal toxin in my system. Highly coioncidental since I get tested regularly for stuff – I work with a doctor who does this. In anycase she put me on a product by STANDARD PROCESS called PAROTID – it really helps flush the system and after 2 days of taking it – the bitter taste disappeared.
I am taking the product back to the store minus a small amount which I am sending to the health dept.
I also just wanted to add that this has never happened before to me and I eat a TON of pine-nuts. I will be scared to try them again, but I am not willing to give them up either. We should be able to get to the bottom of this.
ASDA ASDA ASDA ASDA ASDA ASDA ASDA! Never going back there again. Thank you all of you as had just given up smoking and was thinking that was something to do with this horrendous taste in my mouth. Have also had really bad dry lips with it?! Hope mine goes in 3/4 days rather than the 2 weeks some of you are reporting! Good luck to all and heres to red wine (or anything liquid or foodwise!) tasting good again!
Here’s an oddity maybe someone can explain. I had a small bag of nuts and toasted them a few at a time for salads, pastas, etc., no problem of any kind. The last few (maybe 10)I ate raw just to use them up – this was when the bitter taste occured. So it seems the toasting must’ve changed the composition of the pine nut chemistry in some way. Anyone know the answer?
I just managed to track down the receipt for the suspect pine nuts I bought. They were “Chinese” and I bought them at United Market on 3rd Street in San Rafael, CA. I am in the process of contacting the market.
Hi everyone! I’m on day 4 & the bitter taste seems to be going (touch wood!) Red wine tastes pretty good again, although not completely back to normal. Hurrah!!! I’m still wary of eating pine nuts again; but I really do love them. I have a bit of a carpet feel going on with my tongue though. At least there is light at the end of the tunnel. I think it does depend on how many you ate as to how long it takes to get better. Very worrying though that the humble pine nut can have this effect on so many of us from all corners of our planet. I hope that you all recover very quickly & thank you all for sharing this experience & putting my mind & everyone else’s mind at ease.
I bought mine from asda on monday…ate them on salad monday and tuesday. Have been suffering acute bitterness since wednesday. Bloody awful!!!!!!
mine is basically gone after 6 days. Finally. good luck everyone!
I’ve been experiencing the bitter taste all day; just finished eating some leftover pesto pasta made with Trader Joe’s Korea, Russia, Vietnam pine nuts. Now I find out that is what is causing my problem. I purchased at TJ’s Crystal Cove (Newport Beach). I’m saving the half empty bag to return to TJ’s and hoping symptoms go away soon. I’ve never had this problem before, and I use pine nuts often. I deliberately stay away from Chinese product, but that didn’t help me.
Wow – I’ve had the same thing. It’s pretty mild but still a bit disconcerting that everything I eat seems to have this bitter aftertaste on it. I’m only on the second day but it seems to be fading already. Still, I am going to throw away the rest of those pine nuts and maybe steer clear of them in general for a while…
Hello fellow Pinenuteers.
Same Problem as everyone else. It’s terrible. Day 4
I just contacted the FDA. They said more people need to contact them in order to move this case along.
Please call to have them figure out what is going on.
All numbers nationwide: http://www.fda.gov/opacom/backgrounders/complain.html
California (Southern)–(949) 608-3530
I did notice yesterday morning that it was only on one side of my tongue and now it’s the entire back of my tongue.
Goodluck all.
Hello fellow Nasty Pine Nut Mouth Sufferers,
First of all, THANK YOU Roger for starting this blog. My wife and I eat lots of pine nuts and many times they’re fresh as we live is southwest Colo. and they’re abundant here. However, since they’re out of season we do also buy them from local stores. Recently Vitamin Cottage opened a new store in Durango and we purchased “organic” pine nuts and immediately notices the difference in size compared to what we regularly consume. We had them on pizza on Thurs night and by Sat AM the symptoms started for both of us. I didn’t know what it was but blamed it on bad peanuts in a Nature Valley bar. Since this has never happened in my 30+ years of eating pine nuts they were never initially suspected. By Sat night, our red wine was just plain nasty along with everything else. For us, most foods taste OK but it’s the after taste which seems to linger, on and on and on! Since I’m at work I have not been able to check the bag but my suspicion is that they’re from China which is where the “baby” nuts seem to originate from. I’m gonna try and find the stuff from post #182 and see if it helps. Here’s to recovering from NPNM and that first glass of really great red wine!
I just came down with the “Pine Nut Metallic Taste Syndrome” I got mine in NYC from Trader Joes. Manufactured in Monrovia, CA. PLEASE tell me this is going to go away in a day or so, I can’t imagine days and days….is there any cure!!!
I just spoke with Trader Joes corporate offices. They WILL NOT be pulling the product from their shelves since “It doesn’t happen to everyone, and it is not a health risk” I responded that it appears to be a batch issue, and again they will not be pulling the product from their shelves. A boycott from all of us is in order!
Thanks to everyone of you for sharing your Pine Nut Nasty Mouth stories. Now I know why I’ve had this strange, awful condition for a week and will go toss out those Trader Joe’s pine nuts. I think I’ll stay away from pine nuts for a while. And I’m hoping this thing goes away soon…
I bought pine nuts at HEB in Housotn on Sunday (Apr 19th) and ate them 19th-today. Last night I started noticing the horrible bitter taste. My boyfriend ate the same pine nuts and doesn’t have any symptoms. I will try to figure out where the pine nuts are from/what type they are when I get home. Tea is the only thing that seems to taste okay. This sucks – I’m so hungry!
Day 4 finally easing up a bit…I found some things that work I wanted to share. I made bitter greens (chard, kale etc.) I got at Trader Joes’ (ha) with chicken broth and some sauteed tofu. The bitter tasting foods register OK I guess, it was real good I ate a whole big bowl I was so hungry. Also celery is great and with peanut butter not bad at all. I even had some ice cream that tasted great and when I was done ate some celery so the bitter taste didn’t return so bad. I also drank a lot of water and took a lot of activated charcoal. Bittersweet chocolate is supposed to work well, I heard spicy food too, as they may dull the taste buds.
Comments 17, 26, 33, 39, 41, 44, 46, 47, 51, 60, 81, 84, 86, 89, 91, 111, 117, 120, 128, 135, 139, 141, 144,145,148, 150, 161, 162, 163, 164, 167, 175, 177, 180, 190, 194, 195, 196 and 199? All refer to Trader Joe’s. Of course, they are probably the largest pusher of pine nuts at this point.
I’m going through the same thing. Now I don’t have to worry that a tumor is pressing against the part of my nervous system that controls taste. My bag of “Dry Roasted Pignolias” is purportedly a “Product of Russia or Korea.” But what I notice is that the bag seems to contain two types of nuts. One is what I am used to, the candy-corn shaped seed about the size of a watermelon seed. the other is half to one-third the volume, and more of an oval shape. I have never noticed these before. It’s funny, ’cause I noticed the price of pine nuts at TJ’s seems to have gotten out of hand in recent years. I saw this package at a much lower price than I have seen for awhile, and bought them. I even felt fine munching them out of the bag!. I wonder if TJ’s is cutting their product with an inferior grade of seed from a new supplier?
The wikipedia article that has been referred to here says, hundreds of people worldwide have reported this phenomenon since 2001. That sounds pretty rare. This seems like a real outbreak, probably a new source of the seeds is my guess. Maybe TJ’s will reconfigure their product, or try to figure out the problem, if enough people complain at the management level (rather than the store level).
As a follow up to #199, it occurs to me that I never saw the dry-roasted variety of pine nuts before. I have always purchased them raw and sometimes toast them in the toaster-oven, or put them on the burner with a bit of olive oil (which I usually forget about until they’re burnt.) So the question is, does anyone else remember whether the nuts that caused their reaction were “dry-roasted?”
I am in UK and have been eating Tesco Pine Nuts from China. Have not had them for a long time and had some 2 days ago straight from packet. Have had horrible taste in mouth since yesterday made made worse when I drink or eat.
My husband and I ate pine nuts which I purchased from Trader Joes in La Quinta, California. Source: Korea, Russia, or Vietnam is what the package said. They were sprinkled on salad and cooked in a vegetarian stuffed cabbage I prepared. Two days later we both noticed a bitter taste in the back of our throats which has persisted for a couple of days now. Thanks to the internet we were able to track down the probable cause of our distress. Eating slices of fresh lemon makes the taste go away temporarily. Looks like others have had success with Alpha Lipoic Acid supplements, vinegar, and activated charcoal. We’ll start there and hope this goes away quickly.
Same story here – bought pine nuts at Tesco in south-west London; ate two/three handfuls raw, now in fifth day of bitterness (vinegar definitely makes food palatable, though the bad taste soon returns). Overjoyed to find this website, slightly cross that this phenomenon has been allowed to spread so far – Austria, USA, UK! I’m a freelance writer, and am going to try and get a piece in one of the UK national papers -if anyone would like to tell me their experiences, I’d be very grateful – CMidton@aol.com
Same story. Bulk pine nuts from Costco. Ate them on Saturday and got bitter taste on Sunday evening. Disgusting. I’ve been easting pine nuts my whole life and never had those problems. My 6yo daughter developed the same problem.
Well, I am from Savannah Georgia. I bought a bag of Diamond Brand pine nuts for an orzo salad. I have been eating the salad for a number of days. I have noticed a horrible bitter taste in my mouth, thought all kinds of crazy stuff was going on. Could not believe the info that I found on this site! I have thrown out so much food the last few days, thinking that something was wrong with it. So now I discover that the Pine Nuts are the culpret. I have eaten pine nuts for years and have never experienced this before. The nuts were from China! I will contact Diamond Foods to inform them about this unfortunate situation. I hope that this “Bitter” sensation ends soon…I love food!
Just for the new people reading this post…. I have been in Thailand for 3 weeks, and had the “nasty” 6 days before I left. Luckily it only lasted a day of my holiday… so hang in there, it could only last a week!
Good grief. This is unbelievable. I was convinced I must have diabetes or something until I did a google search. I ate a big back of pine nuts about a week ago, and since then have had a horrible metallic taste at the back of my mouth after food, but I’ve also just had an ear and throat infection and thought initially that the taste thing was related to that, except it’s gone on too long. I also bought a diet coke today for the first time in around 10 days and it tastes like pure sugar, and really vile. Normally, I’m a bit of a DC addict.
Thanks for this blog, my mind is now set at rest.
Phew…big bag of Julien Graves pine nut mix. Thought I was being especially good with my snacking…sadly the wrong choice. I feel incredibly thirsty after all food and this awful taste. I started eating the nut mix on Sunday. It is now wednesday and the problem started. Thought about everything else it could be, but now it all makes sense. Thank you all I feel happier about knowing the cause and look forward to this tase subsiding. It tastes like dandelions..eeeew!
Last time I’m checking in. Took 7 long days and many ruined meals but thankfully all gone.
Good luck all.
***I can confirm that Johnnie Walker temporarily relieved the symptoms.***
I got lucky – it only lasted ~4 days. Mine were from HEB in Houston, TX and said product of Russia. I still have some if anyone wants me to send them so they can be analyzed somehow. 🙂
I had a salad with some smaller pine nuts than I am used to seeing. That was Saturday night. By Monday evening, I noticed that food did not taste that great. Thought it was because I was possibly catching a cold. Today is Wednesday and the bitterness on my tounge and in my saliva is enough to make me gag! Especially bad taste after eating fruit. I was worried that I was possibly pregnant, jaundiced, or had some crazy gastrointestinal disorder (although I feel fine). Even though this is just a “taste”, it can’t be good for me. Must be some toxins escaping. I am going to drink a lot of water and sweat it out–hopefully I don’t smell as bitter as I feel……
Just a follow up to #193. It took us 9 days from ingesting them and 7 days exactly from when the taste first started showing up to be rid of this affliction. We’re totally “cured” now and are again enjoying food and RED WINE with no after effects. Also wanted to mention that I spoke with a homeopathic doctor who completely understood this issue. Again it has to do with how the triglycerides (oils) in the nuts effect the liver and basically it’s the livers way of trying to rid the body of this excess amount of oil. She said it’s a type of inflammation and that a few ounces of aloe vera juice would have helped substantially. Although we were cured by the time I spoke with her, we certainly would have tried ANYTHING and since aloe is natural, why not. Good luck to all and cheers!
Me too!! My girlfriend made a fabulous dinner on Friday night and I got sick a few hours afterwards. I had diarhea that night and have had a burning sensation in my tummy ever since (it is now monday and subsiding a bit). Can’t remember having a tummy ache since childhood. I have been fatigued,achey and feeling flushed(with a lover then average body temp)ever since. After a couple of days I got the bitter taste in my mouth and realized that something had poisoned me. My friend called me on Sunday to tell me she had Googled “bitter taste in mouth” (because she had aqquired it,even though I had not mentioned that sympton to her)and it came back with the pine nut story. Thank God..I had been really worried. Now I am still worried because my body is reacting in other ways including the bitter mouth. I have put a call in to the FDA and am awaiting their return call. I am in So Calif, Valencia and the nuts were purchased at a Safeway store. My friend had toasted the nuts for our salad and they tasted fine. I do not knowingly eat things from China (for obvious reasons these days)but since I didn’t cook the meal I didn’t think about the origin. It is a shame because I love pine nuts and now I am so scared to ever eat them again. I hope that this story breaks so they find the cause and resolve the problem. I also am going to forward this blog to KFI Radio in LA so they can take a look at it. I am off to buy some activated charcoal tablets that someone mentioned, hope it works.
I contacted my local FDA office in New Jersey. The information anyone with this issue should submit to their local office is: The type of package, bag, jar, etc, all info from the label, UPC, any expiration date, manufacturer, distributor, where and when purchaased. You can find your local office from the fda main page. When I spoke to the woman she said she has heard of this before. They need to be able to get a sample so they needs as much info on the product as possible.
I’ve had the bitter mouth symptoms for 2 weeks. This is the first time I’ve purchased pine nuts in a bag (that said “all natural”). I’m going to my health food store to find out about cleansing.
Sainburys (uk) standard pine nuts, seem to have just had a bad batch, horrid metallic detergent taste in the back of my mouth for 2 days. Drinking milk helps, but have 2 micro-bio doc friends who have said it’s to do with tri-glycerine concentrations in the waxy coating of the nuts, no health hazard.
Me too. Multiple episodes…until I realized what it was. Has any body had standard blood tests (i.e., CBC and chemistries) while the symptoms were ongoing? I got my evil pine nuts March 29 ordered from Fresh Direct in New York, NY. Anyone else get them from Fresh Direct? FYI – symptoms completely resolved but the bitter taste was nasty.
I made chicken pasta salad Sunday. It had pine nuts in it. I shared it with a friend. By Monday we both had the nasty bitter taste in our mouth. I know it had to come from the pasta salad because that was the only dish we both ate. Everything in the salad was fresh so it had to be the nuts. I discared the packaging so I do not the country of orgin. I am from Salt Lake City, Utah
I purchased the pine nuts at a Smith’s Market place.
I love pine nuts, grew up with pinons on our property in Arizona. I live in Portland Oregon now and just purchased “Dry Toasted Pignolias” from Trader Joes.”product of Russia or Korea” I snacked on them while cooking. The next morning I was sure the cream in my coffee was rancid. Ugg, it’s been 3 days so far and only water and peppermint tea has no bitter after taste.
Well I am so glad I found this. Pine nuts here again, never had a problem before. Nuts purchased at Asda in Warrington UK. Tried all sorts to get rid of the taste. Hope it goes soon! No more pine nuts for me as my loving girlfriend just pointed out (she is sick of my moaning I think)
I have been eatin pine nuts for the past 3 weeks on my salad for lunch. Everything that I’ve eaten in the past 3 weeks leaves a bitter after taste. I finally started searching for a cause on the internet and found this site. I bought my pine nuts at Meijer’s outside of Cincinnati. The bag says they are a product of China. Now that I know the cause, I will NEVER eat pine nuts again! I hope this taste goes away soon.
i had bought some pine nuts from holland and barrett’s in newport south wales uk 2wks ago.i opened them on monday and had some which were fine and then finished them on tues evening.on thurs evening i had a cheese sandwich which tasted absolutely vile and since then have had a horrid bitter taste in my mouth which is blighting the taste of everything in its path!
so glad to find this forum,obviously not though for all of us suffering like this.i have also eaten shed loads of pine nuts in the past as a snack and have never experienced this problem,and can say with absolute conviction that i will never eat them again!!!
surely doctors need to be made aware of this problem and not be so dismissive,as i’m sure you all agree that it is a big worry,and i thought that i had an ulcer or the suchlike.
am on day 2 and already totally cheesed off !!!
good luck to all and may our bad tastes go as quickly as they came.
i’m off to try the vinegar!
Hi this pine nut thing is definitely going global…I had some pine nuts on a salad in Dublin, Ireland 3 days ago and I like everyone else I now have a really bitter taste in my mouth – hope it doesn’t last 3 weeks like the previous poster! This thing seems to be escalating, it’s a tad worrying, lets hope a bitter aftertaste is the only effect…
I too have eaten pinenuts a couple days ago and have had a bitter taste in my mouth ever since. I did not relate it to the pinenuts but after reading everyone’s experiences I see that it is most likely the cause. I can not tell you from whom or what country the nuts came from only that they were purchased from our local grocer in bulk.
This blog hit it right on the head and I am greatful for everyone’s input.
Same problem, bought a salad from a local takeaway last week and two days later EVERYTHING tastes disgusting. I’ve just been reading the previous posts and whent to the obsurd lenth of gargling vinegar….. had coffee after that and it tasted….. not great but not as bad as it had been. I plan to gargle again before dinner to see if that will help.
One other question I would like to ask… (I noticed on some other sites that people with “O” Blood type tend to be more effected. I am “O” negative.) Is there any link between being “O” Blood type and this awful taste ?
Kersty from Australia.
Like most of you, I have been worried about what this bitter taste in my mouth could be and have been very relieved to find this blog. I bought a bag of pine nuts from Waitrose – ate a few big handfuls on Saturday, following which everything I ate had a slightly bitter taste but I put it down to being on a sort of detox diet (where pine nuts were recommended!). Since Sunday night, the taste at the back of my mouth has been really vile. The nuts were from China.
As far as blood type goes – I am A- and am in to day 4 of my bitter experience after eating pine nuts at a restaurant – I did a salt water rinse, which seemed to help for some things but anything made with flour was the worst(bread, crackers, tortillas,ect) good luck all
Wow…all this bitter experience gets blamed on a tiny little pine nut. I am so glad to have found this site because I ate these little nuts last Wed. and here it is 6 days later and I still have an awful bitter taste after eating – especially bagels, bread, etc. I guess it could be a way to lose some weight but I can’t wait for this to go away. My girlfriend had some of my nuts and thought she had the Swine Flu or something. It’s so wacky!
I can’t tell you how relieved I am to have found this site! I’ve been going nuts (ha ha!) all day – wondering about this horrible taste in my mouth and throat. I had pine nuts from Trader Joe’s in my orzo salad on Sunday. I had a handful of raw pine nuts before I toasted the rest in a pan. I can’t wait for this to be gone. Nothing tastes good. Better said, everything tastes horrible! I’m wondering what I should do? Call Trader Joe’s? The FDA? I still have half a bag.
Jeannie- I would see about getting the pine nuts tested. I called my Trader Joes to make them aware of the situation as they have never heard of it. But once I knew my pine nuts were the culprit (thanks to sites like this), I unfortunately threw them out. They still refunded me money (which I wasn’t asking for- I just wanted people to know what could happen if they bought them). I hope you’re all feeling better. For me, after about a week, the major bitterness was gone. Second week, just slight remnants of bitterness…now, just the back of my throat feels a little funny- I don’t know if that’s related or not though.
Hi Everyone, thank god for this website, I’m going crazy with this taste in my mouth. My passion is cooking, lately I’ve been unable to taste my food that I’ve prepared much less eat it. This bitter taste in my mouth started on Friday BUT I don’t recall eating PINE NUTS! However I do practically live at Trader Joe’s, shop there all the time I wonder if it was in a spread that I bought, been going through my refrigerator all morning, dont’ see anything??? I guess I’m off to the vitamin store to try the Lipoic Acid and activated charcoal, if anyone has a cure please write I dont know how much longer I can handle this, it’s AWFUL!!
Three of us had cheekly helped ourselves to our bosses pine nuts over the past week!!. We are all suffering terribly! We all agree that the nasty taste is almost unbearable and hope that it goes away soon. I love my food and this is day two of this disguisting taste, so bad i dont want to eat or drink anything! If it doesnt go away before the weekend i wont be happy at all and will reside to my bed!
Oh, me too! I couldn’t understand why I had a funny metallic taste after eating a pasta dish last night when my friends who ate with me didn’t get it. I have it again today after eating some salad so have googled and found this. Now I remember I had a spoonful of pesto which the others didn’t (I was the chef). Hope it goes away soon!
OK, Yes, I am very thankful for this website, since I really was loosing my mind with why I can no longer enjoy food or wine!
So, now, let’s hear from people who have had some success in getting this to go away. What works? What does not?
I bought my pine nuts in bulk at the health food store in New Haven, Connecticut (USA), so I don’t know their origin. I toasted them before adding them to a spinach salad. The bitter taste emerged about 24 hours later. I’m relieved to find this info…
This has to be one of the strangest things I’ve ever experienced. Last Monday I made sundried tomato pesto for my family. The pinenuts that I used were different from those I have typically used before, a variety from Siberia it turns out. I’ve had a terribly bitter taste in my mouth since Wednesday afternoon even though the bad taste hasn’t afflicted any other member of my family of four. The good news is that I had blood work done (a routine checkup that coincidentally occurred at the time of the pinenut ingestion) and all of the tests (diabetes, glocose level, liver function, thyroid, etc.) were normal. So this doesn’t seem to be a serious problem, only a temporary (and yucky) inconvenience.
So weird, same thing happened to me. Ate 2-3 handfuls of bulk pine nuts from Wegmans in Penfield, NY about 2 days ago and today I have the bitter, nasty taste in my mouth that is made worse while I am eating or drinking and right after. I would not describe it as metallic though – more it tastes like dirt? At first I thought it was the bagel and cream cheese I bit into this morning, but then realized that all food tasted equally nasty. I will come back and let you know when the taste goes away for me….
i ve had some pinenuts from tesco’s uk. i thought i’d try em cause they were bout 2-3 quid in the baking section and 4-5 quid in another section. Everything i have tasted in the last few days have been bitter it didnt really click till today and decided to search it on google.. pretty mad
So happy to find the cause. Had pine nuts from China last Sunday and Monday. 5 days further, still have the bitter taste in my mouth. Apparently this can last for more than a week. A couple of days to go. Never had problems before. By the way, I live in Amsterdam.
Just wanted to add pine nuts bought at Leader Price in Paris to the list …
It was so great to be able to find this information so quickly. The bitter taste was driving me crazy, but I had completely forgotten that I grabbed a handful of pine nuts out of the cupboard while I was cooking a couple of days ago.
Hello..I how strange.. I also ate pine nuts 6 days ago. Since then I have had this weird taste in my mouth and nothing taste good..hate it so..so I’ll get some vinegar tomorrow any other tips would be welcomed too. Of course I can’t not tell you what orgine the nuts came from but I did buy the bag at Tesco in Edinburgh (UK)….I hope we all get to the root of this and get our taste back!
I cannot believe what I’ve just been reading. Just googled ‘bad tast in back of throat’ and checked out this website. I was reading through the comments that people have made thinking to myself ‘well I haven’t eaten any pine nuts’ when I just remembered a salad I had in Pret-a-Manger in Brighton on thursday 14th may – it had a pesto dressing, which of course contains pine nuts!! Unbelievable! Hopefully my liver will get rid of all of the nasty toxins and this bitter taste will go! I have noticed a slight numbing of the tip of my tongue also and would like to know if anyone else has had that symptom? Crikey, you’d think you would be safe with a few pine nuts!
I am so relieved to find that other people are having this problem! I have been buying pine nuts from Tesco and ate them several times last week. The taste is vile, and I thought that eating or drinking something strongly flavoured like coffee, would relieve it but it just made it ten times worse.
This is hilarious! I bought a pack of Baby Pinenuts from Julien Graves in Amersham this weekend, because they were half price, and pinenuts are so expensive. I’m doing the South Beach Diet, so have been adding pinenuts to everything, but now, not only am a suffering serious cravings because I’m on diet, but everything I DO eat tastes like metal! I am miserable! I’ll contact Julien Graves to let them know.
I found a really interesting theory on another website, which suggests that ‘baby pinenuts’ are actually just B-grade and old: “If you have ever tasted the resin that comes off pine tree’s it is similar to the bitter taste, so i think if the seeds are picked too late, if they are old or oxidized they will start to absorb the resin as the tips of the seeds are particularly bitter and even crunchy. Yesterday morning i roasted the pine nuts and had a very bitter taste all day.
So i think if the seeds are cooked they will cause an even stronger bitter taste much sooner. Everything tastes awful.” Interesting…
Thanks for all your input. Isn’t it peculiar with the global reach of this problem that the media is so silent? Must not be part of their agenda.
I’ve written an article about this that will be in the Daily Mail tomorrow (Tuesday May 19) – the Good Health section. Can’t say the supermarkets seemed very bothered about it when I approached them; hopefully the publicity might make them a bit more concerned.
My daughter and I experienced the same symptoms after eating pine nuts and then pesto (which I made) with pine nuts I bought from H.E.B. in Pasadena, TX. I even took off work today thinking I was very sick with stomach aches, horrible bitter taste in mouth, and dizziness. Thank you all for your posts and information. At least I know I’m not really sick. But I’m with most of you that said this should be publicized. It’s disgusting, even if it’s not life-threatening.
I’m so relieved to find this page! Ate pine nuts from Trader Joe’s on pasta and then again on a pizza we ordered. (double whammy – it was a pesto pizza.) i’ve had this awful taste in my mouth for at least a week and a half now with no sign of letting up. i have a bitter taste in my mouth almost constantly, and it makes all foods i eat taste bitter. it’s across the back of my tongue. i also was getting worried about diabetes!!! jeez!
off to the store to try the aloe vera recommendation.
We have experienced the same symptoms. Bought pine nuts at H.E.B. in Pasadena Tx on Fairmont Parkway on way home from work. Ate some out of bag and made pesto on Sat. My 10 year old daughter also had alot. She began having bad stomach aches Sunday, as did I, along with the horrible taste, runny nose, and dizziness even while laying in bed. I even took off work b/c I didn’t know what was wrong with me. Thanks for the info which has stopped me from freaking out, but heavy metal poisoning doesn’t sound so good either. I called H.E.B. and a mgr. said they’d pull the product, but hadn’t had any other reports. We’ll see. Also left a message with the FDA.
I too thought I had got some awful disease after Googling the bitter taste phenomenon. My condition lasted about a week, and I suppose if there is an upside then it means I might eat a bit less and lose an ounce or too of weight. What I want to bring up is whether the problem is with less fresh nuts, and if so would refridgeration prolong their life. Should supermarkets be keeping them in the chillers? Any clues?
I have just read in the Daily Mail about the bad taste left in the mouth after eating pine nuts. I couldn’t believe it as I have been suffering for the last few weeks and thought I had some sort of stomach disorder and even mentioned it to the doctor who agreed. As I have eaten a handful of pine nuts from a sainsburys packet (from China) and have had chicken with pesto and pine nuts I am beginning to believe there must be a connection.
Thank goodness for the information so freely given, I was just revving up with determination to get some answers to the vile bitterness at the back of my throat – I feel rescued from oesophagal nastiness and a painful death. I bought my pine nuts from Waitrose and in the bag there are little and large ones, I now regret decanting them into a jar and throwing the packaging but possibly I can go back and check their origin. So, only 7 days to go huh! Could be worse.
Thank goodness it isn’t just me. I mentioned it to my doctor and she had not heard about it before. I had pine nuts in an Italian restaurant-just a few scattered on the top of pasta- and suffered for two weeks, horrible! I read somewhere that pine nuts from China could be the cause as they are not so stringent as we are with public health.
I have had this horrible bitter taste for two days. Like everyone else had googled and ruled out jaundice, pondered the brain tumour and denied acid reflux. But, I have eaten pine nuts – yesterday and the day before. It is horrible. We went out for supper last night and it all tasted horrible. Today also, everything tastes bitter. I have booked a doctor’s appointment for tomorrow (which I will now cancel). I’m getting married next Thursday and would like to be rid of it by then. Sorry if this is too much info, but my fiancé said he could detect a bitter taste when we kissed. Shock horror. I too have thrown away the packaging, but the nuts were a new variety, Waitrose’s own version of a brand containing chocolate buttons, dried fruit and pine nuts. Steer clear!
Finally an answer, I thought I was losing my mind. It started suddenly and everything tasted sour, but just in the back of my throat and only after eating. Otherwise fine. Thought I might have OD’d on multivitamins! I have read it lasts 10-20 days. Hopefully it will help me lose some weight for the suffering!
Day 4 for me. I ate pesto from Vapiano in DC on 18th and M St. Bitter taste doesn’t go away for anything. Had some beer last night and since it’s bitter anyway, it was fine for me. But I hope it goes away soon. Keep you posted.
I cannot thank you enough for this post! I share these symptoms, they just started today; I too was sure I was dying and so Googled “everything tastes bitter” and this was one of the top hits. I ate pine nuts from Trader Joe’s on Saturday night and might have been, well, *enthusiastic* about them. I cannot believe the bitter, metallic taste in my mouth. I’ve been fascinated by these comments here. This post has been very helpful; I linked to it in my blog post about it tonight as well.
I think I’ve now been hit by this too, with symptoms starting a couple of days after eating about 35g of Sunbeam pine nuts in a couple of pasta dishes. I’ve sent an email with the barcode and, I think, the batch number to Sunbeam and am waiting to see what they say.
Me too! This is crazy. I had the small ones from Trader Joe’s.
Hi there, this is fabulous. I am completely off eating as everytime I eat or drink something, I get this vile bitter taste in my mouth. I decided to google it and wow – I am not the only one. I had visions of my Dr laughing at me had I come to him with something like this. I have been eating pine nuts in my salad for the last few days and just cannot get rid of the bitter taste since then, so it all makes sense!
@Jordan
My son and I ate pine nuts from Trader Joe’s Wednesday or Thursday night and both of us have the same bitter taste you describe. Strange but very helpful information.
Hello to all! I wrote an e-mail notifying the restaurant I ate at the other day to let them about the pine nuts and they replied that they are going to try to change their storage habits. This way the pine nuts will not become oxidized. Anyway, I have no more bitter taste in my mouth after eating anymore. I would say today I am officially free of the symptoms. This means it took about 7 days-(one whole week!) to go away completely. Good luck!
Wow – I am also happy to see these postings. I ate very few pine nuts from can of mixed nuts on Wednesday noonish – Thursday noonish my hummus tasted bitter so I thougth it had gone bad. This is Friday and as long as I am not eating, I am mostly okay. I can vaguely taste the bitter in the back of my throat, but just slightly. BUT when I put anything in my mouth, I instantly have that horrible bitter taste. So I did not eat all day. Around 8:00 I made cream of wheat and the first 4-5 bites were awful, but knowing I needed something in my stomach, I kept eating. The bitter taste became less obvious as I ate, altho still there. Then after eating for 15-20 minutes the bitter taste was strong. I tried eating some salt. This seemed to calm the bitterness for a few minutes. I have been all over the web and like others saw brain tumor, nerve damage, diabetis, etc. I am sad to hear this might last for 7 days, but hopefully this is all it is – pine nuts! Who knew? Thanks for all the input. Very helpful and hopeful. My doctor had no clue why putting food in my mouth would cause such a reaction. No one else has described it like I have. I would like to know if any of you have/had the kind of experience I had.
I’ve eaten a handful of pine nuts from Trader Joe’s the last few days and I’ve been having a bitter taste since last night. I can’t eat anything without getting the taste. I got them at the capitol hill Trader Joe’s in Seattle, and was surprised with the good price. You get what you pay for.
I ate some nuts (Trader Joe’s) about 10 days ago and within 3 days I had it. I thought there was something wrong with the meat I was eating but then noticed it was everything I ingested except for water that caused it. I then began to think I was either nuts or very ill. I have experienced the problem for about a week now. One day was worse than all of the rest but all of them were bad. I sure hope this goes away soon. Another example of what you deserve for buying stuff from the CHICOMS.
First they poison our pets and then they send us something to do us in.
yeap 4 of us have been struck with pine nuts biteer mouth.
bought in south of france, not sure of the where they were from but they were small.
any ideas of how to be rid of this ??
tried washing my mouth with bicarbonate soda…it helped for a while…but it does not go away
hope it does not last a week
thanks for all the info on your site
I’m having the same problem, but I purchased SunRidge Farms pine nuts, which are a product of the USA. I bought them from Trader Joe’s.
What I don’t understand is that this issue is already known since 2001 and nobody seems to know yet what exactly causes it. I eat pine-nuts frequently since about 5 years, but only since a couple of months have a problem with them. The nuts in the regular super markets are all same size tiny Chinese I guess. We’ll have to go for the Italian nuts to see if the same problem occurs.
My daughter and I have both been suffering from the same bitter taste…its awful! I bought Pignolias (pine nuts) from Trader Joes.It says they are a product of Korea, Russia or Vietnam. Sorry TJ’s…no more pine nuts from you. What a relief to know its nothing serious, thanks for all the postings!
Wow–am so thankful for this site! I had some small raw pine nuts Friday evening(Dell’Alpe, distributed by Rubenilli– no country of origin–bad sign!) while making supper– started having “the taste” Sunday afternoon. Yuck! I have found that lettuce with Catalina dressing isn’t so bad…
me too. I had a salad on Sunday 5pm including pine nuts bought from Tesco. That evening and ever since I have had a bitter taste in my mouth. Every meal since and including last night’s salad (which also included pine nuts) have been spoilt. Wine tastes eugh. Chocolate and fruit too.
Aha! This is the answer to my problem! My daughter and I had a pasta salad the night before last that I made with pine nuts from the local grocery (refrigerated section) and we are both suffering from everything tasting bitter starting this morning. Does anyone know whether the whole batch will affect anyone who eats the nuts?
I too recently had pine nuts and am suffering from a bitter after taste, from both food and beverage. I ate the SunRidge Farms brand of pine nuts. I still have the package, but there is no reference to country of origin. Unfortunately I have not found any remedy for this malady. Perhaps the passage of time is the only remedy.
Same thing after eating a handful of pine nuts from M & S! Sometimes the internet is just great!
This is incredible– I have been freaking out for several days, thinking I have lead or mercury poisoning. I ADORE pine nuts, eat them frequently. A few days ago, I purchased a new container (Dell’Alpe brand) and have had an increasingly awful metallic taste in my mouth, but only with food. Every thing tastes awful… needed to go a diet but this is a drag!
Glad to say after a week since first eating the nuts, my taste is almost back to normal. I did find that along with the lettuce/Catalina dressing mentioned earlier, I was able to also eat eggs (no salt/pepper),vanilla yogurt,slices of mild cheese, milk, bananas, and peanut butter without the “dreaded taste.” Hope this helps.
Celery was manageable too.
Thank God I have an answer!!! I have been going crazy trying to figure out why I have this metalic taste in my mouth. It started about a week ago, and I really thought something was seriously wrong with me. I am not the type to run to the doctor, but was about to make an appointment to figure out why I couldnt get rid of this bad tast. I recently purchased a bag of pine nuts from Trader Joe’s and began snacking on them. Boy I wish I never did! I had no idea pine nuts could do this to you. I am so happy I know what’s causing this. Hopefully it will not last much longer. I swear I’ll never go near them again!!!
I’m in Western Australia and I am currently experiencing the disgusting ‘pine mouth’! It started a couple of days ago, and after searching the net I was amazed to find the link of ‘bitter taste when eating’ to pine nut consumption! I hadn’t eaten pine nuts for years, but decided to add them to pasta 3 days ago. Thank goodness its just pine nuts and not some serious illness, but this foul taste is driving me mad!
@Mike in Cairns, Australia
Hi Mike – I’m in Perth, Australia and have had the same symptoms for 3 days after eating Sunbeam brand nuts too.. Hmmm. Will also send the batch number to them – of interest it is F450 2. The bitter taste is ruddy awful!
YEAH! – I’m not gonna die!! (at least for a while). Ditto on all the above, ours were Pine nuts from Von’s. They tasted great in a sauce and by the handful. Two days ago I ate some lunch meat that immediately caused the bitterness – I thought the meat was bad, threw it out and prepared myself for the inevitable food poisoning. But the bitterness continued and the worries started. Then last night my wife complained about a bitter metallic taste & unusual for me I agreed and showed sympathy. She Googled it and saw only nasty things like heavy metal poisoning – not good – then today found the Pine Nut connection. Thanks all for the posts – bummer about the pine nuts – cuz we really enjoyed eating them!
I have been getting all these symtoms on and off the the last 6 or 8 months or so. Was going to make an appointment for the doctor. I asked my dentist and he was not sure what it was. So I am also on the list for “Pine Mouth”. Ate them on salad for two days last Tuesday and Wednesday. Everything I chew has a horrible bitter taste. I have been making some protein shakes and the taste is not as bad. Tonight I had salad with vinegar and olive oil and feta cheese which was ok. After I ate that I had a bite of beef and it tasted horrible. I bought mine from a Bulk Food Store in Dearborn Michigan. When I called them they said that they don’t deal with China. Leaving for vacation tomorrow and I guess taking my “PINE MOUTH with me. Bummer!!!
So happy to have found this site. Thought I had liver disease or leaking fillings, was about to make a doc’s appointment. Ate pine nuts on Wed and Sat, these were particulary smaller ones than usual and had a dark mark at the blunter end. I have eaten pine nuts for many years and never had this reaction. I am in South Africa so the source must be the same as the rest of the world. The taste in my mouth is so disguting I am living on chewing gum, which I never usually eat, hope it goes soon.
This is really unbelievable that it is so simple a reason and it seems so widespread so quickly. I haven’t had raw pine nuts in months maybe even a year and decided to make some pesto on thursday. Bought Trader Joes pine nuts. I have been suffering with this awful bitter metallic taste in my mouth ever since. I dread having to eat or drink anything but water. I assume its not an allergy and I’ll just have to wait the 7 – 14 days for it to go away. At least there’s hope that it will go away
WOW. I have had pine nuts my whole life. This is the first time I ever had such a strange reaction. Did not even know it existed. Ate some pine nutes from Safeway’s nut section.
Wow, me too. Just returned from a food feast in Kauai (The Taste of Hawaii) – usually fabulous, but I found after everything a bitter taste in the back of my mouth – didn’t matter, fish, salad, desert or wine. I was concerned as even my eggs this am left a taste, so before making a Doctor or Dentist appointment went to Google – and viola found pine nuts. I opened a new bag Thursday night and had some to munch on. The bitter taste started Saturday lunch and got worse – the pine nuts are from Costco and they are from China. I have purchased them for years, but always froze them but due to lack of space in the freezer these were in the pantry until opened. I don’t know if that was the difference or maybe the previous bags were not from China. Thank you all for your postings.
As a pine-mouth sufferer now in recovery, I thought people might be interested in these two articles, one from the UK’s Daily Mail (written by me), another from a Dutch newspaper.
Here’s the link to the first article:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1184261/Pine-mouth-puzzle-Why-nuts-leave-bitter-taste.html
Here’s the text of the second, sent to me by Danielle, a Dutch pine mouth sufferer:
The latest article about the subject was in the newspaper Het Parool this Saturday. It’s from our best known culinary journalist Johannes van Dam. It contained some new information which I never read before, so I will try to translate it for you:
Pine nuts
About pine nuts I hadn’t said the last word: it’s a complicated matter and most sources don’t tell everything they know, especially now there’s talk of a disgusting, perhaps unhealthy taste. From Jan Timmer from Hilversum, who has been importing pine nuts from all over the world for years, I received a letter, that I would like to share with you.
“The Chinese pine nut of all pine nuts has the most characteristic taste. China collects the nuts in amongst others the province of Jilin in Northern China, where one also buys the ‘in shell’ kind (without taking the shell off). The cones (pine cones) are collected by climbing into trees and by chopping them down. The nuts are taken out of the cones and what’s left is de pine nut in the shell, which is taken to a processing factory (MeiHekou). In China the pine nuts are roasted and salted in the shell and the pine nuts are a wanted product in de local market: not with us.
“In the production process the unshelled pine nut is roasted, after which the shell opens a little. After that the nuts are all manually taken from the shells and selected by their size and that’s what we consume here. Why manually and not in a different way? Because the soft nut is not to be damaged because of oil separation, that would enhance a rancid flavour. We should not suggest that a chemical process is taking place, that is not the case.
“Now something about the mentioned taste disorder. Since the product is very rich of oil, a strong taste can be developed. In most cases the reason is that the road from reaping to consumption is not well conditioned in the country of arrival. The best way of keeping pine nuts is putting them in the fridge. In 9 of the 10 cases the reason for a bitter taste that remains is rancid flavour.
“The European pine nuts are much more expensive, have little or no characteristic taste and are treated in a different way. It’s better to buy the Turkisch Bergama quality or the Afghan-Pakistan pine nuts, much longer and with a perfumed taste. However the political climate has become a problem for exportation.”
I’ve never seen such an extensive and good lecture about the pine nut. I have the impression that it’s important where you buy the nuts: the worse the pine nuts have been produced and the longer the way between production and sale, the bigger the chance the taste will be bad. A nuts specialist who checks the products he sells seems a better option to me than a supermarket. Keep them cool and vacuum is the least we have to do.
Johannes van Dam
I would never have believed this could be true.. but with a particularly lengthy bout of sour taste which made everything I ate taste disgusting.. I realized that I had sat and eaten pine nuts from a bag 1 day before.. and also realized that on previous occasions I had snacked on pine nuts with similar results – I always keep a bag in the cupboard for making pesto – but like the taste so started to snack on them. I will not be doing this any more.. the last session took nearly a week to clear so I could taste again, and the problem has not come back!
I also started having a bitter taste in my mouth while eating or drinking. I also ate pine nuts, but never in a million years did I think it was from that. I take Byetta and just started a new pen. I also have some problems in my mouth. I still don’t know what it’s from, and its still bitter. Should I just wait till the dental thing gets taken care of. It’s really disgusting. Is there anything I can do if its from the pine nuts?
I just looked on the pine nuts, they are from China and I bought them in BJ’s. it is the brand Berkley & Jensen, which I think is there store brand.
I have had pine nuts before…always cooked..no problem..have developed a bitter taste only after eating them raw a couple of days ago and it comes on only after eating or drinking..thanks to this site I dont seem to have to write my will just yet! Dont know where mine were from but they were on special! Apparently the taste does go away but it takes a couple of weeks..aaarrggh..my birthday in a couple of days and off to a swanky restaurant!! Worst luck
Thank goodness for this page. I ate a salad at Itsu in Canary Wharf on Monday which had pine nuts in it. Everything I eat tastes bitter. I hope it goes away soon.
I am in the same boat as all of you. I just wanted to mention that my pine nuts came from Arizona. My mom purchased them at a local grocery store that has fresh and local products. So, it seems that it is not just the pine nuts from over seas. They were however sitting in my cabinet for about 3 months before I ate them…so maybe that has something to do with it???
Thank God for the internet (or maybe it’s Al Gore). Where else could you find out about Pine Mouth. My wife and I have had this for a couple days. My wife made a salad with Pine Nuts in it about four days ago. Everything now tastes like Yuk! Don’t know where the nuts came from but I do know where they are at now…in the garbage. Who would have thought all of us would have had the same experience. Thank-you all for sharing.
I made a dish for a saturday cookout that had pine nuts and I finished the rest of them when i got home. About a cup of them. I noticed this bitter taste in my mouth on tuesday after eating some sprouts and thought the sprouts must be bad, but then noticed everything was bitter. I though I over dosed on multi-vitimans. So glad to find this blog and know I am not dying.
A gigantic THANK YOU is in order to all of you who have posted comments on this site! I literally thought there was something seriously wrong with me! I had a few pine nuts sprinkled on my salad at a pizza joint in Downtown Denver Friday night. By Sunday evening I had to throw away my ice cream after two bites because it tasted so terrible. Monday, I tried eating again and got the same sensation, an awful bitter taste starting at the back of my throat and working its way through my entire mouth after one bite of ANYTHING? Dry cereal, plain chicken breast, crackers, pasta, you name it. I went to WebMD and was horrified after I typed in my spmptoms and things like cancer, diabetes, acid reflux, even pregnancy popped up as possible conditions. Just when I was about to pick up the phone and schedule a doctors appointment a co-worker told me about this pine nut thing. Relief! I guess I will just take this with a grain of salt and consider it a wonderful opportunity to partake in a one of a kind weightloss program! Can anyone explain why my boyfriend, who ate the same salad I did, hasn’t had any sort of reaction?
Oh my god I had pine nuts on Saturday night and everything I eat tastes bitter. I’m fine as long as I dont eat any thing. How extraodinary. I have also noticed my skin is itchty and Im not sure if that is connected or perhaps I really am the only one is really suffering from some terribel disease…
I turned to the internet to try and find out why everything I have eaten or drunk over the past week or so tastes really bitter. I was amazed to find all these comments about pine nuts because I have been eating them too! I’d never really tried them before and I liked them so much that I ate most of the packet myself. I threw the packet away so I have no idea of their country of origin. I just wonder how long the disturbance in taste will continue. Not too much longer I hope 🙁 Wont be rushing to eat them again that’s for sure!
Wow, Down here in Australia, I think we must be the first sufferers of Pine Mouth. My missus and I ate some pine nuts in a pasta. The bitter taste struck almost straight away, and now 4 days later is still around (although fading slowly).
We had pine nuts from a local Australian Grocer and the packet did NOT denote the country of origin, although did say the were imported (not helpful). I have noticed almost everything is leaving a bitter taste, but it is more intense when eating sweet things.
I’ll repost when the bitter taste goes away (if ever)
Thanks for setting this up
Me too. The pine nuts were from Trader Joe’s in Los Angeles (Silver Lake). My nuts were a few weeks old. I had used them before with no issues, so I definitely think freshness (or lack thereof) is part of the equation. I made pesto with them, and was eating extras by the handful while I made it. I toasted all of the nuts I ate, so it’s not about them being raw. My wife had some of the pesto and has suffered no ill effects. I asked at the store, and they are NOT from China. The package said, “Product of Korea, Russia, or Vietnam”. A person on another blog said that TJ’s nuts are only packaged in those countries and are sourced in China, but according to the folks in my TJ’s, that’s untrue; I verified that they are actually sourced in one of those three countries. The TJ’s folks were very sympathetic, but basically said to get action, I’d have to email the corporate types from the TJ’s website, which I plan to do. Like some others here, I feel a mild irritation/swelling at the back of my tongue and the back of the roof of my mouth—like a very mild soar throat. I have tried eating aloe, but it doesn’t seem to help. I’m only on Day 2, so I imagine I’ve got a couple crappy weeks in front of me. No way I’m passing on pine nuts for good, but I will definitely be sure they are fresh and sourced either here in the US (New Mexico is a producer) or in Italy.
Wow. I am so glad I have diagnosed myself. I have had it for 2 days and live in Australia. Never normally cook with pine nuts, however did last Friday. I also ate them before cooking them. It hasn’t affected my husband in the same way as me, but he didn’t eat them raw. I bought Sunbeam pine nuts.
I, too, have Pine Mouth – again, thank goodness for the internet. I just got home from an Alaskan cruise on Princess and had some pine nuts from the buffet in my salad a few days ago and everything has tasted weird ever since. I also caught a bit of a cold with a lingering cough so I thought that might be the cause – along with all the other dreaded causes after doing the internet search. Glad to know it will go away in a few days – feels like I have grapefruit in my throat – ew!!
Yep. It’s pine nuts alright we just made the worst pesto ever!!!
Yes I too found this website by Googling the information. I had some pine nuts on 10th or 11th June and then by the 12th I had a horrible taste in my mouth. Its now 15th and I still have it, I only hope it goes soon. Some foods do seem to make it worse, i.e.chocolate, wine and anything fatty really. It was driving me mad, but thought I would add my comment to this – the more names the more we might find it gets discussed more and people are aware.
How lucky we are to have the internet. I have now cancelled my doctor’s appointment – as someone said unusual tastes in the mouth can even be due to brain tumours!.. I have been eating pine nuts in my salad but can’t identify their origin as I bought it at a fruit shop packed in a Chinese container.
Has anyone else had a headache as well? My last handful of pine nuts was 2 days ago – so I guess I have a long time to wait. It is true that foods with sugar and carbohydrates are the most affected – which takes the pleasure of fruit and wine out of my life temporarily. It is gratifying to read there are no poisons etc but why is our body reacting with warning signals if this is not the case?
I had Pine Nuts from Whole Foods they were Flavor Tree brand $6.00 for smallish bag on Saturday. Made pesto Saturday night and Monday had the worst bitter taste in my mouth, like I swallowed bug spray, everything tastes bad, especially coffee, wine and anything sweet. I am praying this goes away quickly. After reading about “pine mouth” I checked the package and saw they were from China. What the hell is this? I hope it’s just a nuisance and not a true danger, meanwhile i will NEVER, EVER eat pine nuts again. Sad, bc I love a good pesto and just bought a basil plant 🙁
This ridiculous, I now know everything there is to know about pinenuts and bitterness. Thank all for sharing now, does anybody know how to get rid of the bitterness without wait 2 weeks!!!
Regards, G.
Wow i am so glad I found you guys . I also have been having this weird bitter taste in my mouh for dys and i thought that i was related to a new medicaition that i am taking for hypothyroid..and I was about to ask my doctor about it when i read that pine nuts can cause bitter taste in mouth.. so last sunday thats about 5 days ago i made 2 salads for a tea party that i wasgoing to and i love pine nuts so i ate a whole bunch of them …Now i understand where this bitterness is coming from….
ok so i am not going to die….
So I TOO Googled ” Metallic taste in my mouth” and here I am. I get it bad after drinking something.. Coke tasted awfully it was like I couldn’t taste the sugar? But even water is leaving this bad bad taste in my mouth. Eating does not seem to be any different.. but i do have dry mouth and have a sinus cold right now.. BUT i have not had pine nuts that I can think of…no pesto, no salads with pine nuts.. and its kinda freakin me out now.. other then diabetes (dont have it) or jaundice (dont have it) any other ideas? for some reason it strikes me as a important symptom to a bad diagnosis
Same here! I purchased some pine nuts about a month ago and used some of them in Pesto shortly after purchasing with no problems. However, I stored the rest in a cabinet and just the other day I decided to put them in some rice. Of course, they taste so good I was eating them raw while cooking. That night during dinner, I noticed that my mouth had a tingly, almost numb feeling, which I thought was odd. Now, 4 days later, I’ve got the bitter taste in my mouth, which intensifies when I eat. Since I threw away the packaging, I have no way of knowing where they came from, but it seems to me that the freshness (or lack of) is the culprit.
I eat toasted & raw pine nuts regularly (from Trader Joes)& store in freezer and this is the 1st time I have had this reaction (exactly as described by many on this site). I read all the posts and one issue not addressed is whether the bitter taste is rancid oil from the nut (seems unlikely that the taste buds are still reacting 5 days later & only in combo with carbs) versus a more systemic (perhaps liver as some have intimated) reaction that is triggered – why lasting so long – most food reactions do not take this length of time to resolve. Although relieved to know what this is, I am not fully so because it is not clear that it’s not toxic to some degree. Many plants produce some toxic substances (to animals that may eat them) as a protection (to the plant) and I am wondering if this is related -perhaps older or a different variety recently. Perhaps a more general lit on plant toxins that could be relevant? Perhaps Hyam could comment as this is his area of expertise? Thanks to all!
I had pine nuts on a salad at a wedding on Saturday night. I never eat them, and didn’t think anything about it…they tasted good. By Monday I had a yucky, bitter taste in the back of my mouth…can’t get rid of it. I spent some time online trying to find the cause, and found out it was likely the pine nuts!! I have emailed some friends who also were at the wedding and ate the salad with pine nuts, and asked them if any of them have this bitter mouth problem. I’m assuming that is what it is…but I was worried I might be getting thrush or something. Whew. I’d rather know it is temporary and will go away on its own. Don’t think I’ll be eating pine nuts any time in the future.
I have this same issue. And so does my mom. My whole family (me, hubby and two boys–mom and dad) went on a 7 day cruise. My mom and I had pine nuts in our salads AND pasta several times on this cruise. And we both have this awful taste in our mouth. I’m happy I’ve found an answer!
This is crazy–it just happened to me, too! I had been eating tons of apricots off our tree and one day they just tasted TERRIBLE, and then everything did, so I thought my body was fed up with apricots. But now that I’m reading this, I recall that I ate pine nuts just straight out of the bag for a couple of days in a row right around that time (about 5 days ago?). The ones I ate had been in the fridge for a while. It didn’t happen when I ate the first half of the package…I wonder if they went rancid between then and now. Geeze, I hope it goes away soon. I started with a lemonade cleanse for the past 2 1/2 days because I thought it would help, but I decided to discontinue it due to heartburn–and the first thing I ate still tasted bad.
I bought my offending pine nuts at TJ’s also, and they say Russia or Korea.
Same thing happened to me, i had a pine nut ice cream on sunday , and my after taste started on tuesday, i hope this doent take long to go away…im glad i searched the internet
I have had the same symptoms, 5 days since I ate pine nuts, only a small handfull actually while I was still shopping at one of the Safeways in Santa Rosa. Hope it goes away. Has anyone gone to a doctor? What causes it…?
“Pine nut mouth” is better than that brain tumor I was worrying about for sure. Last week I bought Good Sense pine nuts from Dominicks made in “Spain or China or Portugal” (so China probably). They were marked best before Aug 25, 2010. I made pesto and served it to about a dozen people. Delicious! Two days later just one of the guests and I had an incredibly nasty bitter taste after eating any carbohydrates (Atkin’s diet here we come). Black coffee and dark chocolate aren’t as bad, because they’re bitter anyway. Salty, sour, or savory foods are better than sweet. Three days later we’re just starting to be able to taste things again, with only a mildly bitter aftertaste (cranberry juice is still awful).
So best I can figure a small percentage of people have a delayed temporary taste reaction to something in certain chinese pine nuts (or russian pine nuts per the Finns). It reminds me of the genetics of supertasters and propylthiouracil. Are there any toxicologists or geneticists out there that want to study this?
So that’s what it is! 2 days ago 24-June 2009 on my way home from Wimbledon I got a takeaway salad, with pine nuts added, from a salad bar at Paddington Station. The bitter taste thing did not start until 24 hrs later when I drank a glass of red wine -revolting and today 26 June everything is bitter and metallic tasting. I thought the milk was off and the eggs that I scrambled. Guess I will just have to wait for it to go.
Wow just like the 18 other comments I was making myself crazy trying to figure out why most all foods were leaving bad metallic taste in my mouth. Thanks to you all for sharing Pine Nut Mouth experience. I made pesto two nights ago and now am suffering along with my kids
8 days ago, last Friday, I ate homemade pasta salad with pinenuts we had toasted (unsalted, purchased at Rockridge Market Hall, Oakland, CA; brand name: Sun Ridge Farms, sunridgefarms.com). Nibbled on some toasted nuts before they were added to the salad, ate the salad a couple of times that day and the next. The nasty metallic, bitter taste came on Sunday afternoon) and has stayed with me ever since. I get it when I am chewing food or drinking and it persists a while after eating/drinking. Bread, wine, cheese, and coffee are particularly yucky. Tea, plain water (delicious!), and potato chips are better. I’d love to know exactly what it is about the pine nuts that causes the disturbance. I eaten pine nuts all my life with no problems up until now. Seems to be getting a bit better now.
How long have others been affected? What foods/beverages have you found don’t tend to trigger the metallic taste for you?
I had “pine mouth” a few months ago from bulk pine nuts bought from an Italian supermarket. I too thought I had some serious nervous disorder or poisoning with symptoms like the bitter metallic taste, headache/neckache, and a numb sensation in my mouth. Thankfully, the taste went away after about 7 days and the other symptoms maybe 2 days after eating them. I don’t think I will ever knowingly eat pine nuts again, but all I can say to those of you with it right now is mint tea and green tea were the only things that tasted half decent during that time. You can always use walnuts to make pesto too.
Another case of possible pine nut bitterness in the mouth. This morning I ate some Honeynut Cheerios and had a terrible bitter aftertaste. They weren’t really bad while I was eating but the aftertaste is just hanging on. I don’t usually eat pine nuts but 2 days ago I went to a Lebanese restaurant and had Lebanese ice tea which had a tablespoon or so of, you guessed it, pine nuts. They were so tasty I ate them all. I’ve had them before with no after effects so maybe it is a different type flooding the market lately.
Everything I have eaten in the past 2 days had a subtle bitter taste. After throwing out some of my food, thinking it had gone bad, I started to worry about my health. Surely not everything I was eating was bad.
And sure enough, this is a known issue. I do eat a fair share of pine nuts, but this has never happened to me before. Whew.
Same experience here! I ate pine nuts right out of the bag a few days ago but hadn’t connected it to this awful aftertaste until I googled it. I would really like to know what specifically it is about pine nuts that causes this, though. Good dissertation topic for someone!
Same here. I live in Kazakhstan and bought mine at the local fruit and vegetable market. The seller said they were from Altay on the Russian-Kazakh border. We made pesto which we ate Friday night which was delicious. On Sunday morning I ate a blackcurrant which tasted foul. The taste to me is rather like the thin inner shell of walnut. Very unpleasant eating fruit or drinking fruit juice. But the reaction to the nuts appears to have been delayed? We unwittingly ate more pesto Sunday lunchtime! And I’ve only now just googled! Thanks for the forum. Really hope this weird aftertaste goes away soon.
Sadly most of us now will probably be reluctant to try pine nuts again!
So now it’s been 10 days since I ate the pine nuts and 8 days since I started having the bitterness/nasty taste in my mouth right after eating. It’s much better now with food, but mineral water and coffee still taste disgusting. Happily, I can drink red wine again! And plain old, sweet tap water has never tasted so good :-)).
Yuck! How can I get rid of this awful taste? Had pine nuts this weekend, now I have this awful taste in my mouth. It’s much worse with any carbs.
Yes! This is my story too! I eat pine occasionally without this reaction, but after I ate about half a cup (in a batch of stuffed grapes leaves) over the course of two days, I got this reaction. Lesson learned.
WOW – I recently went on a trip and bought pine nuts at Trader Joe’s and have had this awful bitter taste in my mouth for 2-3 days now! It’s so alarming that I decided to google why I was having this reaction. Thank you for this post – saves me a trip to the doctor!
Had a handful of “Haddon House” pine nuts (which the company confirmed are grown in China) Sunday, June 28, and another the following night. Came down with bitterness Tuesday, June 30, at lunch. It’s crazy. I am telling everyone I know and I’ve written a letter to the FDA. This may be “harmless”, but it’s something that should be more widely known and discussed.
Sunday night i made my first delicious homemeade pesto, Monday night I came down with the “bitters” haha! Thank goodness for your site i am sure i am not dying. I am not sure the origin of my bulk pinenuts from the supermarket but I do know that they were the tiniest pinenuts i had ever seen… I don’t think I will be eting pinenuts again any time soon, it’s not worth the days of icky tasting food 🙁 Here’s to hoping i will only have a few days left.
Who would have thought that a simple whole food could do what we are all describing with the delayed onset that occurs after eating pine nuts? I have never been allergic to any food product in all my life. (Just turned 60) I consider myself pretty common-sensical. I also have eaten pine nuts before with no problems. But just a few days ago, I snacked from a container of them I was using to make pesto and lo and behold, two or three days later (after unknowingly continuing to consume them in the leftovers)the annoyingly bitter, almost like you chewed up a dry medicine tablet in the back of your mouth, has overshadowed anything I eat. I told my husband that if the taste distrubance continues, I’ll lose lots of weight, because food is just not enticing. Nice to find this thread. I am a foodie and amazed I have never heard of this before. Thanks for the thread.
Loved the “I thought I was going to die” comment – same here! Thank goodness for the internet. I had pine nuts 2 nights ago. Have been getting a bitter taste in my mouth whenever I eat something salty/savoury. Peanut butter this morning was particularly bad. And any form of savoury cracker. Sweet things don’t seem to be so bad, although I am always aware of it in some degree. No one else in family affected and we all ate them, also, it was an opened packet and this didn’t happen before. Possibly Sunbeam brand (I am also in Australia) but thrown packet away so cannot say for sure.
Thanks everyone! Was starting to think I must have some rare disorder! I’m a raw food vegan so eat a lot of pine nuts and this is the first time I’ve ever had a reaction like this. I had quite a few on Monday – it’s now Friday – and they were lovely whilst I was eating them but now I keep getting a really awful bitter aftertaste in my mouth after eating, especially anything that’s normally sweet tasting. Got my pine nuts from a very reliable raw food provider so I’ll let them know. I am concerned that there has been a contamination of some kind, though. Have we ingested some kind of toxin?
Arhhh – How many more days until I get rid of this (I think it tastes like bug spray -not that I have ever tried it)horrible taste. Club soda and fruit juice tastes TERRIBLE – It must have been the pine nuts that I ate two nights in a row! They had been in my cabinets for over 3 weeks and I just threw them in a recipe – oh well
Thank goodness I am not completely insane. I have shared your experiences. Had handful of pinenuts the other day as a snack. Normally I throw a few on a salad. And now I have this horrible horrible taste in my mouth 24 hours later.
Thank goodness I didn’t have a weird stroke or something.
God bless Mother Nature for playing this funny trick on us! Ha!
Thanks a lot for this information, we had pasta with pine nuts 4 days ago and started getting bitter taste in mouth since then, i never imagined that pine nuts can cause it, i was thinking this is due to may be travelling or change in dringking water or something else. I am not that worried now. Thanks again, does anyone know how to get rid of it?
hmm. one small handful of pine nuts has so far put me off food for 2 days. everything tastes foul. it is better than the various types of poisoning, toothe decay, and brain tumours that i thought i may have been suffering from tho! avoid the black and gold label pine nuts in ausrtralia-it does not say on the pack where the nuts are grown, just that they are packed in australia. cheers and thanks for the info.
I’m so glad I found this site -it’s put my mind at rest. I went to a Bella Italia restaurant for lunch on Monday and ate a linguine with pesto and lots of pine nuts. On Tuesday I started getting a bitter taste in my mouth after eating and drinking and today it’s worse, hence looking up “bitter tastes” on web and finding all this about pine nuts. I too have eaten pine nuts before but there were more than usual in this linguine.
I live in Germany and made myself this delicious pesto 3 days ago. I was really not getting what was wrong with me, now everything makes sense. I only hope it goes away soon, this is disturbing coz I cant simply ignore it.
God bless the internet!
Well, I don’t know about “thinking I was going to die”. Bit extreme. I thought I had a sinus infection or something. 😉
Well I glad that I found this.
I’ve been having salads at work after my shifts at the pub and have been adding pine nuts as they are so tasty…… and now all I can taste is a bitter bile taste. Very strong and horrid.
Thank you for your research, i’ll givethem a miss.
S
Add my name to the list. I had some pine nuts on Monday the 6th, and Tuesday night dessert had a funny aftertaste. Woke up Wednesday and everything I ate tasted bad. Fruit seems to suffer more, bread and vegetables less so. Watermelon tastes nasty, strawberries taste better, but still have an aftertaste.
I got the pine nuts from Whole Foods in Los Gatos, California. I think the sign on the shelf said they were grown in California, the packaging doesn’t say.
I thought my bitter taste (which has never been experienced before) was due to putting a topical medication on my chin (for acne) and possibly accidentally a minute amount on my tongue. However, I wondered why the taste had been lingering so long. Well, the pine nut theory doesn’t sound so nutty since I consumed some from Trader Joe’s about four days ago. From what I can tell, the taste is the worst with coffee, wine, quiches. How long does this last before finally leaving the system?
This is now the second time I’ve had this. Bloody awful. Both cases of the metallic taste in my mouth came on about a day after eating pine nuts. The first time was just over two years ago, a day after eating a pack of Tesco pine nuts in the UK. I remember googling it at the time and, though there was less information then than now I did come across a few suggestions that it may have been related to pine nuts. I wasn’t sure of the cause, but was relieved when the foul taste went away after about a fortnight. But now it’s back and I’m fairly sure it is pine nuts that are to blame. Two days ago at lunch I bought a pasta salad with a generous helping of pine nuts from my local supermarket in the Netherlands (Albert Heijn). Last night at dinner in a restaurant I was convinced that the red wine I was drinking was off – tasted vile, but, so did the food. It’s exactly the same as it was two years ago. Coffee this morning was disgusting. Ah well, lesson learned: I’ll never touch pine nuts again.
I had pine nuts 3 days ago and have the same bitter taste in my mouth. I eat lots of pine nuts and never had it before, although this time I hooved half a packet. I think they were Sunbeam and the packet was opened. I did not get it when I opened the packet and ate them. Therefore I suppose it either happened because I ate too many or because the packet was already opened and Sunbeam brand. Not sure. It makes me think twice next time I feel like eating them!! Too bad because I love eating pasta with Broccoli and Pine nuts…… 🙁
@Nancy Roberts
Hi! You’ve described my symptoms exactly (yes, gross grapefuit in throat sensation!)… How long did it take till this finished? (I’m going on 2 weeks) 🙁
Sarah
@merideth
I bought mine at Whole Foods too.. I can’t believe this! I bought mine in Denver – where did you get yours? I think I might call Whole Foods to alert them to this – could be it a bad batch of pine nuts?
sarah
Just returned from a trip to France. Had pine nuts in an appetizer (delicious: melon and proscuitto atop raspberry reduction sprinkled with pine nuts). Shared it with my husband and on the flight home everything tasted awful and continues to do so for both of us. Glad it didn’t happen at the beginning of the trip and ruin all the great food I ate!
Made a dish last week with toasted pine nuts in a mixture to put over pork chops. Dish was great! But, snacked a bit on the pine nuts that were left over (SO tasty), and on Friday started getting this bitter taste when I ate. It was getting a little better last night, so I was getting less worried. Woke up this morning and it was back — my coffee tasted nasty! Well, I had a whole handful of Pine Nuts last night. Got them at the supermarket last week. I think I’ll stay away from them from now on… GROSS.
I live in Oslo in Norway, and today me and my boyfriend got pine-mouth. Its terrible!
We ate raw-food dinner 2 days ago with alot of blended pine nuts. I wonder if the bitter taste will get get even worse before it peaks and goes down again. We are the first ones I have heard of getting pine-mouth in Norway. Thank god my liver is ok and for Google;)
I’ve been making homemade pizza with pesto and pine nuts for a while now and all from the exact same jar of pesto and container of pine nutes. No problems for months. But I developed a cold and sore throat and used Ricola Natural Herb Cough Drops and Cēpacol Honey Lemon lozenges for the throat pain and ate a pizza with just a little pesto on it with pine nuts. The next day, very suddenly, while eating peanut butter, I developed the bad taste in my mouth. At first, I thought it was from the Ricola Natural Herb Cough Drops since I had never used them before. I googled Ricola but found the pine nut discussions instead.
I am an anesthesiologist and I wonder if there is a common link between us all. Since a few have posted that wine tastes particularly bad, I’m guessing that many of us drink alchohol. Maybe our livers aren’t able to detoxify the pine oils. I enjoy wine, particularly Sauvingnon Blanc. Maybe I’m on the heavier side of drinking and my liver is maxed out?
Need to hear from non alcohol drinkers out there.
Update on the pine nuts from Whole Foods in Los Gatos. I just got off the phone with them, and apparently the pine nuts were from China, despite the sign on the shelf saying California. Sigh.
I posted on June 28, and intended to re-post sooner… After learning that oxidation might be responsible for this, I decided to counteract with anti-oxidants. It may be a total coincidence and the pine nuts may have just run their course, but by evening the bitter taste was better and the next day it was gone. I had eaten a whole bag (4.75 ounces of the nuts) and was on Day 2 of the bitter, metallic taste. From the amount of nuts I’d eaten, I was afraid I’d have many “bitter days” ahead of me! I drank several glasses of pomegranite blueberry juice and ate fresh blueberries throughout the day. The pomegranite blueberry juice especially seemed to lesson the bitterness. I’d be interested in hearing if others try this and whether it helps them!
I bought a bag of pin nuts two weeks ago and made pesto sauce, with no problems. I then proceded to eat the pinenuts almost every day since, sprinkled on salad, with no problems. Then two days ago i had handful of nuts then a drink of orange juice. It was horrific!! I definately think they are onto something with the oxidation. I had no problems with them until i was at least three quarters of the way through the bag! Now every thing tastes horrible!!
This is the stangest thing ever, the same bitter metallic taste after eating anything that started 3 days ago may have been caused by pine nuts (Dell’Allpe brand w/ good thru date of June 2010…country of origin not listed). They were purchased last Saturday and used in a pasta salad, I seem to be the only person affected. The salad called for toasted pine nuts which I also snacked on, then on Monday snacked on raw pine nuts (tasted perfectly fine, eat them all the time and know they weren’t rancid)…2 days later the bitter meatllic taste started. I am going to try counteracting with anti-oxidants (eating the blueberries and drinking blueberry/pomegranite juice the previous person mentioned to see if it works). Here’s hoping, anything to get rid of this bitter taste, everyone else’s descriptions have been accurate it’s just awful!
I drank lots of orange juice yesterday to get a load of vit C to help my body detox. Its definately made a diference!! The bitter taste hasn’t gone completely but its now barely there. Its only certain foods that are trigering it now.
I have renal failure and I am on dialysis so I immediately thought that the foul taste at the back of my throat (particularly bad when eating or drinking) was caused by my kidney problem. It came on right out of the blue and I feel well with no accompanying symptoms. My husband and I went to dinner on Saturday night and the “foul taste” started on Sunday. Nothing like the metallic taste I sometimes get with my renal problems but something I have never had before. I googled my symptoms “foul taste in the back of the throat particularly when eating and drinking) and pine nuts was the first post I opened. I rang the hotel where we had had dinner and sure enough, the chef had put crushed pine nuts in the cous cous. Nice to know it is not yet another symptom related to the kidney problems and that it is only temporary. I will be interested to see how long it lasts.
Unbelievable! Have been perplexed by this horrible taste for 2 days and in desperation turned to Google to find out which awful disease I have. Thank goodness for the internet, I ran downstairs and immediately checked my pine nut packaging!Sure enough product of China but well within date and eaten raw 2 days ago. Will certainly be aware of this for the future but have been veggie for 20 years and never experienced this reaction before when eating pine nuts.Grateful for the reassurance from comments, will be interesting to see how long it will take to return to normal. Has taken all the fun out of chocolate, although maybe a good diet tip!!
I hadn’t had pine nuts for years. Last Tuesday on a whim asked my hubby to buy a pack at a well known health shop. He came back with a 300g pack at a cost of £8.99 – almost fell off my chair!!! Sprinkled these culprits over the salad that evening. Shock! Horror! 2 days later I had the most foul bitter taste in my mouth. Have never experienced anything like this before. It just seemed to get worse especially when eating. In desperation I started scooping tablespoons of honey out the jar – but to no avail. Eventually resorted to googling the symptoms as I thought I had some horendous disease. What a relief to read that it is due to the pine nuts I had eaten nearly a week ago. Needless to say no pine nuts will ever pass these lips again.
I’m suffering ‘pine mouth’ right now. Very weird. How come I’ve never heard of this before? I’ve had the same symptoms once before in my life, but they went away after a couple of weeks and I never worked out the cause (I figured it was just some viral infection). I was getting so sick of it this time around I thought I’d research this strange symptom online before going to see my doctor. No ailment came close to describing it until I found this blog and read related links.
If it is just a taste – why won’t it go? And why does it get worse when you eat and drink? It’s so strange. But i feel better knowing there’s an explanation (and I had a load of pine nuts on a salad the day before it started so it makes sense).
Anyway, I just want ti to go NOW. I’m sick of wine tasting like liquid metal. That being said – maybe I could patent the pine nut as a cure for alcoholism!
I’ve eaten raw or cooked pine nuts my whole life and never experienced anything strange. Two days ago I noticed a nasty bitter taste when I ate breakfast. I thought it was the food. By the third or fourth meal when I was experiencing a bitter taste within seconds after chewing food, I realized that it was happening every time I ate. Like others here, I was anxious and Googled bitter taste and saw the pine nut connection. I had just bought a package of pine nuts from Trader Joe’s here in Oakland, California and eaten about a 1/4 go 1/2 cup of them. It says on the package they’re from “Korea, China or Viet Nam.” These symptoms began a couple days after I’d eaten them. I can’t wait for it to be over–makes eating extremely unpleasant. The confusing thing to me is that I’ve eaten pine nuts (including from Trader Joe’s) hundreds of times without ever experiencing this. I am truly relieved to know it’s not a horrible illness, but it sure is a strange thing.
This is my second forum post today about a horrible bitter taste in my mouth due to pine nuts! There is something awful going on for a lot of us that involves these nuts from China… I bought some 3 weeks ago from the bulk bin in Whole Foods (Cary, NC, USA). They tasted yummy to me. I’ve used them in meals and for snacking. But one night last week everything tasted bitter for one meal, and starting yesterday afternoon, everything I have eaten tastes extremely bitter and awful. And the awful bitter taste has stayed with me constantly since yesterday. I was able to calm it down a little this afternoon with hot black tea – sipping very slowly. Brushing my teeth helps for about 20 minutes. But I dread getting hungry again. I am also having some acid reflux and esophageal pain, which is not normal for me. I am a wine drinker also. Cab Sav is my fav. I admit, my liver may be contributing to this problem. Is this only happening to drinkers? I am going to try a homeopathic remedies starting tonight. I’ll post again if it helps. Good to know I’m not alone…
About a week ago I started noticing a bitter aftertaste whenever I ate sweets. Since 2 days ago, the bitter taste is very strong, and constant. Until reading these posts my imagination was going wild. But after reading many similar posts, here and on other sites, I am quite sure it’s the pine nuts. I purchased the offending nuts from a bulk bin at Whole Foods (Cary, NC, USA) 3 weeks ago. I have called to let them know about this issue and they confirmed that these pine nuts were sourced from China! My contact says he will be spreading the word about these nuts to more branches of the Whole Foods chain. And also says I can get my $$ back. I am currently trying several homeopathy remedies to see if it will help the bitter taste go away faster. Going on vacation in 2 days- don’t have high hopes for enjoying my taste buds by then…
About a week ago I started noticing a bitter aftertaste whenever I ate sweets. Since 2 days ago, the bitter taste is very strong, and constant. Until searching the internet, my imagination was going wild. But after reading many similar posts, here and on other sites, I am quite sure it’s the pine nuts. I purchased the offending nuts from a bulk bin at Whole Foods (Cary, NC, USA) 3 weeks ago. I have called to let them know about this issue and they confirmed that these pine nuts were sourced from China. My contact says he will be spreading the word about these nuts to more branches of the Whole Foods chain. And also says I can get my $$ back. I am currently trying several homeopathy remedies to see if it will help the bitter taste go away faster. Going on vacation in 2 days- don’t have high hopes for enjoying my taste buds by then…
@Jonathan
I hardly ever drink alcohol, and I don’t think I had any around the time the bad taste started. So maybe there is nothing to the alcohol theory, or maybe I’m just a weird non-drinker who got hit with pine nut mouth. A single case is anecdotal at best of course, so data from more people would help.
For what it’s worth, I’m a vegan, although I doubt that is relevant. That is the only unusual or uncommon aspect of my diet that I can think of.
Just some more information on my story. I filed a complaint with the FDA. Then (at the suggestion of the FDA) I took the pine nuts back to Whole Foods and got a refund. A day or two later, the FDA called back to ask if I would consider giving them the pine nuts so they could analyze them. I told them I had already taken them back to the store, and they said they would get them from the store.
So, if you still have your package of pine nuts, don’t throw them out right away, because the FDA (or whatever appropriate agency for those not in the USA) may want them.
I ate pine nuts two days ago and is experiencing the same bitterness in my mouth. The taste is like a rush on the tongue right after you eat something. According to some postings, it lasts up to a week! Yikes!
I am relieved to know that it isn’t a serious illness. I haven’t had any other “symptoms” to go a long with this either.
I bought these from Meijer (it’s their brand) and the package says that they are imported from China and Portugal.
Is it a chemical thing? I am a science teacher and I am curious to understand exactly what is going on. Do I smell or is my breath offensive to others? I don’t know… you know how garlic seeps from your pores after you eat it? Is it like that?
I feel fine otherwise. Very interesting situation!!!
I found your blog while searching for this exact subject – I bought a bag of Pine Nuts from a health food shop here in the UK. I’ve always enjoyed pine nuts but this time, like all of you here, the day after eating them I have developed this awful (and constant) bitter taste at the back of my mouth. As the pine nuts were the only different thing I had eaten, I decided to google to see if their was a connection. Obviously, there is/was (much to my relief!)
Oh, and yes, the pine nuts in question were from China. I’ll be keeping an eye on this blog to see if the FDA find anything interesting .
This is a relief – knowing that there’re others out there with the same weird bitter taste, which is exacerbated when eating. I live in Melbourne Australia and have been an avid snacker of pine nuts for a long time. I bought a packet from my usual retailer and over the last 3 days or so have been snacking on them at my desk at work. Last night my grilled salmon had a slightly bitter after-taste. Thought it was the fish. My muesli this morning tasted horrendous and so did lunch (leftover salmon and grilled veggies). At dinner a few minutes ago the yummy (well it LOOKED yummy) beef stew my husband made tasted awful. My husband assured me it tasted really good – and i believed him. I immediately hopped onto Google thinking i might have some rare organ disorder (liver, kidneys or something). Was a relief to find this site with other sufferers. I’m going back to the supermarket where i bought the offensive pine nuts and will be checking to see if it came from China. I don’t drink pomegranite juice, but will give cranberry juice a try. Should i be alerting some relevant food authority in Australia about this?
I also had the same thing happen after eating pine nuts
Since a few days every wine I drink tastes bitter. A quick google search brought me to this site, and lo and behold: I put pine seeds in some vegetable dish some time ago. Bought them in Holland (Breskens). No indication of origin to be found on the box.
@Jonathan
hey, i’m researching for mom. she is experiencing the same symptoms and has eaten pine nuts this past wkend. she def does not drink alcohol. not even a sip, so ur liver isn’t the prob. at least not in this instance. the taste for her hasn’t gotten better yet and we are hoping for a speedy recovery. she says anything sweet tastes horrible. as a matter of fact sav blanc is my fav wine too, i wouldnt necessarily categorize it as sweet but i’m sure there are plenty of other flavors that taste horrible as well. hope i helped:-)
@Meredith
could be acid reflux. came up with that after a few searches and alot said GERD.hope that helps and doesnt sound too serious
I have had “pine mouth” on and off for weeks now. I get temporary relief by gargling with store brand mouthwash from CVS, etc, mixed with equal amount of peroxide and some water for dilution. Rinse mouth and throat for 30-60 seconds.
Same here, Salt lake city utah. bought the pine nuts at costco. bitter taste for several days now.
Me too!!!, I can’t believe it…well,I honestly can say that I feel much better now knowing there are so many of us!!
I went to the doctor and he thoughtand -as I didn’t have any other symptoms- that all that bitter taste was in my imagination…I going to go back there and tell him!!
Exactly the same as Val and Jonathan.
Have been suffering for 5 days now and the bitter taste seems to be getting worse not better. I really want to enjoy food with the odd glass of wine again…
I bought ‘Autumn Gold’ premium quality pine nuts (produce of China) from an Asda store in Middlesbrough.
Does it go away?
I have been making myself and my wife salads for lunch for over a year now. I use mixed greens, spinach, mushrooms, sunflower seeds, PINE NUTS, cherry tomatoes, goat cheese and diced turkey or chicken. Two months ago I started having a oily/metallic taste in my mouth. My wife has not had any problem. I went to the dentist thinking it could have been a cracked or failing tooth filling, but the dentist gave me a clean bill of health. He said it could be from sinuous drainage. Wanted to know if I had any allergies and if I was taking medication. I do have allergies to tree and grass pollens and have been seeing an allergist for treatment for almost two years now.
I went on a three week vacation. No pine nuts and no weird taste. Last week I started making salads again and the oily/metallic taste is back! The pine nuts came from the bulk food section of the Ballard Market.
I just got this too after eating a salad with pine nuts 24 hours ago. Pine nuts were bought three days ago from a retailer in Footscray Melbourne Australia. Not sure of the country of origin though.
Weird thing is my wife had the same salad and she hasn’t had any symptoms (yet)…
As with everyone else had this terrible bitter taste in my mouth which I couldn`t get rid of, thought it might be something serious and was planning to get a doctors appointment but thought to google, in a bit of trepidation! `symptom bitter taste in mouth` – and besides reflux and poss diabetes this was what came up and as I made a pesto pasta today for lunch sprinkled with toasted pine nuts and ate the leftovers again for tea this seems a likely candidate. Mine were bought from Lidl and I`ll be checking the packet ( if I can find it in bin!) for source details and contacting the company. I dread to think what night be on them….
I’m in Australia. At pinenuts in a salad on Thursday. Didnt get the bitter taste until Saturday morning. I was a little worried. Grateful to find this thread.
Ok, so after eating two handfuls of raw pine nuts three days ago, yesterday I noticed everything is tasting bitter after I eat or drink. So last night I went online and found this blog. It seems the nuts I ate were from China, or Brazil bought at a Tom Thumb in Texas. It must be from eating a large quantity because everyone in our family ate them on a salad the night before and nothing happened. I dont think it has anything to do with alcohol or what foods we eat. I have been drinking a lot of grape/cranberry juice and will start taking the Vitamin C. Anything with antioxidants sounds like it helps. Not sure how long to expect this reaction. I dont think our pine nuts were old though, so it must have something to do with them in large amounts. It doesn’t seem like the medical community has any of this figured out either. We might have done that for ourselves. Now if we can find out how long it lasts and what can get rid of it faster. Let’s try the fruit and juices with help with antioxidants, cause I think this is like having oxidant poisoning from the nuts. Let us know if any of you that experienced this a while back still have it or it is going away? This is a terrible way to diet when everything we eat tastes this bad!!!
I too was a victim. Been a pine nut fan for years, but this had never happened. Did buy some and also had some in a restaurant meal. Annoying taste. Glad to know I’m not mad and don’t have to sit in a doctors office to likely hear a vague mis-diagnosis. I’ll go and find some vitamin C and hope it goes. Thanks.
Me too!!!!! I’ve been to the dr twice now and had medication for thrush. When the taste was still there after 2 weeks, got mediation for acid reflux! Still there though! The dr assured me it wasn’t thoat cancer (!). I eat pine nuts and pesto loads and had quite alot since this awful taste.Oh no!!! I’m driving everyone mad. Convinced other people can smell it as the taste is so strong, I keep eating mints but they are making it worse!!! Coffee is gross and pesto is even worse!!! What to do???? Mine came from Tesco. The only thing I noticed when I bought them was that they were 70p more than last time I got them. Didn’t check where from. No more for me that’s for sure!
What a relief! I also thought something was seriously wrong with me! I’m a veggie and have been adding pine nuts to my salads in my work cafeteria for the last few weeks. I even ate them today unfortunatly…. Not again though! Anyone know how long it lasts? It’s pretty nasty.
I’ve had “pine mouth” for two days now although at first I thought it was from salmon. Thank goodness it can’t be as a few days ago I ate pine nuts for the first time in my life. I’m so relieved to have found this page or I may have never eaten another salmon again. Also, my husband just read that this metallic taste can last for a few days or a few weeks. I’m on my way to the grocery store for pomegranate antidote. Does anyone know if this has any long-term effects? How about those who ate the nasty nuts and developed no symptoms? I think I’ll call the health department.
Oh! What a relief to know I’m not crazy! I live in Canada. Two weeks ago I ate at a local restaurant which uses pine nuts in a couple of my favourite dishes. Then, three days of bitter metallic ick. Didn’t make the connection until I ate there again yesterday, and woke up today with that same taste again. Finally googled it and found this site. Thank GOODNESS!
Me too. We make our own pesto. Purchasing 365 Brand pine nuts from Whole Foods. They are imported from China. This is the first time this has ever happened, and it is terrible. It starts to go away after about a week. I reported it to the FDA and to Whole Foods. I seriously doubt it is rancidity (oxidation). I ate some plain (before they went into the pesto) and they tasted and smelled fine. We store all nuts in the freezer. Whole Foods people said that they were aware of the situation. It may be that they are coming from a different species of pine. I am so paranoid about ANYTHING coming from China, but when this occurred in the UK, the nuts were tested for pesticides and other residues and tested negative. So it is probably a naturally occurring substance in the nuts (actually, seeds). Now I have to find a source of pine nuts that do not come from Asia.
After a week of staying away from pine nuts, I finally ate something that did not give me an after taste. So I guess it lasts about a week. I did drink a lot of grape/promagrante/cranberry juice. That was the weirdest thing ever and glad to have it over I hope. I did find out my pine nuts were the small ones. Good luck all and hang in there.
I almost never drink alcohol — had a glass of wine months ago — and ate a handful of pine nuts from Wegmans grocery store in DeWitt NY four or five days ago. Never again. Am now two days into the foul taste and very grateful for all the postings.
Sounds like these little nuts are causing bitter taste syndrome all over the world! When dining in Jacksonville, Oregon on Saturday, I had a pasta dish with pine nuts. On Monday morning while eating breakfast with my fellow travelers, my food had this horrible acid like taste, like it had rubbing alcohol in it. I thought it might be the chemical wash on the silverware, but I could not finish my breakfast, though no one else complained. The delicious clam chowder at Crater Lake Lodge ended up tasting so bitter, I could barely finish it, and the bread, butter and water also tasted acidic. My husband never said a thing about his food. Weird, I thought. The same happened this morning with my coffee. How thankful I am for Google and finding these feeds so at least I know there is not something seriously wrong with me. I hope it does not take a week to go away. Have any of you experienced any other symptoms?
What a relief to know that this is a current problem for many people. YUCK! (I miss my healthy taste buds, as I love food!!) I bought some pine nuts from a bin at a grocery store because I needed them for a recipe, and noticed the “Imported from China” labeling, which made me hesitate. I eschew anything grown there! But I didn’t have time to make another stop (though my second source would’ve been Whole Foods, which has similar nuts apparently). So glad I found these posts; otherwise, I would’ve gone to my internist to have to check me out and would’ve spent a lot of time and money and energy worrying about what could be causing it! Good work, all! Please keep reporting this problem to the FDA and to the source of your pine nuts.
Add me to the list. I’ve eaten pine nuts all my life with no side effects, but three days ago got the bitter taste (worse with sweets) for the first time after eating pine nuts in my green salad. Nuts were from Trader Joe’s in California–most probably from China. I’m not a big drinker, so it isn’t my liver. And, interestingly, my wife hasn’t gotten it despite eating the same nuts/salad. I read the comments from a medical person in another forum that the taste may be related to the cadmium in pine nuts. Hope the FDA posts something soon because this appears to be a new and annoying problem for many of us.
Ok, there seems to be some global problem going on with pine nuts this month!! Im from Dublin, Ireland & came down with a dreadful sore throat on Sunday so bought loads of healthy food to boost my immune system; pine nuts, 4 punnets of Blueberries, Bananas, Muesli etc. I ate about 3 handfuls of pine nuts on Sunday. Today, Wednesday (3 days later) my tongue tingled & my muesli this morning and everything I have eaten since tastes vile!! I thought my throat was getting worse so googled the symptoms and came across this discussion. I have had a punnet of Blueberries a day since Sunday & has made no difference to my taste buds. Interesting, how all the above postings are in the same month and regarding the same food 3 days AFTER eating those bloody pine nuts. Mine are from China as well & have never had this problem with pine nuts before. I am amazed & relied to read all your reports, thank you all very much for taking the time to vent about this horrible problem. I would LOVE to know why? Is there a Doctor out there reading this who may offer an answer?
This is amazing. Interestingly, I had pinenuts from the same container early in the month and had no reaction, but I had cooked them. This time I cooked them and had snacked on a handful of raw ones while cooking,they are from China and were bought at the Giant Eagle. A local grocery store in Pittsburgh.
My boyfriend and I are also suffering from this really yucky-tasting issue… I am 17 weeks pregnant, however, and am really hoping that there is no serious side effect on the baby from this. How the hell was I supposed to know that PINE NUTS could cause this? I also hope the FDA puts out some info soon, because now I am worrying that I may have inadvertently hurt my baby.
I purchased PINE NUTS from a supermarket in Brisbane(Australia)about 6 days ago and over the last few days whenever I eat anything have been experiencing a sour metallic like taste at or about the back of my tongue. Incidently, I had never eaten PINE NUTS previous to this.
On the container it stated: “Packaged in Australia from imported ingredients.”
Add another to the list! I ate pasta (pine nuts & feta etc.) at a restaurant in San Diego 5 days ago and have been bitter ever since.
So glad to have found this site. I had dental work recently and thought
the cement for the crown was leaking??? Or my old fillings were breaking down. I’ll call the restaurant tomarrow. I imagine we’ll hear something soon about this in the news media. It’s just too odd!
Hard to believe this! I have had an unpleasent taste in the back of my mouth (when/after I eat) for two days now – so I came on line to see what might be causing it. I had a salad containing pine nuts in London(England) earlier this week from a place I ususally go to for lunch. Can anybody say how long it tends to last?
Glad to know its not the plague. I purchased pine nuts from Sun Harvest in Austin Texas. I ate a handful raw, and toasted the rest and served them in a dish to 10 guests last night. Now several of us are experiencing this issue.
This has just happened to my 12 year old, I was worried that it may have been diabetes. The pine nuts were bought in the supermarket in Sydney(Australia) and the taste disturbance occured about 3 – 4 days after eating, 10 days later it’s just starting to clear up, what a relief, so odd as we eat pine nuts all the time.
how strange. i would not have made the connection, if i hadn’t seen your comments. i also had just eaten some small chinese pinenuts, very few of them, which i had bought at a local supermarket here in paris france.
is that a normal reaction or should i worry about it. the taste is unusually bitter and constant.
Me too!! I have had a bitter taste in my mouth towards the back of my tongue the last 36 hours and thought I would google it to see whats up. Guess what, I had pine nuts and arugula salad about 72 hours ago. Whats up with the pine nuts? Never happened before. Thanks for helping me out.
Hi – We had baby pine nuts 3 days ago and are now all suffering from ‘pine mouth’ I was really worried and thought I had a mouth infection or something, the taste is so disgusting (just like what I imagine poison to taste like) We got our pine nuts from Julian Graeves and it is the first time this has happened. I can’t believe that suppliers are getting away with this! THis should be made general knowledge! Thanks for your blog (at least I know what it is now)
OMG! I have been freaking out for a few days. Had this strange bitter taste on back of tounge – only noticable after eating something – everything kind of taste the same – very annoying. WELL! I have been eating a bag of pine nuts (nothing else to munch on). Packed in Australia. Imported from China. Thats ther last time I ever eat Pine Nuts again
thank you so much for posting this!
I had a pasta, spinach and pine nut salad from Monop on Friday and have been experiencing the bitter taste after eating all weekend. Like others, I was sure it was a horrible disease.
What a relief to find out I am not the only one and on the positive side eating has become so unpleasant I am hoping to lose a few pounds.
@Anne
I am also in San Diego and have been quite confused about the persistent bitter taste in the back of my mouth. To make things worse I had been out with some friends the night before the bitter taste started and had a few drinks. I went to bed feeling a little funny, and woke up in the middle of the night sick to my stomach. I blamed the alcohol even though it made no sense. I am a chemical engineering major, and attempted to use my chemistry knowledge to diagnose/treat the problem by gargling vinegar, antacids, milk, olive oil, water(the universal solvent), etc. Nothing worked. This and these post have made me think it must be a localized physiological reaction. Very unusual. I ate the pine nuts two or three days before this occurred and I had bought them at CostCo less than a week earlier. They will be going back soon.
Am I pleased I found this web site. I no longer think I have a fungal mouth infection and can stop using Listerine. YUK! I live in South West Scotland and I bought Crazy Jack Organic pine nuts from Tesco. The leftovers are now in the bin. On checking, the packet says Produce of China. NEVER AGAIN will I buy this product – its not worth it!
I have had a horrible bitter taste in my mouth, so I Googled it and found your site. Friday I bought and ate Berkley & Jensen All Natural Pine Nuts. It says on the back, “Product of China.” How long does this last, I wonder??
Everyone hang in there it did go away after almost a week of everything tasting horrible. I do think the juices did help make it leave sooner but that will be the last time I eat them by the handfuls anyway!!! Good luck
Yesterday I started a REMEDY which seems to be working. I figure if oxidization is the problem with the pine nuts, than I would eat powerful antioxidant foods. I ate a few cups of organic wild blueberries, and drank green tea (strong brew) steeped with slices of organic ginger. There was an almost immediate relief/improvement.
My pine mouth symptoms started 4 days ago – – a couple of hours after I ate pesto made from pine nuts I bought at “The Bulk Barn” on Leslie Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was so foul and relentless that i googled my symptoms and found sites like this. Looks like I’ll be making walnut pesto from now on instead. I’m hear that it is only Chinese pine nuts that cause this, but I’m even afraid to try my regular mediterranean pinenuts now. GOOD LUCK EVERYONE…try eating good organic blueberries and drinking strong organic green tea brewed with ginger. It definitely helped me!!!
I just found this site after googling bitter taste after eating and bingo I had eaten pine nuts a few days prior!!!
I have been suffering for 5 days and it seems to be getting worse. Has anyone been given an antibiotic for this?
I ate some pine nuts yesterday – that were probably questionably too old. Have been having that bitter taste on my toungue every time I eat something. Amazing how many people there are out there with this experience….
Umm, wow. So, add me to the list as well. I don’t buy pine nuts, but a friend was making pesto and gave a bowl of nuts to her two year old. Of course the child made a game of feeding most of the nuts to me…
Most everything has tasted like a cross between poorly shelled pecans and rotten iced-tea for the past two days.
Too bad there is a club to join, but I’m glad I’m not alone!
I bought a big pack of pine nuts that was not sealed or covered from light from Wellingtons in Ottery, South Africa about 2days ago. Today started experiencing a bitter taste on the back of my tongue after i ate something! It’s really awful but so glad i found this page, i thought i was going diabetic of had juandis or sumting!! 🙂 Try eating pineapple or beatroot it seemed to help a bit…
I bought mine from Julia Graves too ! baby pine nuts. I am still not sure it was the pine nuts becasue i had them at lunch time and the bitterness only kicked in that night. I must say it scared the life out of me when I looked at what it could be ! i do hope it was just the nuts. What am i meant to do about it ?
@Craig Hi Craig, I’m writing a story for The Daily Beast on pine nuts and I was wondering if you could give me some more information regarding your dinner party and how many of your guests experienced symptoms. Thank you so much!
I bought pine nuts in Czech Republic in healthy food shop, eat only few and the horrible bitter taste appears the second day. I’m so happy I found this website as I was starting wondering which doctor to see first. Hope it will go away soon
I thought I was going crazy. I made a big salad with pine nuts on Monday night. Wednesday I woke up with this terrible bitter taste in my mouth. I went out with friends that evening and ordered a glass of wine…I wanted to send it back (that never happens!!!)it was awful. I too, typed in bitter taste and took some comfort in the pine nut theory. Today I started taking Prilosec thinking it was stomach acid causing the bitterness. I’m leaving on vacation and hoping this will go away soon.
My wife and I both consumed pine nuts yesterday evening purchased from a local supermarket. Shortly afer doing so, both of us commented on a disturbing bitter taste on the back of our tounges. We both felt the pine nuts were the culprit– since the taste started almost immediately after eating them.
I never heard of this before I googled pine nuts and bitter taste. Ugh! I hope this does not last too long..
I spent all day today with a bitter taste on the back of my tongue. Every time I put any food in my mouth, after I swallowed it, BITTER. Everything tasted so bad that I kept trying sweets to combat the taste, but even sweets left a bitter after taste on the back of my tongue. After reading all these blogs about Pine nuts, I had an A-HA moment. The bag of pine nuts I had been snacking on were still at my computer desk, right in front of me. These were distributed by Western Foods Corp., and sold by Shoprite. And marked made in USA. Now I don’t know if the packaging was made in the USA or the food was made in the USA, but I suspect I was eating Pine Nuts, imported from China and packaged in the USA. Since there was no country of origin on the package, I can only draw my own conclusions, from my symptoms. Thanks for relieving my mind and letting me know there would be an end to this bitter problem.
I’m from the UK, but spend a lot of time in Galway in Ireland. I noticed that each time I’m there, for five days or so after returning to England, I have this horrible aftertaste when I eat. I had wondered whether it had something to do with a change of water supply. Thanks to a Google search and this site, I now realise that it’s got to be pine nuts! Whenever I go to Ireland I cook a tagliatelle with a sauce for family there that includes them – normally I don’t eat pine nuts. I buy them invariably from Waitrose (renowned for the high quality of their food). I’ll check with their head office to see where they source them, and post again. Thanks so much for this information. I was quite worried that the taste was a symptom of something seriously wrong!!
Well I must say I’m glad to see that I’m not the only one to be experiencing this, but I’m shocked by how global the problem is. I currently live in St Petersburg, Russia, and had pinenuts in a salad in a restaurant on wednesday – since yesterday morning everything I’ve eaten or drunk has tasted disgusting – so pleased to have worked out what it is! Does anyone know if anything is being done? Surely it should be being worked out which pine nuts it is and getting them withdrawn from sale?
Had pine nuts monday in pasta-leftovers tuesday and a big handful of pine nuts weds. The bad taste started saturday morning. I fear I am in for a long bout. Anyone find the “remedies” helpful?
Wow that’s so weird, for a moment I thought I am dying lol… I ate pine nuts before and this is the first time I am experiencing the bitterness. Everything tastes horrible, how long will this last?
Oh my God, I am sitting here feeling sick with the intense bitterness in my mouth that suddenly appeared two days ago. 2 minutes ago I jumped online to search out a reason. It is only there when I eat or drink something and then fades away eventually. So I’m fearing dental disaster or worse when I find this site and discover that packet of pinenuts that I bit into two days ago, first time I’ve eaten them for years and they turn out to be severely out of date, and slightly rancid and yes,of Chinese origin! This site is a relief and a revelation! now I believe those damn nuts are totally to blame.
What a relief! I,too thought I might have diabetes!As I Have had a history of gestational insulin dependent diabetes with my third son. My family and I went to the Hunter Valley NSW Australia and on Sat night I had a very delicious gnocci gorgonzola with spinach and lots of pine nuts. Over the last 2 days I have had the bitter taste at the back of the tongue and of course I was throwing out food thinking it was “off” I am keen to ring the restaurant to let them know and ask where do they source their pine nuts from.Although they might think I’m a “nut job”Thx
This sounds like a pandemic!! My husband and I had some pesto 3 days ago and both of us noticed a horrible bitter taste after eating anything since then. I’m so glad to have found out that we’re not alone. I’ll definately try taking a lot of vitamin c. This is ruining our mealtimes!!! Good luck everyone:)
Hi… I also thank you for this web-site. I’ve eaten pine nuts now for the last 4 days on and off, what a nasty, metal, taste in my mouth. I read somewhere that people who have 0 blood type experience this affect more than others after consuming pine nuts, any comment on that? Maybe we could use this as a diet medication, you really do not want to eat cause you know the taste is coming!
Thank GOD I found this site – I’ve been going ‘nuts’ with worry over this.
I simply cannot believe how bad this metallic taste is – PLEASE tell me it will go away soon.
Made Pesto with Pine Nuts bought from large Fruit Shop in Oakleigh, Victoria – am about to toss the lot.
THANK YOU to this site – I am so relieved to find out why.
Today I made banana bread. The mashed bananas tasted bitter. I thought straaaaange – they are so ripe they should be sweet. Continued with recipe including brown sugar. the finished product was bitter. So was a stew I made. My late. everything I have passed over my tongue bitter. I ate a handful of pine nuts yesterday. Just bought them. I guess I will throw them out. Makes me nervous. And I too am interested in how long it will last – guess I’ll find out.
UPDATE!! The problem subsequently passed it took about 6-7 days after initial taste disturbance….(will not risk eating PINE NUTS again!!)
Cheers RAY #1
AT — yes for sure – we should get the word out…. who knows what could be happening inside of our bodies fromt these tainted morsels!!!!
Me again! OK I just realized that this thing started or appears to have started in JANUARY – AND WE ARE STILL EATING THEM..
I have enjoyed Pine Nuts before this week and NOT had a problem. It must be certain ones.
I have had the metallic taste in my mouth since last night. My husband and I both experienced it while eating dinner, we couldn’t figure out if it was the wine or the meat that was bad. I went online this morning and found this blog, guess what we had a dish with pine nuts two days ago! I live in Lincoln, Nebraska. I’ll have to check the packaging on the nuts if I still have it. My husband is fine this morning but it is still affecting me. I have type O blood but he is AB. I hope this goes away soon.
thank you all for the info i to thought the worst,sad to say i have been eating handfuls of the darned things all week,they are going in the bin pronto!!!thanks
Previously I had been eating the Chinese pinenuts moderately s without having the bitter taste.But of lately, the last 2 months, I have been eating lots of this same Chinese packed Pines nuts in quatity, something like 200 or 300 nuts daily. 5 to 6 weeks ago, I sudden realised that my mouth was very bitter with a metalic feelings. My taste bud was almost not normal as I began to eat fruits like the apple as if they are flat.
Just last weekend,Saturday,(8th of August 09) I passed on the balance of my bottle of pine nuts to my son who too ate them.I also told him of my whole month of bitterness in my mouth. Then when he returned to Sydney on Sunday, I gave him a new bottle of 200 gms of nuts
to take back and to share them with his family.
Wednesday night, he rang me to tell me that he found out why my mounth has been bitter. For he and his wife ate those pine nuts and they too felt the bitterness. I spoke to his wife last night, and she told me that she ate only a mere handfuf, and the next day or so, she felt the metalic bitterness too.
This shows each person reacts differently, It took me a long time of a period of about a month with lots of eating to feel the effect. I would hade eaten perhaps 400 grams by then to that effect.
Two weeks back, I saw my GP and he gave me 7 days of free try on some sample of pills. I took only 6 of those. Last week I saw him again, and he said I have a silent reflax, a “throw back from the stomach”. He describe a drug for me to take.
I refuse to take it. I consult another retired GP friend of mine, and he reckoned that I have taken some food constantly that have upset my balance of diet.
Thanks God, my Son came down last week and I gave him those pine nuts to eat and take a bottle back to share with his family otherwise, I will still in the dark as what causes my bitterness.
One more thing I found out, the beer taste extremely good as I offered him and myself had my first taste of beer after a long time of no beer,
perhaps 6 months back.
I have made three spelling mistakes.” quatity”.. “mounth”… “hade”.
Please amend to: Quantity, Mouth and had.
Thanks.
Jude.
Well beer is a litte bit bitter Jude – so the taste could not be spoiled too much. LOL …. So today is the third day and I still experience mild bitterness when I eat however it seems go be getting better.
Crazy. I’ve been googling for a couple of days now and only just came across the pine nuts problem. I had pine nuts in Costa Rica last Tuesday and late Wednesday I was getting the bitter taste from everything. It seems to be dying down a bit now but I was starting to lose my cool.
also experiencing the same metallic taste at the back of throat having consumed pine nuts. again i have been getting it after eating for the past few days. pine nuts were purchased in cork, ireland.
My goodness and I thought I was getting some kind of disease. I had a hand full of raw pine nuts on Monday and some with pesto; on Tuesday, the horrible taste started. Today is Sunday and I am still experience the bitterness in my mouth whenever I eat something. The nuts were packaged in the USA but a product of Chine. I am glad I found this site.
My whole family is currently experiencing this phenomenon. Each of us thought we were the only one until one of us began discussing it. We immediately assumed that it must be something in our water since we were all experiencing the same bitterness. After a Google search, we realized we had all eaten my wife’s delicious homemade pesto. The pine nuts were purchased from the Trader Joes Market here in northern California. Thanks for posting this website.
I have had pine nuts before and have experienced no problems. Now I have bought some in Estonia and everything tastes bitter.
Pine nuts did taste different this time and were really small.
Count me in, too. I bought the pine nuts in a South Florida store (which is now pulling the nuts from its shelf), ate some on Thursday, and started getting the odd taste on Saturday. On the up side, I guess I’ll lose the few pounds I put on over the past couple of months!
I am so grateful to have found this page. Today is my third day of experiencing this horrid, bitter aftertaste and I was getting extremely concerned! I purchased Badia brand pinenuts at Publix, made pesto on Thursday night and also ate them on a salad for lunch on Friday. My husband and I went out to dinner last night and I had a glass of champagne that tasted absolutely awful. It was like drinking bitter, liquid metal. There is no information on the packaging or on the company website as to the origin of the product, but I plan on calling the company tomorrow to find out. I will definitely try pomegranate juice and hope that this ends soon. I am shocked at how widespread this is, but I do feel relieved to know the cause and that I am not alone.
Since eating pine nuts last week, my blood sugar count and my blood presure has gone up. I have had a couple of headaches in the back of my head and felt like I might have a stroke. Trying to eat healthier,I began eating salads making them declicious with lots of pine nuts. Everything taste bitter, or metalic now. I checked the back of the bag and it’s a product of China. I’m not sure if that should be a concern or not. All of us could be having an reaction to this kind of nut. Even if we’re not allergic to this nut we could be experiencing a reation in the form of taste whenever we eat something or more reactions. I would suggest that every one of us report this problem to the store or resturant you got the pine nuts from. Maybe there needs to be a recall.
I’ve had the bitter metallic taste for 3 days now, after having a tapas dish with pine nuts in a Sydney restaurant on Friday night (Australia). I’m going to try the Vit C and antioxidants, and will also ask the Chemist/Naturopath about Alpha Lipoic Acid and Activated charcoal.
Has anyone discovered what is the actual metallic taste? Can nuts accumulate heavy metals? Is it aflotoxins/fungus in the raw nuts?
Has anyone out there had the bitterness from toasted pine nuts, or is it only from consuming them raw??
Curiously, Vegemite is tolerable. Most other foods aggravate the horrible metallic taste.
This is too weird…I have noticed a bitter taste in my mouth only after eating or drinking something for the last few days…I googled “bitter taste in mouth after eating and drinking” and found this. And of course, I made a HUGE batch of pesto with all the basil I harvested from my garden Thursday evening….argh! My pine nuts were from the bulk section at the Sunflower Market…I think I’m more upset about all my basil going to bunk pesto than the fact that I have a few more days of this!!! Never had this happen before, either….weird!
I even went as far as to see the doctor due to this bitter/metalic taste. I am please to as to find this post, as I have been consuming pinenuts too. Thinking back I have had the larger ones but bought some from a bulk food store and they are definately the smaller variety. They even tasted a little wooody when eaten. Just wondering how long this will last and will avoid the little pinenuts from now on. I too am a diabetic, not sure about the sugar levels rising but will see what effect if any they have on BGL’s.
I have just managed to get rid of the horrible bitter aftertaste from Julian Graves Baby Pine Nuts (country of origin not specified), eaten 8 days ago.Like other correspondents, I had to avoid wine, coffee and acidic fruits, like raspberries and strawberries. Pineapple juice helped but every moring I woke up with a horrible taste in my mouth which lasted all day.
I took a copy of last week’s comments from this website to Julian Graves – the assistant said they were aware of the problem but had tested the products and not found anything conclusive, so would continue to stock them.
Given the amount of people contributing to this discussion, I think a warning on the shelf is the minimum they and other Health food shops could do.
It is now a week after my initial experience with the bitter taste and gradually my taste buds have returned to normal. The first few days were the worst. I think everyone does have a slightly different reaction. My husband was only affected for a day. The local grocery where we purchased the pine nuts was very understanding after we pointed out what had happened and pulled the supply from their shelves. They reported the problem to their supplier who questioned whether I was just having an allergic reaction. Not so, I’ve eaten them many other times with no problem. Now however the grocery is searching for a new source for pine nuts, they found three other suppliers but all only had pine nuts from China! What has happened to other sources for them?
I’m so thrilled to have found this blog! I’ve been going crazy with this bitter taste in my mouth. I had a dinner party on a Saturday night added raw pine nuts to the salad, which I’ve done numerous times without a problem, but this time, not so lucky. For the past four days I’ve had the worst taste in my mouth. BITTER! Everything I’ve eaten tastes horrible. I started to think there was something seriously wrong, but all the information I found didn’t fit my symptoms. I have no idea where my pine nuts came from, more than likely its China. Misery loves company, and boy am I glad I have a lot of company.
WOW….this is weird….we are all experiencing the same thing. I thought something horrible was happening to me and then did what everyone else did and seached online. I too had pine nuts on Sunday and it started 2 days later and still going. I’m not sure the origin of them but will check that out! I eat pine nuts a lot and have NEVER had this problem. Does anyone else have any other symptoms?
Yeah – I’m on day two. Also I’m in Sydney. It’s misery. Two things I love are cooking and eating. I’ve barely eaten since this started, very suddenly, yesterday morning, while eating a few mouthfuls of leftovers from the delicious pasta and roast veggies with pine nuts dish i’d cooked the night before. The three serves I had the previous night were fine, but i got one bad nut on the second day and everything’s been bitter metal since. I can barely eat. Thank god for the internet! Advice to fellow sufferers – avoid red wine like the plague.
And to answer your question – I fried the pine nuts. Mind you , that might be slightly different to roasting. They’re Chinese ones. I’ll stick to Italian from here on whatever the price. Pine nuts feature greatly in my cooking.
ps thanks for the vegemite tip. I’ve found preserved lemon tolerable too. I think it’s salt-related. Salt seems to ameliorate things a bit. I have a feeling grapefruit juice works too but need more testing…
@SarahL
My gosh! I’m glad to find this page too! I have this horrible bitter taste when I eat or drink anything so I’ve been casting around to find an explanation before I go to my doctor looking like a hypochondriac. And as it turns out – i bought a bag of pine nutes from Trader Joe’s and have been putting them in salads, on pasta, or eating them plain. When I get home tonight I’ll have to look a the bag and see where they are from.
WOW, I can’t believe how many other people have this problem and it all seems so recent… Since yesterday I have had a horrible bitter taste in my mouth so I asked my daughter to google ‘bitter taste in mouth after eating’ and found this… Last week I bought a Pine nuts in a punnet and have been eating them by the hand full as I have been trying to eat healthy and since then I have had this taste in my mouth. I was wondering what was wrong with me.
This blog is incredible, but the taste in my mouth is horrible. I, too, thought I was about to die until I googled “bitter metallic taste in mouth” and realized I had eaten pine nuts in a salad the day before. I have been eating and loving pine nuts forever, not sure why this happened this time. Sadly, after reading all of these postings, no one seems to have any remedy? Stay away from Swiss cheese with pine nut mouth, quite possibly the worst encounter yet!
YUCK!!! My minty fresh tooth paste even tastes horrible! I brushed the heck out of my theeth and tounge and still it is funking up my mouth… It does go away though, right??? This is so weird, the delayed reaction, I had bulk the pine nuts Monday (a lot of them granted) and now I wake up today, Thursday morn, and everything taste so nasty. My three year old ate them too I wonder if he is feeling the effects? He still seems to be eating to I kinda doubt it. Does everyone who eats the weirdo nuts get effected?
The supplier to the grocery store where I got my pine nuts said that these symptoms were a classic reaction to rancid fats. When I looked afterwards at the remainder of my pine nuts it looked like some were darker than others. I wonder if someone in China has been mixing bad nuts with good ones. The supplier said this was only the second report they had. Not everyone may figure out the connection so please report it to get this problem solved!
A follow up to my comment of 08/19 – I looked at my bag of Pine Nuts and they are the TJ’s brand Dry Roasted Pignolias, product of Russia or Korea – same as the Trader Joe’s product that others have documented here.
Hi all,
I have also been experiencing this strange bitter taste in my mouth after EVERYTHING I eat. I searched the internet and didn’t find anything that was too helpful. After reading this blog I remembered that I ate raw pine nuts the night I started to experience this symptom. I purchased these pine nuts from a privately owned store in Brooklyn. I called to see where the pine nuts are from but the owner wasn’t there so I couldn’t get a straight answer. How long will this last?
@Shiney
Omg i have just commented on another site about this , i never reply or comment but this is crazy. What scared me was everyone seemed to have symptoms 2 days later, i made my pesto last night, and 2 hours later my symptoms began, (i threw alot of pine nuts in my pesto) first time i used them i usually dont use them. I too love cooking and eating, i hope it goes away fast, oh and white wine was not too good a choice either. Still shocked at this whole experience, i was so scared i was sick, tahnk god for these blogs.
Thank Goodness I have found the reason why I have this awful rancid poisonous taste in my mouth. I thought I had digestive problems or my liver was packing in. I ate pine nuts with pesto and chicken and then had a handful of pine nuts on their own and have had this taste for 2 days now. How long does it last and does anyone know how to get rid of it? I am going to my friends 40th birthday party tonight where there will be lots of food and drink and I wont be able to enjoy any of it. Word of advice avoid coffee! Looked at my bag of pine nuts and the are from China brand name is Forest feast.
Hi – having the same disgusting experience after having eaten pine nuts toasted in a salad and then raw a couple of days ago. They are from “Fresh and Wild” and were bought in Camden in London. It doesn’t say where they come from on the packet – rather it just states ‘Product of Various’ although they are supposed to be organic(!). Not a great start to my holiday next week…..
@Shiney
My follow up… I am still getting a mild taste disruption 9 days after consuming the offensive pine nuts. When it seemed to be at the peak (2-3 days), I tried a small teaspoon of apple cider vinegar before eating big meals & I wasn’t getting such a strong bitter metallic aftertaste. It could also be coincidence!
Well, so glad to find the cause! I too am veggie so eat a lot of pine nuts (relatively anyway!). I ate some last weekend bought from Morrisons Supermarket, country of origin unknown. As all above have said, soon after got a rancid taste, which has lasted 3 days and occurs whenever I eat something. Really horrible and annoying. Glad to have found this blog!!
Wow! Am i glad to have taken the time to look into this! I thought I was afflicted with something serious! I had pine nuts from Whole Foods Market on Wednesday and have had this bitter taste ever since! It has made me not even want to eat anything since it’s the only thing that I can taste while I am eating or drinking! Even strong foods like jalepenos don’t knock out the taste! Thank you for taking the time to put your findings on this blog! What a relief!
I am so glad that I found this website too. I started having bitter taste in my mouth 4 days ago. Initially I thought it was the cucumber salad or the broccoli and also suspected the basil in the home-made pesto sauce that I ate two days in a row. I goggled the cause for this annoying taste and really thought I have something serious with me!!! I feel better after I found these posting here.
My pine nuts is of Flavor Tree brand, it’s packed in USA but it’s from China and Portugal. I am going to call Whole Foods to ask about this.
How do I get rid of the bitter taste?
Just had a spoonful of peanut butter…it tastes like metal…so did everything yesterday and the day before. I remembered that I had a whole handful of roasted pignoles from Trader Joes…I am so glad to run across this blog. I thought it was the new vitamins I was taking. No more pigging out on the pignoles!!!
I have been using pine nuts from Costco in my salad( From China)for a long time and have only noticed this bitter taste after eating the last few weeks. I do not take any edications and I started getting worrried until I googled it and perhaps there is an association between pine nuts and bitter taste in my mouth. Of late,I have been snacking more on pine nuts that are left out in my office drawer. Shall I toast them? Shall I keep them in the refrigirator. Is there association between how much pite nuts one eats and the bitter taste?
@Angie
I had the same brand from Publix and the same results. How long does it take to go away? I am taking this article and the rest of the nuts to Publix…
Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.A. here. I bought pine nuts from a FreshMarket bulk foods section and had them pan-roasted/fried in some olive oil a few days ago. Yesterday I bought some bread with walnuts and went on and on about how the walnuts must be bitter, then at lunch thought something else was bitter and last night when some birthday ice cream cake was bitter, started to get a little worried.
Thanks for posting the pine nut information. It will save me a trip to the Doctor’s office.
Again – thanks for the blog… I make my owm mix of nuts and seeds all the time… that both my husband and I eat.. I also buy my pine nuts from Costco – I toast them and have not had a problem before. Infact the weird thing is – I used one half of a bag – had no reaction – then with this other half bag – ate some about 2 days ago – and only today have this taste after almost everything I eat. Not too bad after almonds for some reason – now realise why the red wine last night was a bit sour… Husband has no problems.. going to try lots of horseraddish on my burger tonight!
I ate raw pine nuts purchased from Sunflower Market on Friday and woke up Sunday with a horrible taste in my mouth. Like others, everything tastes horrible. Going to the doctor tomorrow to see what he says, but I think I have the answer.
This is truly a bizarre occurance. I made a big batch of pesto with, you guessed it, pine nuts, and from China! When does this taste go away? The rancid fat theory does seem to make sense. Coffee seems o.k., and milk and peanuts. Beware of wine, eggplant and zuchinni. Asparugus is a bad offender. Good time to start that diet.
I Love food and can not get over the fact that everything I eat taste bitter! Dished myself some veggies for lunch – eggplant and zucchini included – needless to say – it all tasted terrible. How long will this torture last?
Glad to have found this and interesting that others have had a delayed reaction. 9 days and still bitter?? I miss coffeeeeeeeee. It tastes horrible.
I’m having the same problem and I am glad to find out the cause. All of these are posted in August 2009. What brands have you all been eating? Maybe there should be some calls to the companies who distribute them.
I am on day 2 of what I’ve termed “Metal Ass mouth.” The food tastes ok, but the aftertaste is terrible. And lasts for hours. It is so bad I have vomited from the taste. Fortunately, that tastes better.
Just found this site and discovered the bizarre pine nut mouth phenomenon. I, too, am in the throes of the bitterness. Ate about a quarter bag of Trader Joe’s pignolias (bag says “Product of Korea, Russia, or Vietnam”), and they tasted delicious at the time. Several days later I noticed the grossness in the back of my mouth. I’ve been hawking lugies ever since (been about a week, I’d say), desperate to get rid of it. Doesn’t really work. This did not happen to my partner; he ate the same dish and did not get the taste. Someone on this post surmised that there was a link to alcohol consumption–I don’t drink, so that theory doesn’t hold. Interestingly, my toothbrush has developed this gross inflorescence all over the bottom of the bristles during this period, while my partner’s (stored right next to mine) looks normal. Not sure if it’s related, but it certainly seems suspect. Anyone else have this happen?
@Mike
Dave – what’s the answer? It’s Tuesday and I still have a weird taste, although not as bad…
I’ve been having the same bitter metallic after taste in my mouth for the last few days. I got my pine nuts from Trader Joes last week. Nothing I do will make the taste go away. Ugh!
Add me to the list. Made a big batch of pesto saturday night, and then also had some on sunday along with a handful of nuts. Bitter taste started Monday afternoon and comes on like a fire hose after every meal, lasts about an hour. Yuk. I don’t think I will have a stomach for pine nuts again. I bought them out of a bulk bin at a nice large grocery store. Make it go away!!!!
Hi
I was 3 weeks pregnant at the time, so like you am hoping this as no long term effects. If you hear of any other information please post. Thank you
bizarre, I”m on day three of this awful bitter aftertaste (only after eating and drinking) and this is after eating a whole bunch of pinenuts whilst hunting around the kitchen for a snack… I usually don’t eat them so can’t say if it’s an ‘off-batch’ or what have you… my partner bought them so not sure where they’re from – somewhere in Stoke Newington (e.london) or nearby though.
I am experiencing the same metal mouth bitter symptoms and have made pounds of pesto with pine nuts this week. My family seems unaffected but I have been eating pesto by the spoon and pine nuts by the handful. The taste after eating any food or drink is terrible.
Same, same, same! Awful bitter metallic taste and I know my dental hygiene is excellent, so when brushing and cleaning my tongue with my scraper did nothing for the taste, it was time to hunt down the answer on the internet.
I ate 1/4 of a bag of pine nuts raw, bought from Albertson’s under the brand name “Melissa’s” and wouldn’t you guess it … they are from China. Now I have eaten pignolia’s since I was a little girl and never had this problem and admittedly, I have never noticed where the nuts came from, so I don’t want to jump to conclusions and say it is because of China-brand, but damnit if everything else China produces is bad for you – like toothpaste with antifreeze in it, then it makes sense.
So does this mean as long as they are not from there, they are still okay to eat? Or am I doomed to a life without pine nuts?
Ive got it too! so glad i found this site. i love pinons and had some in a salad on thurs, fri and sat as well as ate handfulls during the day. ive never had this before but it has been the worst the last few days. Tastes like bile in my mouth! I started worrying about everything from liver failure to brain tumors! My pinons were from Trader Joes and are a product of China, not sure if that matters. I hope this goes away soon!
Add me to the list of August pine nut mouthed people. I ate them on a pizza at a restaurant in Melbourne on Sat night. My case isn’t as severe and I only taste the bitterness when I eat my morning toast with honey. Will go and taste some wine now as a test.
I am so glad that I found this site. I ate two hanfuls of pine nuts the other day that I purchased from Costco and have had a bitter taste in my mouth-kind of like the after taste of grapefruit-since I ate them. I had myself with liver failure-or sinusitis or something worse. I just checked the bag and the pine nuts from Costco are from China. That’s the culprit. Thanks to all that have contributed to this site.
I ate my pine nuts three days ago and it’s been two days of misery now. I found this page and was amazed that all the comments were made so recently. Must be the same batch of pine nuts. My husband is eating some now as an experiment.
I purchased mine from the bulk section of a Whole Foods in Massachusetts, USA. Tomorrow I’m going to bring them back .
I too have been suffering from a horrible bitter taste in my mouth – and was worried I had a leaky filling (at best) or something sinister (at worst). Googled it and I can’t belive it because I too ate pine nuts on Tuesday evening and I started with the taste yesterday morning after eating a banana. I thought it might be that the banana was off, but it has not gone away and is really bad after eating – the apple I ate an hour ago tasted disgusting. I’m at work at the moment so don’t know where they came from, but will be checking it out when I get home. They are the brand I always buy and I’ve never had this before. I think they are organic Jack’s brand. I’m not looking forward to eating my lunch as I know it will taste horrible. What is the link with diabetes? I’m not diabetic (I don’t think) but wondered if perhaps I should have my blood sugar level checked in case I might be – especially if there is a link between the two. I hope it goes away soon. p.s. I’ve also had a terrible headache and felt queasy.
On day 5 of the Pine Nut Diet. Lost 5 lbs.
Am I the only one suffering with halitosis because of this horrible tase?
My husband and children have kindly told me that my breath is stinking now! Off to the dentist next week to see what they can recommend – unless anyone else has some positive ideas.
I believe I too, am a pine nut victim. I recently made pesto with pine nuts purchased in bulk from Whole Foods Market and have an extremely bitter taste while eating or drinking anything. With all of the concern recently over the safety of products (food or otherwise) coming from China, this is quite worrying to me. What is in these pine nuts that is causing this? Mine were not rancid – I could tell from the flavor. Could there be a toxin that is affecting the liver?
I laughed out loud when I read Roger saying he thought he might die. I googled this “bitter taste after eating” as a first step before seeking medical attention myself. Especially because I recently had oral surgery. And when I saw the mention of pine nuts it didn’t register with me because I don’t eat much pine nuts. Normally. Except about 6 days ago when I made a beautiful farfalle with butternut squash, sage and PINE NUTS. Thanks to all for posting your stories. My pine nuts came from Trader Joes and they say “procuct of Korea, Russia or Viet Nam” Don’t know what to make of that but the last thing that tasted good was that meal. Who knew? ps Mike, you’re funny
I am in Boulder, Colorado and have been having the same bitter aftertaste after eating for over a week now (this is 8/28/09. I had bought pine nuts from Lucky’s, which is a
Sunflower market. They did taste a bit odd, not horrible. I noticed how cheap they were, so does that mean they are Chinese? They were in a small bulk like 4 oz. I also have had low back pain, and gas. I hope I can find the receipt to track the thing.
this is me in Colorado again.
I got them at Safeway on 8/17, not Luckys. Sorry Luckys. Regardless, I’m not having pine nuts again, unless the pinoles are from New Mexico. The bitterness seems to be subsiding. I had to throw out a lasagna with them in and on it. It was the worst tasting thing I’ve ever made and I’m 49. My back pain started the day before. I’ll be more carful if I ever blog again.
Count me in, too. I ate a couple of handfuls of (presumably Chinese) pine nuts from Winco Foods in Eugene, Oregon on Friday, and started noticing the bitter aftertaste last night. Really, really nasty. I can’t enjoy anything I eat.
Taste starting to go now after 5 days – couldn’t eat anything on Saturday or Sunday as everything tasted rancid. Have lost 4lbs – so not all bad! Will never eat pine nuts again. I am writing to the company (Crazy Jack’s organic) to complain and advise them about the ill effects. They were product of China when I checked. I will also tell everyone I know to avoid eating pine nuts from China. I’ll let you know if the company relpy.
Thank-you everybody for this precious information. we ate pine nuts from china some days ago and had bitter taste in the mouth – no matter what we ate – for at least four/five days. amazing… but at least now we know the reason !
Marco
I’ve experienced the same symptoms! I served a lovely salad with endive, arugula and pine nuts last Sunday. I didn’t notice the bitter taste after eating until last Monday night. The bitter taste is finally subsiding, but now I have a very painful canker sore on my tongue. I purchased the pine nuts at Shop Rite…they were the store brand and I didn’t save the package, so I’m unable to find out where the nuts are from. I’ll never eat them again.
yup, same thing just happened to me. Two days ago I ate raw pine nuts and everything I eat now has a weird awful aftertaste. Is this really from the nut and not some Chinese pesticide residue problem? I ate Melissa’s Pine Nuts – from LA CA but processed in China.
Unbelievable! Just googled “bitter taste when eating” and noticed this pine nut blog…I had just made a rice salad with pine nuts. They tasted so good I gobbled the leftovers in the bottle. Checked, just now where, they’re from. Brand is Hadden House with no origin mentioned but googling it and it turns out to be from… China! I am interested in the idea of some toxin from China because I too noticed how particularly fresh and good these pine nuts tasted. Does anyone have any other thoughts about the China connection?
This is so bizarre. I have had this weird bitter metallic taste in my mouth after I eat or drink anything for the last two days. I’ve never experienced anything like it before. I also googled this “symptom” this morning and found this blog. I ate raw pine nuts two days ago, but mine were out of the freezer. I had purchased them from the bulk foods bins at Whole Foods weeks ago. I don’t know the country of origin.
I too am experiencing this. The symtons started yesterday and I am experiencing nausea with it. I can’t eat anything. I served pasta with pinenuts and alfredo sauce three days ago. I will never eat them again. I hope this goes away soon. I almost called my doctor so thanks for this site.
I made a huge batch of pesto using two cups of pine nuts and all the basil from my garden. We had the pesto for dinner last night and my husband and I are suffering from the horrible bitter aftertaste. My kids and a guest are symptom free. I got the nuts at Zehrs. They looked small and cheap, but tasted ok. I am going to throw out the rest of the pesto. The package is gone, but I am going back to the store to check out where they came from.
Wow this looks like an epidemic of metallic tasting pine nuts. I’m on day three they tasted fine when I cooked them. I had some for lunch that I didn’t notice a reaction to but then when I had some for dinner it was shortly there after I felt nauseous it passed fairly quickly but soon after I developed the metallic taste in my mouth, very much like the after taste of grapefruit or of bile. I have never eaten as much pine nuts as I did that day and I will never be touching them again. It looks like for most people this last from 3-10 days, I’m hoping I’m on the three day side.
I read one of the comments from the beginning from a Louise who said she had hi mercury levels after going to a natureopath and was wondering if that could be the connection. I recently had to get an immunization for a class and I know that they have mercury in them so I’m thinking she might be onto something. Up to that point I never had any reactions to pine nuts.
@Louise
I recently had an immunization for a class and w few days after ate pine nuts which has resulted in the metallic taste, I know these immunizations have mercury in them, I think you are on the right track. What did your natureopath suggest?
Color me pine-mouthed as well. I just got done with my annual pesto-thon last weekend (when I make the year’s supply to freeze), and just noticed the bitter taste a couple of days afterward.
Now the thing I’m wondering is if it was caused by the new batch (pine nuts purchased at Trader Joe’s), or if it was the leftover last year’s batch, which I was using up by making pesto-stuffed mushrooms. I ate a lot more of the year-old batch over the past few days than the new. Perhaps a year of sitting in the freezer did something to the pine nuts?
I too have had a bitter taste in my mouth for 3 days now. I ate at least a cup of PINENUTS while watching TV. I don’t remember them tasteing to bad, but everything starting tasting bitter two days later. I can not get rid of the awful BITTER taste.I’ll probably put on some weight as i keep trying different foods to get rid of the taste in my mouth.Mine were bought at Costco,but the pkg says Washington, i’m guessing just the packaging was there.I’m dealing with this by sucking on a SEE’s sucker, that way the flavor sits in there for awhile. Guess I better brush good after this remedy.
I, too, purchased pine nuts at the Whole Foods Market in Philadelphia and had about two small handfulls and then had a strong over powering bitter response to any food I ate for about three days and a lingering effect that is still present now about ten days later. At first I could not figure out what it was and thought it was a spoiled sweet pickle that I ate soon after the nuts which already turned very bitter! After spoiling a wonderful dinner party where I could not even drink what everyone else said was a great red wine, I started to look over the internet and quickly discovered the descriptions on line fit the experience I had and so I have decided to follow it up further and see if I can get some of my expert friends to take a look at the phenomenon. I will tel you know what I find out!
I am from Australia and found this site by googling bitter after taste. I ate pine nuts on Monday in a salad and by Wednesday morning I was experiencing the same symptoms as described by everyone else. I don’t know where the pine nuts came from as it was in a restaurant meal and my husband had something different. I was really worried so I hope it isn’t any dangerous pesticide or whatever.
i, like some of the other posters, googled this subject this morning for all the reasons mentioned. i purchased my pine nuts from publix in the bulk section so not sure where they came from. did notice, though, they looked like “baby” pine nuts. they are normally on the larger size. just curious about anyone else who may have purchased their pine nuts from publix. i, too, love them, but now will be leary to buy and eat them again!
Wow, me too! I googled bitter taste after eating… and yes, I did eat pine nuts last week. They were the dry toasted ones from Trader Joe’s… “Product of Russia or Korea.” SO strange, who would’ve guessed?
Wow, me too! I googled “bitter taste after eating”… and yes, I did eat pine nuts last week. They were the dry toasted ones from Trader Joe’s… “Product of Russia or Korea.” SO strange, who would’ve guessed?
Flipping heck! Thought I had cancer or something awful, but thanks to Google I too can share that I, after eating a new batch of pine nuts (from China via Tesco), have a rotten metallic and bitter taste in my mouth after eating or drinking. So a few more days of this yucky taste to follow eh? BTW I’m in England.
I made orzo salad with pine nuts about a week ago, and ate a serving of it for lunch for three days in a row. Ever since, I have had the bitter taste whenever I try to eat or drink anything. I bought a package of raw pine nuts from Kroger, and they were labeled ‘product of China’. Anyone know how long this lasts?
So everyone knows, it does not hurt you (to my knowledge), and it does go completely away after 6-10 days, depending, I would assume on your body type. NO MORE PINE NUTS FOR ME, UNLESS THEY ARE ROASTED…
Reassured by this site.Fresh pesto made Wednesday 2 and still with unpleasant taste on Saturday.Crazy Jack organic pine nuts the culprit,last time I go near them.Glad to read that the symptoms recede apparently quickly.I’m in London,England.
Well this is a worldwide (I am from Australia too) epidemic and I am relieved to have found the reason for this awful taste in my mouth when I eat. I had pine nuts in a restaurant meal for lunch on saturday and started experiencing this awful bitter aftertaste in my mouth on Saturday evening.
Hank, What difference does roasting make? and thanks for the time frame, at least I know it will end.
I am from Australia too and had a handful of pine nuts that I had roasted and now have this after taste two days later. It is awful cos I love my food so much. My pine nuts were sunbeam which are usually a really good brand but I won’t be having pine nuts for a very long time now.
@Hank
OMG!!!!! I bought the pine nuts from Sam’s Club. The brand is Amport Foods….also from China. They are the smallest pine nuts I’ve ever seen. Everything I eat creates a strong bitter taste on the back of my tongue. Went to a wine tasing festival today…it was worthless. Wine is worse than food. Pesto did it for me too, it’s been about five days. it would be nice to know why they produce this reaction before we assume it’s harmless.
Hi, I’m from England and I bought some ‘Autumn Gold’ approx 250grm bag(product of China) from ASDA last Tuesday and ate half on Tuesday and other half on Wednesday. Thursday got the bitter/metallic taste every time I ate or drank. It is decreasing now, but by no means gone. I found that the sweeter the thing I was eating/drinking the worse the reaction at the start. I have been able to eat jam on toast today and the after taste didn’t happen for a while. I told ASDA but they said that they would only be taking it off the shelves if they were instructed to by head office etc. Why hasn’t there been anything about this on the news since it’s international?
I have just googled bitter taste in mouth and came to this site. I ate pine nuts with a ceasar sald on Wed and noticed the bitter taste the next day. Its horrible and I am terrified that it won’t go away!!
My pine nuts were bought in Dublin, Irl, but I will never be eating them again.
Same here, googled bitter taste in mouth. PINE NUTS! i work im a chef in a restaurant and starting getting this now that i think of it right after i had my snack of toasted pine nuts…get this…from china! its been 2 days and the bitter aftertaste hasn’t gone yet. when will it end 🙁
to add…bought through SYSCO foods in Toronto, Canada
I love pine nuts, and bought the same kind as I usually get … but this is the first time I have “pine mouth” and it is horrible. I’m glad though that I’ve found the reason for what is going on — I’m hoping that it goes away soon. Thanks for the information.
Wow…I was googling the topic “bad tast in mouth after eating” and came across this site. Was concerned about what it could be? Then I saw ‘pine nuts’…Really? I just made a wonderful pasta dish with pine nuts in it a few days ago. I used a mixture of larger pine nuts (that I had in the freezer), but had to supplement with additional, much smaller nuts from Publix. I’m sure both were not spoiled, I wasn’t the only person who ate them, and everyone loved the dish. I started to get that bitter, metallic taste yesterday morning. I am relieved to think it is something this simple, but I sure hope it goes away soon. Yuck. I’ll definitely avoid pine nuts from China, but I like them too much to avoid all together. Thanks so much for researching this for the rest of us, Roger!
I bought Melissa’s Pine Nuts from Lucky on Saturday and had a salad with them and snacked on the rest of them Saturday night. This morning, Monday, as soon as I ate anything I had a bitter after taste. It’s actually gotten worse as the day has progressed. My husband made this great dinner and I can’t eat it because it’s gross to me. I seem to be OK with drinking things, as long as it’s separate from eating. This can’t be good. Has anyone had any other symptoms before the bitter taste began? I had a splitting migraine most of Saturday night and Sunday. I had initially attributed this to a release of toxins from a deep tissue massage I had on Saturday morning, but now I’m wondering if this was a result of the pine nuts, instead.
My wife bought pinenuts from whole foods and we are experiencing bitter mouth taste! What’s up! I am slightly worried…These nuts are not right!
WOW – how incredible is the internet! I started having this awful bile taste in the back of my throat yesterday and again this morning. Finding out that pine nuts is the cause saved my sanity! I bought a container of pine nuts from my local Italian market – Castellano & Pizzo – in Tampa, FL. The nuts were bulk packaged by the store and don’t contain any source information – but I just threw the rest of them away. They didn’t taste bad, but I bought them a few days ago and was snacking on them before I planned on making pesto with them to use up the end of my garden’s basil. Glad I didn’t do that! I did find something that kind of helped. I gargled with apple cider vinegar and salt. It tastes bad, but seemed to help afterwards. This taste is the most awful taste I’ve ever experienced and I hope it goes away soon.
Thank god for the internet! This started yesterday for me and I thought I had been poisoned! I ate the pine nuts on Monday and on Tuesday, about 24 hours later, I started to feel the symptoms. Everything tastes incredibly bitter to me and now my tongue is getting a little numb. I’m sure not looking forward to days and possibly weeks of this. I purchased the nuts from the Clintonville Community Market in Columbus, OH.
This has to be a neurological thing. These nuts were ingested two days ago, and the symptoms didn’t start until 24 hours after eating them. I’m not sure if I should see the doctor. I’m afraid she’ll just blow me off.
Just made a Dr. apnt because of bitter metallic taste in mouth. Was sort of relieved to read about pine nuts. I bought mine at Mrs. Green’s Health food Market in NY. My symptoms started Saturday right after eating pesto I made with the nuts. Ate it again on Tuesday and got worse!!! Anyone know if this is a new problem or are only some people sensitive like an allergy?
About 4 days ago my husband was complaining about a bitter taste everytime he ate or drank something. I sort of igored him as he always has something going on. About a half day later i started having the same symptoms. Every single thing i ate and drank brought on a terrible bitter taste. It takes about 5-10 minutes to go away.I still have it. We started looking on the internet for medical reasons which none fit us. When i came accross this site i couldn’t believe it. Just before we started having these symptoms i made a large batch of pine nut pesto.WE had some of it in a dish we made for dinner. I usually make almond or walnut pesto because it’s cheaper. I freeze a large batch and have it over the winter.If this is really true i think i should have the food and drug inspection check it out. How can we be protected otherwise. Anyone agree?I guess this would be a good time to go on a diet because i sure don’t feel like eating anything!
can’t believe what’s happening – i’ve eaten pine nuts for years, by the bagful. then i bought a packet at a service station in france 2 weeks ago for munching in the car, and they tasted horrible and bitter. i looked at the packet to see where they’d come from and it was China! i only had a handful and junked the rest. But the bitter taste in my mouth hasn’t gone away yet, especially if I eat anything sweet. And this is 2 weeks on! But a thousand thanks for this site – I’d begun to think I’d jaundice or worse.
Trader Joe’s Pine Nuts “Product of Russia or Korea” did me in!
Us, too. We ate pine nuts from Trader Joe’s which were listed as sourced from China, Korea, or Russia (all three listed as possibilities, but not sure in which order… it’s been a while).
Four days of mouth-hell for her, and about a week for me.
In any event, never getting those again, and now looking at Trader Joe’s sourcing MUCH more closely.
@Hank
The pine nuts I ate were roasted, and I got pine mouth anyway. I don’t think roasting them makes a difference.
BTW, it’s Friday and the bitterness is starting to subside a little (ate the nuts on Monday). It’s still there, though. Besides tasting the bitter after eating, it shows up while I’m sleeping, too. Also, I checked with the store and found out they were from China.
I have found that things that are already bitter, such as coffee and IPA, are still palatable. All is not lost this week!
I have experienced the same symptoms as everyone else. One point that appears to be different is that I purchase the nuts from Costco and they have been in my freezer for awhile since it was a large bag.
Strangely I have eaten from this same packet of nuts in the past without this reaction.
I’m glad I found the answer to what I have been experiencing. I had pine nuts yesterday from Trader Joes that say product of Korea, Russia or Vietnam. If I get any more pine nuts, they will be from the good old USA. I still wonder why they have this effect on people. I used to really like pine nuts.
Rhode Island – So now that we have Pine Mouth..what do we do, is there anyway to get rid of this bitter taste. And I was blamimg the basil!!!!
If anyone out there has found a way to get rid of this please post a remedy ASAP!
I, too, have been wondering why I have this strange taste in my mouth- but only when I eat something. I just started taking a new medication so I thought that was it (and was bummed that I might have to stop taking it) until I found this site. I was snacking on pine nuts while making pesto and I ate the pesto in 2 meals thus far. I did toast the pine nuts so that didn’t seem to effect them. I purchased them in Madison, WI, the brand is Fischer- Culinary Touch. I love pine nuts and I have never had this problem before.
me too,wow amazing how many people have the same bitter taste going on,i bought some pine nut’s ,they were small and looked a litlle grungy,i had never seen them look like that before,i didn’t think too much about it.since i ate them everything taste bitter.
I bought mine at BJ’s. Made in… CHINA! I had this happen about 4 months ago, Googled it and could not find the reason for it. It lasted for about 5 days. Now I got this again. I used them in pesto and ate as a snack. My husband had the pesto with me, but has no simptoms. Does that mean that not everyone reacts to it in this way? Thank you, thank you, thank you for this blog!!! At least I know it’s nothing serious (I hope)
I was thinking of writing to Today show or something. It is strange that no one is talking about it. Someone needs to investigate this.
Thanks God for this blog. I thought there was something terrible going on with me. I made basil pesto a few days ago and added the pignolia nuts. A product from China. I bought it at The food Emporium.They taste good when you first eat it but a few days later i started getting the bitter taste and allergy outside my mouth.
Rich in Sweden! The misses has made pasta with pine nut an pesto twice in the last week. Twice in the last week I’ve had pine mouth! Bitter metalic taste after eating or drinking anything. Thought I had a virus or something as I’ve had a soar throat for a couple of days. Bloody nuts, going to the shop tomorrow to contact the packagers and complain. One of lifes little mysteries?
well I’m relieved to hear all these testimonies about this bitter almost metallic aftertaste whenever I eat or drink. Same thing … 3 days of symptoms after I ate pine nuts earlier this week. I bought them in bulk on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada at local food chain. Would very much appreciate any insight as to what is the cause. Pesticides? I will NEVER eat pine nuts again.
I found more info re: pine nuts
Pine nut
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Risks of eating pine nuts
The eating of pine nuts can cause serious taste disturbances, developing 1–3 days after consumption and lasting for days or weeks. A bitter, metallic taste is described. In general, a minority of pine nuts on the market present this problem. Though very unpleasant, there does not seem to be a real health concern.
This phenomenon was first described in a scientific paper in 2001.[6] Since the article, experiences of the phenomenon have been reported by hundreds of people worldwide (US, Canada, South Africa, Finland, Iceland, Germany, Ireland and many more).[7][8][9]
Other publications have made reference to this phenomenon as “pine mouth”.[10][11]
Thanks to the guy who suggested the Activated Charcoal capsules. My experience with this horrible affliction had certainly lessened considerably by the next morning after taking 2 capsules every two hours the day before. For all of you suffering, try it, it couldn’t hurt. My taste is still here, but minimally. I am going on 10 days now. I purchased the nuts at Ralphs here in Southern California and sure enough they were imported from China.
So grateful for all the information and comments. I too had been experienceing (now all the time, whether I eat or drink something) the bitter taste continuosly lingers in my mouth. I first noticed it a couple of days later after eating a date. It was a very pronounced bitter taste. I thought something was wrong with the date. But then it re-ocurred after eating other foods. Very noticeable after drinking cofffee. These pine nuts were purchased in Lakeville, MN at a Rainbow Foods chain in the bulk section. Will let the store now of this research.
Hi all, just thought I’d put an update (my original blog was 6th Sept)as I am still suffering a bit from pine mouth. I thought it had gone almost, but it seems to have come back, I’ve not eaten any more pine nuts since (as if I would !) nor had anything with pesto. Maybe something else triggered it off again – I have eaten almonds in chocolate since. Relieved to see that it can last for weeks as it’s just one week for me. Thank you so much for setting up the blog, people who haven’t got it just don’t understand.
i woke up with an awful metallic taste in my mouth this morning and it wont go away. Then I read about pine nuts causing it and remembered I ate some the night before last. Please tell me it goes away soon because its awful. It was my first time to eat pine nuts and NEVER AGAIN!!
Add me to the latest pine nut club. Had them on September 10th for dinner (Costco brand from China), and it has only gotten worse over the last 4 days. We have a big work retreat coming up including great food and wine this weekend, sure hope it will go away by then. NO MORE PINE NUTS! They should put a warning on the label!! Any type of cure, would be appreciated. Will buy some charcoal capsules tomorrow to see if that helps, but I’m willing to try just about anything…this taste is terrible!
Add me to the list of Costco culprits! I made a huge batch of pesto (like 6 quarts) Saturday and munched on pine nuts the whole time. Sunday night I had the most horrific heartburn and yesterday and today, the metallic taste (just in the back of my mouth) and only after eating ANYTHING! I’m a chef, and this is a sucky thing to be dealing with! I am thrilled and shocked to have found this information out!
Thank you!!!
Verry Interesting! My wife complained of bitter/metallic taste after eating for the past two days – sure enough after making pesto the night before and snacking on the pine nuts, sold as organic from China. No one else in family has experienced this, we ate some of the pesto but she ate the most pine nuts. Now she’s wondering how long this will last. Great to see this blog, looking forward to try to figure out the “pine mouth” cause.
It is amazing what I am reading, I am having the bitter taste for the last 5 days and has not gone as yet, I decided to google as my husband had it as well and I could not belive it from where it was coming, it made sense to me as I had used some small pine nuts on pesto few days ago and it is really annoying, Inever had it before. Let’s hope it will disappear
I’m now on day 7, big food and wine weekend starting tomorrow night and the “pine mouth” is still with me. I’m sorry to see that there is a lot of company out there. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for Erin the chef for a quick recovery….can’t imagine how difficult it would be to do that job with having this taste always in your mouth. Good luck to all!!
Okay – this is really strange. I have eaten pine nuts my whole life 40+ and I had boughten some pine nuts from Sprouts in San Diego. What an awful taste. It went away when I went on vacation, but lo and behold, I cooked with the same batch of pine nuts on Tuesday and the bitter taste is back. I am going to contact the store to find out where their pine nuts came from.
I know how you feel. I’m a home chef & known by my friends as a culinary wizzard. I love food & especially combining sweet & savory foods. Nothing tastes good. Hope this goes away soon. I made lots of pesto & munched on pine nuts earlier this week!@Erin
Hi there
I posted here on the Sept 6th about my experience with pine nuts.Just thought I would let you know that the taste will subside.
HOWEVER, it has taken nearly 2 full weeks for the bitter taste to go away. I still have a little residue left but nothing like it was before. The only good that has come out of this experience is weight loss – couldn’t bear alcohol or sweet things.(Every cloud…..
Don’t despair – it will go away, but be patient.
Sun Nuts, most recently purchased at Cost-U-Less, St. Thomas, USVI, same thing. SunNuts Company, Davis,CA. After reading up on this here’s what I’m thinking: the combination of Almonds and Pine Nuts may be triggering this reaction in some people. I am going to do an experiment if the taste ever leaves my mouth. I have been purchasing these same nuts for several years from same source. Only recently did I start eating almonds…
WOW!!! I own a restaurant and we use pine nuts in a wide variety of items on our menu. We have them toasted and on hand in the kitchen in an open container for cooking at all times. A great quick snack for a hungry grazer! Over the past month or so I began to suffer off and on from the exact same syndrome. I did a web search and found only medical reasons for my symptoms… until I got a call from a recent guest expaining that she had experienced the same thing and simply calling to tell us of her finding regarding these little buggers. I was beginning to think that I would go crazy if I lost my taste for delicious food and especially my favorite wines! I am so happy that I now know the culprit. I have snacked on Pine Nuts from time to time and I am amazed that this is the first time that I have been effected like this. The supply that we currently have on hand is indeed the smaller variety from China but I suspect that we have sourced them from China in the past with no issues. Anyway… better safe than sorry, we will specify “non-Chinese” Pine Nuts from here on in and send the rest back. Just getting my taste back to normal after about 7 days Nut free.
Thank you, thank you thank you.
Great blog.
A prayer for a wonderful nut that because of this problem many people will stop consuming!
Well, I also joined the club on September 12. I snacked on quite a few pine nuts while I was preparing for a dinner party (thank God I didn’t serve anything with pine nuts in it that night). The next day, everytime I ate or drank anything other than water, I got that horribly bitter taste. Like my saliva was in fact pine pitch. It got worse over the past five days, but it seems that it is finally getting a bit better. I did eat more than a few handfuls.
When I checked the packaging (after digging through a bag of trash) I found that they were indeed from China.
I’ve never had this happen before and am thinking that eating them solo and in a great amount did the bad trick.
OMG! I have been having bitter tastes for the last two days that let to nausea and vomiting! I have been trying to figure out what has been causing this, and though I will go for a blood test on Monday just in case, the pine nuts make sense! I made pesto with a new batch of pine nuts from Whole Foods. I have called them to ask them if anyone else has had this issue. Thanks for posting this!
Hi,
I got pinemouth right now, and it really is a big relief to have all this information on the net. It is comforting to read that lots of people have had it as well.
I’ve read some reactions on the net of people who haven’t had the experience yet. They think the pinenuts give off a bitter taste emmediately, but that is definately not the case. I had a handfull of pinenuts during work and 8 hours later my mouth tasted like I had laced it with cocaine or something.
I’m on my 4th day of pinemouth and already am going crazy. I’m a very impatient person… The only thing i can bare is very hot water and unsugared coffee.
I’m considering to wash my tongue with soap, because i read the taste is caused by fatty acids from within the pinenut. The only thing that I know of that could break down fat is soap. So…
I can’t bear the thought of having to deal with this for 2 weeks.
It’s so horrible because you can’t ignore it, even when you have your mouth opened or shut, or whatever, the bitterness penetrates through all your desperate attempts to distract yourself.
Never eating those little delicious fellas again.
i posted on this during the week. i ate the nuts saturday night, got the yucky taste on monday and it was gone by yesterday (friday)…so its not that bad for everyone!!
Re: Costco / Kirkland Signature Pine Nuts – legal options.
I too have been affected by these pine nuts from Costco. In my case it is especially bad, because I taste wine for a living. I am in touch with their legal department. Anyone else who has been affected by persistent bitter taste after eating Costco / Kirkland Signature pine nuts (or other brands imported by Gold Harbor out of Seattle, Wa), please contact me at the following email address regarding possible legal options.
bittercostco@gmail.com
Cheers,
Boris
I am a cooking teacher. While putting away food after Thursday night’s class (9/17/09) I popped a generous handful of these tasty morsels in my mouth. Friday evening just after eating a mushroom dish, I had a very bitter taste in my mouth. Later when I drank green tea, the same taste. Yet again, after some yogurt. Like you, I resorted to some hypochondriacal self-diagnosis, and came up with gall bladder disease. Googled “symptoms gall bladder disease” and found no correlative symptoms. Then I Googled “bitter tast in mouth” and came up with a wealth of hits, yours among them. Thank you for your extensive research and input!
Same thing here. I had pine nuts on a nice vego pizza 3 nights ago and I have had a bitter mouth since. I have had this happen before but did not put 2 & 2 together. Thanks for your help. I no longer think I have any of the miriad of life threatening illnesses that have been running rampant in my mind!
Add me to the list. I had just bought 6 pounds of pine nuts to make pesto and had a two small handfulls when I first brought them home. I started having this bitter taste in my mouth and after goodling for causes of bitter mouth found this blog. My pine nuts list their origin as China. My wife has noticed that some things have tasted different, but the affects don’t seem to be as strong for her. I love pine nuts so will probably return these and hope to find some that originate in this hemisphere. Has anyone brought this to the attention of the FDA?
Thank God for google. I thought I was going nuts. Now I know it was the “nuts” pine that is from Trader Joes.
I made pesto the other day three of us ate it and no problem. I reheated it yesterday all same three people ate it and I was the only one who, about two hours later noticed that everything started tasting bitter. Everything. Woke up this morning and it’s back. Thanks guys, I love pesto, make it often but will watch where I buy them. Can’t wait for this bitter metallic situation to be gone, yuck!
Thank you to everyone for these postings. I guess, for now, they may have saved me a trip to the doctor’s. I made pesto last Saurday’s lunch. The bitter taste started Sunday evening after dinner. No one in my family has it so far. I got the nuts at Costco in Portland Oregon in mid-August 2009. I think I am going to send Costco an e-mail to check all these reports.
I purchased a fresh bunch of pine nuts from Trader Joe’s last Tuesday. The package notes the origin as any or all of the following: Russia, Korea, Vietnam. On Wednesday I used them to make a garlic pistou for a pizza pie. While cooking maybe I had 5 nuts, no more and they tasted fine. I had one slice of the pizza that Wednesday night. The first bitterness manifested during lunch time on Friday. I thought something was spoiled. That was the beginning of the unpleasantness. It’s all very bizzare as I have been enjoying pine nuts raw and in recipes like forever! Now, I am afraid of them. In the future, when I muster enough courage, I will purchase some pine nuts of Italian origin and conduct an experiment. Perhaps after the holidays when I am apt to need to lose a few pounds!
I ate handfuls of pinenuts on Friday night. On Saturday night, I woke up in the middle of the night drenched with sweat from head to toe, but no other symptoms. A few hours later on Sunday morning, the bitter taste set in, after I ate just about anything. Today is day #2 and it’s still very bad. I am finding that tomato sauce makes it far worse. I was really beginning to worry about it all until I found this post when I did a Google search. It seems to go away for most posters about a week or so after it began, so here’s to hoping!!
Wow! I just googled the question (Sour taste in my mouth for three days)and arrived here. Yes, I have eaten small pine nuts on Saturday and Sunday. Taste still here today. Glad I asked. Are we getting poisened?
Count me in. Thought I was getting an ulcer. Just looked at the package and lo, it’s from China. Also, this taste has followed exactly the time frame of consumption. My wife didn’t get the symptom though!
Ditto. I toasted mine before using them to top a kale recipe. Four of us, age 23 to 63, ate the nuts but I am the only one dealing with the bitter taste. Thanks for the insight.
Same story here- My wife, and twins ate a handful of Trader Joe Pine Nuts Monday before last. My son still has the bitter taste going – his was so bad he could hardly eat anything without complaining of the bitter taste. I did not have but 4 pine-nuts. So the scientist in me wanted to see if I could recreate the symptoms. I had a large handful on Sunday and a partial handful on Monday as I did not have any bitter taste yet. Well, today is Tuesday and the bitter taste is now in full bloom- usually starting at the back of the tongue (I think that is where the bitter receptors are). It would be interesting to find out what the metabolites are from pine-nut ingestion that cause the bitterness.
Wow, too bad I just ate a handful 30 mins ago :(.
I had an inflamed mouth last week, and I used all sorts of mouthwash and losenges, anti bacterial and antifungal but it only slowly went away.. then the other day after it had mostly subsided it my mouth seemed to inflame a little bit and get itchy.. and I realized I had just eating some ‘baking pine nuts’ from safeway. Then this morning, after a week of probably popping a small handfull of nuts every day or two, after I ate my cereal I had a bitter aftertaste in my mouth and wondered what was up with my cereal, guess I know now!
Just a quick note – the bad taste will go away – it just varies from individual to individual as to how long it takes. Mine took about a week to dissipate. Some things that helped me…gargle w/apple cider vinegar and salt, take charcoal capsules and alpha lipoic acid tablets, stay away from sweets and wine.
Good luck to all afflicted with this horrible malady.
re pine nuts
I have had the same bitter after taste in my mouth for the past few days and couldn’t figure out what was causing it. I too ate some pine nuts about 3 days ago when preparing a salad and snacked on a few from time to time. I bought them from our local supermarket in Dublin (Ireland), they’re from China, they seem to be the small variety. It’s very interesting to know that so many other people living in different countries have been affected. I’d never have guessed pine nuts were the culprit only for the fact I googled “bitter after taste in mouth” and came across this board. Thanks for the information.
Wow!!
I’ve been complaining to my wife since Monday morning (9/21) that I have a bitter taste in my mouth, especially when I’m eating. I ignored it Monday figuring the fruit I had earlier in the day was the culprit (even though this taste hit me with my morning coffee, the first thing I put in mouth). On tuesday I still had the taste in my mouth and again figured….ahhh it’s nothing it will go away.
Wednesday AM rolls around and I still taste the bitterness so I decide to do a Google search (“there’s a bitter taste in my mouth) and low and behold I find this blog with everyone complaining about pine nuts and pesto.
Saturday afternoon I went to the nut store (in Montreal) I regularly shop in, they usually have 2 types of pine nuts; Chinese pine nuts and the shorter slightly more expensive pine nuts, I believe Pakistani ones. Well, they were out of the more expensive ones I usually buy so I bought a few hundred grams of the Chinese ones. Saturday night we made some cilantro pesto with the remaining “non Chinese” nuts and topped it off with the “Chinese” ones. Sunday I made basil pesto with 100% “chinese” pine nuts and I’ve had the taste ever since.
According to other posts I shouldn’t be alarmed but can anyone clarify what the heck happened? I will see if I can return the pine nuts to the store, are these “bad” pine nuts, is this reaction normal? I’ve been eating pine nuts and pesto for many years and never had this happen to me. I haven’t read too many comments, so I’m sure some of my concerns have already been answered.
Great blog, thanks.
Wow thanks for these postings! I’ve had this bitter taste in my mouth for 3 days now. I ordered some take out at a vegetarian Chinese restaurant and in one of the dishes I noticed that the pine nuts in this lettuce wrap mixture were unusually small. Well the next day I ate spaghetti with Marinara sauce and bread dipped in a Olive oil/Garlic mixture. I kept tasting something bitter in my mouth and thought it was the new bottle of Olive oil from Spain. My husband thought it was the garlic that had the bitter taste. Today I had some of the Pasta leftovers and again thought it was the new Olive oil in the sauce. By chance I googled “Bitter taste in my mouth” and found this site. I’m sure those pine nuts in my food a few days ago originated from China. Unbelievable! I’ll be sure to spread the news of this. This bitter taste is driving me crazy. I’m glad to know that it will go away. Like many of you I thought I was coming down with Cancer or something weird. I even called the store to ask if anyone had returned the oil due to the flavor and they told me “No”. When I tasted the oil by itself it tasted really bitter. I guess I’ll wait a few days and try it again. Thanks again for this site!
95% done. Just an update, my bitterness subsided about 3 days after the pesto incident. So it does go away but still, I am surprised that there isn’t much news about this! What helped me was drinking lots of water to flush out the toxins from the body. I also drank 100% cranberry juice mixed with water and it was nasty to taste it but it helped tremendously! Kudo’s to Jeff for testing it out! Brave!!! I’m not eating pinenuts for a long long time! I just sent my doctor the link to this so that he can have a reference in the future!
My wife and I were trying to figure out what we ate/drank differently this past weekend. I had some white wine which coincidentally had gone really sweet, as I opened it quite a few weeks ago, needless to say I only had 2 sips. My wife though did not have any wine and she doesn’t have “pine mouth”. I wonder if there’s a connection, I read on another site about acids mixing with the pine nuts creating this bitterness. Any thoughts?
Another follow up, I called Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) who in turn told me to call the City Of Montreal Food Inspection division.
The Mtl agency told me they have had a number of complaints in the last few weeks and are visiting the stores where the complaints are coming from, at the moment they said it is only a voluntary removal of the pine nuts. She also said that they have been in touch with the CFIA but they are not being very helpful or proactive.
Ah you have to love all these levels of gvmt that do not want to take responsibiltiy, this is why people end up dying of food related reasons and then all the different levels of gvmt just point the finger at each other. Anyway that’s another issue so I won’t rant and go off topic.
Thank goodness for the internet. I too am experiencing the bitter taste especially worse while and after eating and drinking. After consulting all my health books I turned to the good old internet and there it was. No not diabetes or heavy metal poisoning just the simple pinenut from China purchased from a well known health food store.
As the packet was open I am sure I must have had a handful of these on more than one occasion so why this time do I have this reaction ?
Oh… please. Suing for compensation for getting pine mouth?? Me thinks that b/c it is of unknown cause and only affecting some people, and it is only in the last year or so that this association is becoming established… that the company will have no problem explaining to the judge that they were not negligent in any way by selling chinese pine nuts…. or maybe you just smell a payday? Pursing litigation for something like this is an example of how things have gone wrong with society!
BTW, yes I’m in the midst of pine mouth right now… never heard of it before doing some searching… none of my friends/colleagues have heard of it either. I am bringing the bag of pine nuts to work so we can see how many people that eat them get pine mouth afterwards… should be fun.
I never would have made the connection with the pine nuts I ate 2 days ago to the nasty bitter mouth I have now if it were not for this site. I shopped the new organic section of our “new and improved Kroger” – I will call tomorrow to find out where the pine nuts are from. It was so bad, I woke in the middle of the night feeling like I had vomited in my mouth. This is such a disgusting flavor, I’ve had pine nuts before but never this problem.
I have had the same problem since eating a small package of pine nuts I bought from Walmart in Yuma, Arizona this past weekend.
I’ve got the same thing. Had some pine nuts on top of yogurt a few days ago and now every time I eat or drink something I get this bad metallic/bitter taste in my mouth.
Really nice posts. I will be checking back here regularly.
I also have pine mouth from the Costco pine nuts! I thought I was going crazy! Everything tastes terrible! Thank you all for posting and giving me hope this will go away… Must say it’s a good diet bc I barely can eat or drink wine. Ick!
Well, maybe, but aren’t you concerned about WHY this is happening? Bitter mouth is often an indication of some other problem. Is this happening because of some sort of poisoning or damage to our bodies? Is the bitter taste natures way of telling us to stay away from a toxin in this kind of pinenut?
I think you are a little quick to assume the worst of people, Piney.
the most important thing is not to eat fried slugs at the same time as the pine nuts.
I’m glad I found this blog! I toasted up some pine nuts on Thurs. to add to pesto. then I changed my mind and didn’t add them to the basil and parsley that I froze. I did snack on about a 1/4 cup of them though. Friday morning I had my morning tea and thought my milk was spoiled. Then I found out everything I put in my mouth tasted bad! I decided to look for an answer to this problem online. I never would of guessed this was the cause. Yes, my pine nuts are from China and I bought them at BJ’s Warehouse. I never buy foods from China, but I couldn’t seem to find any locally that were from anywhere else. I should stick with my inclinations I guess. NO FOODS FROM CHINA!!!!
Please tell me this doesn’t last more that 2 weeks?? I don’t think I can even handle 2 more days of this. My stomach is starting to feel lousy.
I made a yummy dish 3 days ago that included pine nuts. Yesterday I wondered why the muffins I made were bitter. After that, I noticed everything else has had a bitter after taste. I just found this blog, thanks very much. I checked out my bag of pine nuts and saw that the pine nuts we had in our fish/pasta dish were from China. I asked a few moments ago if anyone else in my family of 5 had this bitter after taste and no one does. Thanks again! This was very helpful to me.
Wow, good to know. I too have had a bitter after taste ” on the back of my tongue ” for about 5 days now. The only thing I can successfully get down without having it happen is water, which sucks. I had pine nuts in a pasta sauce about 6 days ago, so this all make perfect sense. I seriously thought I was nut.. ( pun only kind of intended )
I’m surprised “Pine Mouth” so common! For the past few days, everything I’ve eaten has tasted bitter and metallic… even my saliva. I’m glad the feeling goes away relatively quickly.
I got the same problem today from COSTCO pinenuts! tks for the blog, I thought that I wa sick.
Same story, different girl!
Making pesto 2 nights ago and snacking on way too many of the pine nuts. Bought from Super Store on Vancouver Island. Had pine nuts all my life and love them, never had this reaction before. It’s brutal, but such a relief to find this blog. My thanks big time for putting this together.
Taking large amounts of Ambrotose to help the detox and hope it will clear faster.
Man you guys are all like me. I thought I had some disease or something, freaked me out. And I was reading about all these pine nuts and I suddenly remember I had a pine nuts with yoghurt the other morning.
Even junk food tastes horrible. I can taste it now even without FOOD! YUK!
definitely not enjoyable.
Glad to know that I’m not crazy! Made Pesto on Sunday night, ate it monday for lunch and then threw some leftover pine nuts on some kale I made for dinner. I have a cold so I thought that maybe was the problem with dinner last night, also thought that I’d used too much nutmeg on my squash or something. My boyfriend ate everything and loved it, whereas I noticed something really bitter. I threw most of my dinner out. Then this morning my yogurt with peaches and honey tasted terribly bitter. Had boyfriend taste and he said it was fine. tried to rinse my mouth out with orange juice, gagged and puked a little. The back of my mouth tastes like straight bile! Decided to google ‘bitter taste in the mouth’ and found this (and many other) sites!
My pine nuts were purchased from a little organic mom & pop grocer in Waterville, ME that sells bulk items. I’m guessing that they probably purchased the pinenuts from a bigger place and then repackaged them? I will call and report my symptoms to the grocer.
does anyone know why this happens? Is it something that china sprays on their food or what?
I had the exact same thing, with pine nuts purchased in Australia this week. They must be imported from China, like the ones purchased in COSTCO. I had thought that the milk, then left overs, were off. I then had a chocolate to get rid of the taste and it had returned.
Cheers,
Marcus
Thank goodness for these web sites! I bought pine nuts in bulk from Cub Foods and made tons of pesto two days ago, snacking on the pine nuts as I made it. I’ve bought pine nuts and eaten them for years and have never had this experience.
Everything tastes bitter! It’s awful. Glad to know it will improve.
I have no idea if the pine nuts were from China or not. Should I throw out the 8 cups of pesto I made? Or will the massive amounts of garlic change the effect from the pine nuts?
I cooked a dish with pine nuts on Monday and insisted they tasted bad. My husband thought they were fine, but since then I have noticed a bitter, soapy taste each time I eat. My husband and daughter don’t have the bitter taste at all, but I understand that this can happen. Bought mine at Safeway in Edmonton on September 28.
These nuts should be marketed as a weight loss product! Ha!
Thank you for the link to the pinenut article. I have had a similar experience. 2 days after eating only a very few pinenuts, everything tastes bitter. I can’t taste sweet,salty,sour. Hoping it doesn’t last too long. Cheers
I’ve had the same thing as everyone else. Got my pine nuts from Tesco here in the UK and ever since having about 1/4 the bag I get a bitter after taste in my mouth. The thing is it only seems to be with dairy products – cheese, milk or ice cream. I can eat/drink anything else and I don’t get the after taste.
Hope it goes soon because I drink a lot of tea, and at the moment everyone tastes horrible! Might have to switch to green tea 🙂
Ive had this bitter taste in my mouth for some time, worse when I eat almost anything but actually worse when I do eat something that should taste sweet. Have had a really bad cold but feel like Im over that, have been blaming it on the cold. This however has been different than loosing my taste when I have had other colds, it has never turned bitter before. Guess what, my mother in law gave me some pine nuts for my birthday not long ago, not eating alot of them, maybe a few every few days. She got them out of a bulk bin at some store, dont really know which one. Guess Ill stop and see how long it takes the bitter to go away
I got the offensive nuts at Whole Foods Market. Listed country of origin = China.
I can’t wait for the taste to go away!
Wow, surprised to see so many folks with the same thing. Chalk one more up for nasty bitter taste on back of tongue when eating after eating Costco pine nuts.
I have found one thing that seems to give me some relief… mint tea. I consulted my Chinese medicine doctor as I had been in for a treatment not long before to make sure it was not something from that and she suggested I try mint tea (which helps with the release of heat which is one of things we are working on). I have just had a couple of cups and it does not seem to have triggered the nasty taste… yet… keeping my fingers crossed.
Glad to hear that this seems to pass over time. I would be one SAD camper if I had to deal with this for the long run…mind I’d probably wind up skinny 🙂
I thought I was going crazy too, I though I must have some kind of poisoning! I bought pine nuts from Safeway in Calgary after reading a recipe on msn that called for them. I was the only one who ate them (yes they were the small ones) and am the only one in my family experiencing this! It is the worst bitter taste ever!!! I will try the mint tea…and call Safeway 🙁
Sounds like the same thing happening to me. Bought “baby” pine nuts at Whole Foods this past weekend and used in a tarte on Sunday, plus I ate a few out of the container. Had never had the very small pine nuts – but it was all that Whole Foods had. Bitter taste started a couple of days ago. I’m hoping it’s the same as everyone else has reported – and not something more serious. Don’t know if these are from China or not – the label on the container doesn’t indicate.
I am on holiday in France. Experienced this awful bitter taste when eating. It has ruined some very expensive meals. The pine nuts were sprinkled on a green salad. No idea where they came from but seems they must be the Chinese villains. I am diabetic but have not experienced this taste before. My wife had the same pine nuts and is also diabetic but she is fine. It ruins wine. I nearly sent a bottle back!
My husband & I eat a lot of pine nuts and this is our first experience with this awful thing. I thought it might be a side effect of my high blood pressure or the medication I was taking. After doing a google search “bitter metallic taste” I found this website. Relieved that I was not dying I asked my husband if he has had the same problem. He said YES!!!! This has been going on for almost a week and hasn’t shown any sign of letting up. AAAAH. I have a 1/2 bag opened, and one unopened bag of pine nuts that I bought from Costco in Spokane, Washington and will be returning to them. I DO NOT hold Costco responsible in any way.
Ditto (all of the above). What a way to lose weight– (I’ve lost 5 lbs. in 10 days because of pine mouth!). The only food I can tolerate is white rice and can only drink water. What I want to know is why are some people affected by the same batch of pine nuts while others are not? My husband and guests had the same salad I did and none is experiencing the nasty side effects I am. Maybe it’s quantity as I prepared the salad and did eat a handful while cooking. I purchased the tainted nuts at our local supermarket and they were imported from China. Because I suffer from fibromyalgia, I thought maybe it was yet another symptom of this mysterious malady! Had it not been for this blog, I would have surely committted sepaku by now– or spent hundreds on worthless medical tests
that turned up nada!
What a relief. I love my food and drink but have had same soapy bitter taste for four days now so everything tasted bad. I munched my way through a bag of salad sprinkles, containing pine nuts, over the weekend.
The bag does not say where the pine nuts originated though. Bought in UK, Neals Yard product a good brand.
I got pine mouth from a bag of store brand pine nuts. I didn’t notice it with the pesto I made (maybe the basil neutralizes it), but I did notice it after eating them plain this week. I heard eating beets can help.
I have had the same problem. The first time it happened in august 2009, I went back on my routine, trying to figure out what I had done different (foods, meds, lotions etc). The only thing I could come up with is this terribly expensive shampoo I had just bought but I could not understand how it would affect my taste buds. I didn’t even think of pinenuts because I usually have them on a daily basis….roasted on rice. Tonight, I had a fistful of them (raw) and almost immediately everything started tasting bitter. I googled “can pinenuts cause bitter taste” and this blog came up. Gosh, my 2 year old is crazy about raw pinenuts. I guess I’ll have to hide them from her now on. Or I must roast them in a bit of olive oil (i think they lose their bitterness when roasted.)
And yes, I do get my pinenuts from Costco.
I can attest to what everyone else has written above. I ate both pesto and pine nuts from the package at a friend’s house in Pa on Tuesday. The first symptom of bitter taste was Thursday morning and today, Friday. it continues. I have tried an acid reducing pill and it has so far had no effect. I will try the mint tea as suggested above. Does anyone know how long to expect this to last?
oh my god! thought I was going to die or something or have serious disease. I never used new medication or had dental work done but PINE from china oh yes I did eat them. Never again! I don’t know why this is happening but I don’t like the result. I had pine nuts from arabic stores (big kind) and they never did that to my mouth.
SAN DIEGO, CA
What a terrible experience. I am a Dentist. Many diseases are diagnosed from signs in the mouth first and so I have been researching this bitter taste on the very back of my tongue on the internet. I first noticed the bitterness when I was eating an apple. The apple tasted great until I got towards the end of eating it and then it started to taste terrible.
One of the mentioned diseases on the internet was diabetes but have no other symptoms of diabetes. Liver damage was another disease but do not have jaundice. Poisoning but no vomiting or loss of appetite.
My search brought me to this sight where pine nuts is mentioned. WHAT A DISCOVERY!!! Jackpot. I ate about a half cup of Krinos PIGNOLIA PINE NUTS just before eating the apple. Now I have this bitter taste on the back of my tongue whenever I eat anything.
If anyone knows how long this will last, I would appreciate an email response at vdennis01@gmail.com. Thanks for all of your comments. As a health professional, this info is crucial. I will let Ralph’s Grocery Store know immediately and will go onto http://www.krinos.com to find out where these pine nuts come from.
Mine were imported from China. I bought them from Sam’s club. I like to put them in my trail mix. I have had the bitter after taste for sevral days whenever I eat anything. I have been eating these pine nuts from Sam’s for years without any problems. I hope that the chinese have not sprayed something dangerous on these nuts or allowed them to become contaminated in some way!
This is fascinating. I had pine nuts on Friday night in a salad which also had a pesto dressing (bought from Marks&Spencer in London). When I opened the salad I thought the pine nuts looked smaller and darker than ones I’ve had before, but didn’t think anything of it, assumed they were toasted or a different variety. I started asking my husband whether or not he thought the milk had gone off on Saturday afternoon, so I think my pine-nut-related taste-disturbance became apparent then.
An earlier commenter mentioned a change in urine colour which is something I’ve also experienced, it’s similar to when you take a high-dose vitamin tablet. I’d recently started taking a Vitamin B supplement, so wasn’t sure if it was related to that… TMI, sorry.
Well this little online journey makes me feel a bit better and I am now holding off from the doctor / dentist visits I was going to line up today. This bitter tongue thing kicked in halfway through dinner last Saturday night and completely ruined a nice bottle of wine for me.
I have had scans for temporary vision loss in the past year (diagnosis: painfree migraines) and so was poised for the tumor discussion again when this tongue thing didn’t go away after 24 hours (diagnosis this time: Too much Grey’s Anatomy, perhaps?).
See, I do have an open bag of pine nuts in the kitchen which I did sample over the past few days. Unlucky me, the last time was only last night, I was trying to make a strong tasting pasta dish that I could taste over the tongue thing (failed). So now I guess I’m in for a longer wait.
Looking at discussion boards, some people are having to wait 2 weeks or more. I sincerely hope that’s not me. Everything tastes disgusting. The only thing that tastes normal is bad black coffee. They should bottle this and sell it to Jenny Craig.
As long as I don’t get any vision loss or other strange symptoms, it looks as though I just have to wait it out.
Thanks for the article! It was much easier to decipher than the message board posting out there.
Glad to have found this… a few of these little nuggets in a salad does not bother me but a small handful as a snack triggers the symptoms. BTW, it’s only these nuts I purchased last. I’ve snacked on handfuls of them for a very long time and never experienced this. I purchase the ‘bad’ ones from a local Albertson’s which were packaged by Tropical Nut & Fruit in Orlando Florida. [www.tropicalfoods.com] The labels states the tree nuts were packaged in a facility that also packages peanut oil/canola oil, peanuts, soy, sulfites, milk, egg & wheat products. Oh and these are rather large nuts for Pine nuts… not baby ones.
Spoke to Albertson’s produce manager. Very appreciative that I brought this to their attention. Still waiting for the quality mgr at TN&F to call me. Here’s a link to an article where the author blames himself for having a ‘spoiled’ bag of nuts in the back of his pantry…
http://www.forbes.com/2009/07/08/biochemistry-taste-pinenuts-technology-breakthroughs-fahey.html – will post a response there with a link to this blog.
@Tina Eisen
I roasted my pinenuts before sprinking them on my yams 3 days ago and since then I have experienced the “everything I eat tastes bitter”…at least I now know why, I also thought I was getting some mysterious disease. It just saddens me to throw out the rest of the bag as it cost me a small fortune to buy at Safeway “bulk” section!!
Seem to have pine mouth after eating Amport nuts batch 2039Y best by 07-22-10. (really???) Got them in Maine, USA at a supermarket. The origin was China. Have eaten pine nuts for years but these are the first smallish ones.Yuck!!!
Ate pinenuts on Thursday evening – on Friday thought I had stale cookies because of the taste – same type of off taste on Saturday, But on Sunday – full blown – nasty- bitter – rancid weird taste with everything I ate, Same today on Monday – guess I will have to wait it out. Pine nuts were from either Vons or Albertsons. Tasted fresh and I had kept them refrigerated. I roasted them for the salad I made. Glad I googled this problem, or would have gone to the doctor.
I had a dinner party last night and served lasagna with pine nuts in the sauce. The majority of pine nuts sold in the US are from China and I’ve eaten them from Costco for years without a problem. But today I am definitely suffering from pine mouth and it is getting worse by the minute. I guess I should let my guests know of this phenomenon. The nuts tasted fine, but I don’t care what it costs, I’m going to find a source of Italian pine nuts.
I had this same taste once before when I used way too much DEET on a camping trip. I wonder if there is a similar chemical in pine nuts.
I am wondering if there are other commonalities amongst those who get pine mouth. Is anyone else on antacid therapy or proton pump inhibitors?
Whodathunk! Like everyone else, I googled possible reasons why I suddenly had a very bitter taste in my mouth (thinking it was something in the multi-vitamins I started taking a couple weeks ago). Low and behold, I ingested pine nuts less than 48 hours before the bitter taste began. I purchase the pine nuts at Meijers in late September. It’s been almost a week and my taste buds are gradually returning to normal. So glad to have stumbled on this information! I won’t toss my multi-vitamins afterall!
I live in Jerusalem Israel and got this disgusting thing a few days after I ate pine nuts. I bought them at the outdoor shouk Machne Yehuda. I am going to try the mint tea.
I bought pines nuts from Jewel-Osco on Friday (10/9). Mellssa’s brand which has Product of China stamped on the label. I had a salad with pine nuts on Saturday morning and have had a bitter taste with just about all solid food since. I hope this goes away soon.
Thanks so much for this! I thought I had some kind of nasty mouth bacteria or something! I have been getting a bitter taste in my mouth after eating sugar or carbs, completely ruined fruit, chocolate, bread…pretty much everything for me! I have just realised it started when I bought some pine nuts about a fortnight ago (which I have been eating ever since). Weird thing is I don’t get it when I eat the pine nuts themselves. According to the packet they are produce of china, so i expect they are pinus koraiensis.
There may be something in the high dose vitamin thing mentioned by a previous commenter, as pine nuts are very rich in thiamin (vitamin b1).
@Cindy
i hope this is what Ive got! have a weird bitter taste that has been with me for a day. Bit of a pain as I’m a chef and tasing is very difficult. never had it before but got it after eating very small pinenuts from china. i thought they were baby ones, and they tasted quite nice but seem to have left me with “pine mouth”. IM in australia and bought them through a wholesale food stockist (hongs)
Add me to the list! Can’t believe how many people this is affecting. I ate a few pine nuts and 2 days later started getting vile taste in back of my mouth and throat when I ate anything, which lasted for about 15 mins after i’d finished eating. It’s now 2 days since it started and i’m longing to be able to eat and taste things like normal again. Hope it goes soon and wondered if anybody had any idea why this is suddenly happening. I’ve eaten pine nuts many times in the past with no side effects at all.
I have it too! I am not happy about this. I came home from work the other day, really hungry and ate fist fulls of those little bastards, now my mouth taste like I sucked on a whole roll of skunk-ass flavored lifesavers. I got mine from ACME supermarket. Any cures out there? Gum, mouthwash,brushing my teeth dosent help.
I can’t believe this! I thought there was something weird going on with how food tasted. I thought I was imagining it at first, but I finally started googling bad taste in mouth and found this. I bought Chinese pine nuts in the local health food store and have been eating it daily for two weeks. I even questioned the clerk when I bought them. I asked about the fact that they were from China which surprised me as I always associated them with Italy. I was reluctant to buy them at first because of the problems with Chinese products. I was told that they were OK. I’m definitely never buying these again, and I seriously question the safety of them. I hope this doesn’t last much longer. It’s really terrible and I can’t believe that this hasn’t been publicized in the news and people haven’t been warned.
I am so happy that I’ve found this site. It felt a bit like insanity… Honey, taste these M&Ms. Are they okay? Is this milk still good? What’s wrong with this bread? Etc.
My question for you all is this: Has it dissipated at all for anyone? One fellow on another site says that it can last 6 months to a lifetime (LIFETIME?!). I would love to hear from someone who has come out the other side. I’m a big food-lover and this is KILLING me.
I bought my pine nuts a the Park Slope Food Coop.
WOW!!! I thought I was going into a diabetic coma or something!!! I have had this bitter taste for two days now especially after eating!!! I have eaten two salads with raw pine nuts on it in the last three or four days. I purchased mine at Whole Foods. The manager does not believe that they are from China. Oh well! I will just toast them always I guess. this taste is so nasty!!! I cannot stop drinking water!!! Young thai coconut water helped me earlier. The taste went away for a while. Will try the mint tea. Thank you all for posting!!! Don’t you love the internet!!!
I have had a bitter taste in my mouth and also thought something serious was happening to me as it has lasted 5 days. Everything I eat leaves this taste (I can compare it to the taste of that nail polish you put on your fingernails to stop you biting them). The only relief I got was eating food laced with lemon and vinegar but the symptom returned with my next meal. I too have had pine notes in a salad that I bought about 6 days ago. Thanks so much. How long does this symptom last though and is there a cure….. as I’ve still got it???
I am not on the therapy you mentioned but I also have a strange pain inside of my left bottom rib that doctors can not work out. It is gradually getting worse and nothing shows up on xrays. I am reluctant to take ant-acids as I know they can encourage greater acid production over time. I too wonder if there is a connection here but I can’t say I suffer from acid reflux as my pain is lower – not in my chest.@Lucinda
I am actually living in China, bought some pinenuts at the market (they look exactly the same as the nuts I’ve bought over the last 8-10 years in the market here with no after effects) tasty, fresh and definitely not rancid oxidized or anything else. The bitter taste started about 3 days later….. I am also wondering if this could be some chemical used in the processing? Any of these “China scares” are usually caused by cost-cutting on the part of suppliers here, so it would make sense if it were something used to process the nuts cheaply. I had been under the impression that the reason they are generally expensive is they have to be processed by hand, nut by nut…. even buying them here in the market I was wondering (as I ate them) how they could possibly be so low priced if they were picked and shelled by hand.
I am Italian I eat pesto very often. I had this once about 18 months ago. It lasted about 2-3 weeks. I now have it again – several days since my last pesto. None of the rest of my family have so far said they have had the same effect. It doesn’t seem quite as bad now as last time. Chocolate digestives were really bad for generating the bad taste. I also noticed my tongue is feeling a bit sensitive to touch (this preceded the bitter taste). I find the bitter taste takes a few seconds to build up.
Unlike some others I felt the bitter taste centred around my premolars/cheeks rather than back of the throat. Anyone else have any comments of detailed symptoms.
Questions:
Is something left in the teeth that somehow reacts with fresh food to make a nasty taste?
Is it the body reacting to food by messing with nerves in the tongue?
Hallelujah! I am so happy to see that I am not alone! If only that aweful taste could go away now! I will definatle come back to let you all know how long my symptoms have lasted… hopefully it wont be too long! :S
I had probably only a teaspoon full of them in Oz and got it. I think they were purchased in bulk..they came in quite a large pack.
Im wondering if it could get worse the more I eat?..definitely a horrible experience.
same problem with chemical taste when eating. Pine nuts were from trader joes and it says they are from korea/russia/vietnam.
I purchased Pine Nuts from Costco 4 days ago. I love pine nuts – sometimes I like to just grab a handful and pop them in my mouth for a quick snack. Last night, all of a sudden absolutely EVERYTHING I put in my mouth tastes bitter! Even candy corn. The previous post that states it tastes like the nail polish you use to prevent nail biting – they are right! I am saving my bag of pine nuts, notifying the FDA, and calling Costco, as well as making a doctors appt. Has anyone had the taste go away? I have not felt like eating, and I’m sure I’ll loose weight at this rate.
I too have this bitter taste after eating or drinking! It started yesterday – woke up this morning thought it had gone – until i had a mouthful of coffee and YUCK!!! Back again – but even stronger! I ate pine nuts two days ago. Was starving this afternoon and had some stilton cheese and pickled onions on toast. Could eat it with out too bad a bitter taste – but it came on really strong for about 15 minutes after i had finished. Found out that the pine nuts have come from China – produced for Cooks and Co. I bought them to use in salads in our pub – hope no-one else is suffering the same as me! Only gone out to one other person!
Hi got the “pine mouth” as well.
From the other post on this blog they’ve indicated the symptoms can last from 4 days to 2 weeks. Activated charcoal, vinegar and aloe vera juice has been suggested to help.
Mine came from a bag and I’d been munching on them for a week or so before any symptoms started so I think it was from a few bad nuts in the batch or some of the nuts have gone bad over time.
Best of luck!
I have rediscovered something that gets rid of the bitter taste (for me at least). Cheese. I am hypothesizing that fats, proteins or enzymes in cheese interact with whatever is causing the bitter taste to mask it. I’ll keep experimenting. Anyone else identified things that make a difference?
My husband and I ingested the same pine nuts–I got “Pine Mouth” and he did not. [By the way, after two weeks, my “pine mouth” was completely cured…so if you’re currently suffering, hang on…it does go away). Now I would be curious to know what those of us who had the reaction have in common. Is it mostly women? Is it a chemical reaction to something in vitamin supplements or medication? I have a hard time beleiving its the pine nuts themselves since it doesn’t happen to everyone who ingests the “evil” pine nuts and they seem to be produced in many different places. Any ideas?
Theresa, I too am interested in why. I have never experienced this before
I am so so so glad I have found the cause of this bitter taste problem I’ve now had for 3 long days now. I was so supried when I found this site that showed other people have had the same symptoms as I’ve had. I find the bitter taste is worse in the evenings just when I’d like to enjoy a glass of wine after a haed day at work.
Theresa
Maybe being a woman is a factor. Most of us here if not all are women. Both my boyfriend and I recently roasted pine nuts and ate them. I got the lovely after effect. He did not. So some are eating “raw” pine nuts and get the effect? Good to know cuz I was wondering if this happened to me because they were roasted and the oils released. I can’t wait till this stops!
I am suffering from this “pine mouth” now. It is the most annoying thing. I urge all of you who have experienced this problem to report it to the stores where you purchased the pine nuts, report it to any governmental agency (FDA in the US)and don’t buy any more pine nuts from China. Use walnuts for your pesto! I congratulate commenter Mike for his 5 lb weight loss. That may be the ONLY good thing about this “pine mouth” experience. But quite honestly, I’d rather have my taste buds back than deal with this. Think about it – what else could be happening in our bodies that would cause our salivary glands to secrete metallic tasting fluids? That is exactly what is happening.
This just happened to me as well. I ate pine nuts in my salad on Sunday and on Tuesday morning when I took a bite of sausage I spit it out thinking that is must be rotten. I then ate an apple that tasted terrible and that evening, I could barely get down a glass of red wine. After three days is seems to be easing up a bit. I have tried drinking several cups of Raspberry Green Tea hoping that the antioxidants would clear out whetever it was that was causing the bitter taste. It really did seem to help, but I’m not sure if I was on the road to receovery anyway… but it’s worth a try. Funny thing is, I mentioned it to a friend and yesterday she came over with an article from the Baltimore Sun about how pine nuts are causing a bitter taste that can last for days to weeks. I couldn’t believe that the article came out at the same time I am experienceing this. We should all report this to the FDA.
Here is a link to the article from the Sun:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/dining/bal-ae.fo.pinenut07oct07,0,7290913.story
I thought I could be pregnant having that awful taste in mouth. Thank you for this site, and a few other sites, b/c I ate a couple handfuls of pinenuts this week and this taste is horrid. I hope I can drink wine this weekend! My pine nuts were a big bag from Sam’s Club, can’t recall the brand but I’m throwing them away! All these posts are so recent so there must be these “bad” batches out there. YUCK! I’m one day two of this taste.
This blog is a godsend. I am a foodie and was worried that I would never taste food the same again. Everything that is being described is making sense to me now. I DID make a couple dishes with pinenuts last week. I am so cruoius as to what causes this and the official length of this “side effect”….if it helps:
The eating of pine nuts can cause serious taste disturbances, developing 1-3 days after consumption and lasting for days or weeks. A bitter, metallic taste is described. In general, a minority of pine nuts on the market present this problem. Though very unpleasant, there does not seem to be a real health concern. — Wikipedia
and here is another source…
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1184261/Pine-mouth-puzzle-Why-nuts-leave-bitter-taste.html
this seems tpo be a developing pandemic!
I am female and 52 yrs old. Had pine nuts a few days ago and blah…have that same bitter taste. Hate to endure it for 2 more weeks. Thanks for calming my nerves…thought it might be some internal infection
I posted a while back about my experience with pine mouth. I also have this pain under my left lower rib. I have had the pain for almost two years. It started after I increased the amount of fruits and nuts in my diet(pine nuts included). I often times have a hard time sleeping on my left side due to the pain. I have gone though a colonoscopy and an MRI trying to figure it out. I still do not know the cause. I only had the pine mouth issue with the last batch of pine nuts that I purchased. I bought them from Sam’s club. They are a product of china and were packaged by AMPORT foods. If you are able to find out the cause of your pain , please post it.—Shane@Shelley
I took one taste of ice cream on Saturday evening and it tasted bitter to me. I thought “hmmmm..this is wierd”, but just dismissed it. By Sunday everything I tried to eat tasted bitter. I started freaking and turned to the internet, of course! Knowing full well, usually that backfires and causes more freaking out..:-) Anyway, after seeing “liver”, I started thinking about the fact that I take Lipitor, and am overdue for that checkup. As I searched I kept noticing people posting bitter mouth and pine nuts. I thought back and realized I had eaten a wonderful salad at a nice restaurant on Friday afternoon, and it was loaded with delicious tasting pine nuts. Saturday evening was when this awful bitter taste started. I am convinced this is my problem as I am reading the same story over and over. I am out of town, and will go see my doctor for the Lipitor/liver enzyme test when I get home as I need one anyway. But, after reading all of this I am convinced this awful bitter taste is from my consuming the pine nuts. I am grateful to have found this info! Hope we are all back to normal taste buds soon!
OMG! This terrible bitter taste in my mouth after eating anything for the past few days made me come to the internet and investigate. I thought, pine nuts, hmmmmm. Haven’t had any in months. Then remembered I had a spinach salad on Thursday evening for dinner and I was intent on eating every pine nut in the salad — they were so good. Funny, because I normally associate pine nuts with Pesto, and the last time I had pesto was at the exact same remote, resort restaurant I had the spinach salad at on Thursday evening!!!
Love the internet!!! Hope this goes away sooner than later. Crazy!
I have Pine Mouth after eating Costco brand, Kirkland Signature pine nuts with a best before date of 11/29/2010. I ate maybe 1/4 cup spread between lunch and dinner yesterday. This morning I had an MRI of my neck and had a very strong bitter taste in my mouth afterward. The taste is heightened after eating or drinking. I thought it was caused by the MRI and googled “Bitter Taste, MRI” and found this blog.
Many thanks to all who have logged in! I’m on hold for Costco right now. I don’t know what it is, but I’ve had pine nuts many times in my life, and never had this happen.
Wow – I’m pleased to have found this.
I’ve had a really weird taste in my mouth today (Tuesday) which only seems to happen when I eat something. I’d actually forgotten about it until I had my evening meal today.
Decided to google it to see if I aught to be seeing my doctor.
I did have pine-nuts in a salad on Saturday evening.
Isn’t it strange?
Hope it gets back to normal soon.
i had pine nuts (lots of it) on friday afternoon. i noticed the bitter taste on monday morning but looking back now, i didn’t enjoy anything i ate on sunday either. today (tuesday) seems to be worse than yesterday. glad i found this site before deciding to go see a doctor. stay away from tomato soup! cheese crackers seem to be not as bad…i’m so hungry right now…
Has anybody else also been taking vitamin B supliments? I have, and I noticed one other poster has too.
Might be a coincidence, or could be significant.
Hi All, this is crazy, I have been having pinenuts on my cereal each morning and also made a tart with pinenuts in it on Monday. So I am only asuming that it is them that is giving me this bitter metalic taste. Is there anything that I can do to stop it. Some said it lasted 2 weeks are you for real!! Plus side I may loose weight. Someone at work suggested a lemon as the acid in it may help. Worth a try, will let you know how I go 🙂
Mine is not nearly so noticable today (only 3rd day).
I drank lots of beer yesterday – perhaps that has cured it. 🙂
Same story here- have had the bitter taste for 2 days, at first thought the food was ‘off’- then got really worried as it was still happening every time I ate anything … hit the internet and at first got very scary info for ‘metallic bitter taste’ — everything from acid reflux to liver disease and brain tumor- yikes!!! Just as I was about to go into full panic mode I saw this site and the pine nut connection. And whew!!!! I had snacked on a lot of pine nuts 3 nights ago. I bought the pine nuts from a local grocer’s bulk food section. now I just hope it goes away soon….
I have it too!!! It is so weird. I thought I was being healthy, now everything tastes of washing up liquid. Mine were from Tesco so loads of other people must have bought them and some must have had the same problem. I really hope it goes away soon.
All I can say is WOW, I hope it is the pine nuts and I hope it goes away soon. Just had a flu shot on Tuesday, the bitter taste started right after that. Still is pretty bad today, Friday. I had cleaned out my cupboard and had eaten some older pine nuts on the same day as the shot. I just checked them and yup they are a “product of China” What are they doing to us, people? Who should we call? Maybe if you have a TV station like we do here in Denver, we can post it on their web site and they will do the investigating. I am going to try.
I just did some more investigating check out this web site for a bit more on the subject of pine nuts and bitter taste. Seems to be informative.http://pinchmysalt.com/2009/05/02/pine-nuts-left-a-bitter-taste-in-my-mouth/
Believe it or not I went for a new bag of pine nuts after having eaten bad ones 3 days earlier. I figured it was worth a try because I already had pine mouth! I ate a little handful and it really seemed to have helped. I still have a bit of bitterness but it´s not as bad as it was.
I hope that this is the cure. A good batch to rid your mouth of the taste that the bad batch gave you. Good luck
Yes, we are a family of 5. Only two of us ate some pine nuts… those same two people are the only 2 of the 5 that are currently experiencing a bitter after-taste with everything they eat or drink….. I am one of them… I had the same problem for a couple of weeks last month… the last time I had pine nuts! Yes, guys get this too! I’m tempted to buy one of those organic de-tox kits, just to see if that will get rid of this symptom a little sooner… otherwise, I’m looking at 10 days to 2 weeks!
Thanks, it’s a great relief to find out the cause. My pinenuts were from Sainsbury’s. I’ll check if they were of Chinese origin. Hope this goes away soon, if not I may be losing some weight (there’s always a silver lining), even water tastes pretty odd.
I am also experiencing bitter taste in mouth when eating. Ate pine nuts on 2 occassions from the same packet over the past 3 weeks. On first occasion no bitter taste. On second occasion have the bitter taste after reheating pine nuts in microwave that were left in fridge for about 5 days. The pine nuts were toasted first and then mixed into a cous cous salad. I’m wondering whether the reheating has anything to do with it as I had no effect on the first occasion.
i got this funny taste last week, I thought it was from the spanish larger i had in a tapas bar the 1st time ive tried the branded beer and the food cooked in this place, i have been racking my brains as to why or how i got it…. it went away during the week but i have been scoffing a handful of pine nuts at at time bought from tesco last week to keep in my car when peckish as i drive alot, thought it more healthy than sweets or crisps.
i came accross this by chance and am 99% certain its the pinenuts
as i said it cleared and guess what i finished the bag off and now its back with a vengence , its like swallowing acid or sour saliva if thats possible???
Does anybody know if the effects increase in intensity/longevity with the more you consume? I only had about 5 of those TINY little things and my mouth is paying for it! I wonder if it would be worse for people that ate more of them?
@Nikki
Has the bad taste gone away?
Having worked in the nut seed and dried fruit importing sector for almost 20 years it important for consumers to understand that food importing of this sort is a byproduct of commodity trading. Many retailers announce that they will not accept price increases thus sending importers and traders to find cheaper grades at the cheapest price. This is a dangerous combination because cheap sources are usually substandard. Even if the processing of the nuts acceptable little if anything is known about the source of the raw inshell nuts. Small pine nuts are an inferior grade, have had a history of microbial contamination and as a result some companies that are aware of this sterilize them. Others choose not to. Recently the market on pine nuts almost doubled within a few month period. There is an interesting correlation between the price increase and the increase in “Pine Mouth” Unfortunately the USA has become the dumping ground for rejected products from The EU, Asia, Middle East and any other region that has higher standards. The USA is looking for the cheapest possible price. Unfortunatly in this case our search for cheap pine nuts has struck a bad vein. Early in the year cashews from India came into the USA contaminated with a substance called Chlorophenol. Around the same time Vietnamese suppliers went so far as to glue cashew halves together with Krazy Glue to form whole grades..Its unbelieveable what is going on overseas that we as consumers are unaware of. Check out http://theresponsiblesource.blogspot.com http://www.cashewconcern.com/avoid.php These links will give a insight into how nut products are processed overseas. The sad fact is that there are many good facilities overseas that are overlooked because there high standards come with a marginal price differential. A margin so small that the consumer would not be effected by it. I think we would all be willing to pay a small premium to ensure that our food products are safe to eat and come from manufacturing facilities that maintain high standards.
Their high standards… Sorry for the spelling error..
Thank you all for reporting this terrible bad tasting in the mouth. I am infected after eating 2 handful of pine nuts purchased at Target brand name melissa’s distributed by world variety produce and a product of China!!!!
The symptoms appeared on the third day after eating these little nuts. It was terrible for three days. Fourth day is 50 % better, today is my fifth day of suffering.
Meanwhile my husband wanted to know if it’s really related to these nuts and ate 2 spoon full of it. Today is the 3rd day after eating and he did not like the taste of his wonderful breakfast coffee this morning. It’s starting……
We’ll keep you updated.
Trudy
Thank you all for reporting about this terrible decease with the bitter tasting mouth after eating pine nuts. I also got hit from it after eating two hand full of pine nuts purchased at Target, brand name melissa’s distributed by world variety produce and product of China!!!!!
The terrible taste appeared on the third day after eating these little things. On the 4th day it got better 50 % and today is my 5th day and I hope for better.
In the meantime my husband wanted to know if this is really the case and ate two spoon full of the same pine nuts. This morning he did not like his breakfast and the wonderful coffee tasted not right for him. It’s starting………
We’ll keep you updated.
I too tried pine nuts for the first time this week off a colleague at work, a quick snack! Today I had a cup of coffee at work and thought it tasted funny, thought the milk was off! Had it all day whilst eating and drinking, quite concerned so looked it up on the internet, and realised it was the pine nuts.
Taste is really getting on my nerves!
@Jenn
I had eaten a large hand full, just plain. The bad taste is gone now. It was very strong for 4days then slowly dissipated during the next 2 days. So I would say I ate quite a bit and it lasted for 6 days. Taste gone now but wow, so strange. Hope never to go through that again.
I ate the Costo pine nuts too and started having the bitter taste in my food. I ate a steak and egg for lunch and it was so bitter that I thought it was the food but as I came across this site, I remembered that I ate pine nuts with pesto from the Costco pine nuts. Is there a cure for this?
I can’t believe you wrote this…I am experiencing the same thing and I bought them from Trader Joe’s in Redondo Beach, california. I thought I was going crazy. The minute I start eating everything tastes so bitter and it makes me nauseas. How long has this lasted for you?@jaki
Thanks for all the posts. Same experience – Raw Pignolias from Trader Joe’s – product of Korea, Russia, or Vietnam..day..5 still soap, bitter, metal taste.
This is so weird. I made a homemade pesto sauce for the first time 3 days ago. Then 2 days ago I got this ‘pine nut mouth.’ This is aweful! I thought I was going crazy. Its weird its happening to so many people, mostly females. My husband ate some of the pesto also, and hasn’t had the pleasure of ‘pine nut mouth.’
I ate a handful of pine nuts bought at Whole Foods three days ago and am plagued with the same symptoms described by many of you. I am not looking forward to 2 weeks of that metallic taste in my mouth but I drink Kombucha and get relief almost immediately until the next meal.
It also helps if I drink it while I eat.
I hope that it will help others too. I buy Kombucha at Whole Foods!
Thank you everyone. I was convinced that a new medication I started last week was responsible for this horrendous bitter taste anytime I eat or drink anything. And then I saw the reference to Pine Nuts and had an aha moment… I was so excited to find a huge bag of Pine Nuts at Costco for only $20 (also last week) and have been eating them as snacks all week. I just checked the bag – Kirkland’s brand is made in China.
It is really disturbing to realize how vunerable we are. I hope this gets attention from the FDA.
I thought I was coming down with a terrible rare alien disease!! Today is my second day and the last straw was my Caramel Machiatto from Starbucks. WAAAHHHH!!!
I just got home and decided to google the symptoms. NOTHING tastes good. I thought I was losing my mind. Pine nuts from Food Maxx ( made in China)3 days ago on my homemade pesto fettucini.
I am 55, finished up menopause about 7 years ago and I take no medicines for anything. Very healthy. I take an occaisional tylenol.
We need to alert the masses…as this is awful.
Hugs to you all..
Lorraine
I am glad to see that I am not crazy. It started Saturday morning. I actually threw out a ground chicken burger that I just defrosted thinking it was spoiled, but then everything I’ve eaten since tastes the same way. I taste that horrible bitter taste on the back of my tongue, but the front of my tongue feels slightly tingly, even today (Monday). About Wednesday of last week, I ate a salad loaded with pine nuts from New Seasons Market (similar to a Whole Foods). I don’t eat Pine Nuts regularly, but have never experienced this before. Any idea how long it will last?
Hi, just wondering if any of you guys have been eating lots of tuna/salmon or other fish as well as the pine nuts? I’ve had the bitter taste for a few days as well after having pesto sauce and lots of whole pine nuts in my salad (they are labeled as “baking nuts”. I don’t eat pine nuts often but never have had this reaction before until a week or so ago.It does say product of China on it, too. Wonder if it’s having a detoxifying effect on the liver (ie bile taste in mouth sounds valid?) Whatcha think? I think eating lots of the pine nuts at a sitting may be the culprit.
I posted my Pine Mouth complaint 2 weeks ago and just want to follow up–it took about 5 days to diminish to a point approaching normal, I still have taste abnormalities, though they are subtle. Also, I gave these Costco Kirkland Signature brand pinenuts from China to my beloved african grey parrots before I found out about pine mouth, and I didn’t notice anything unusual in their behavior. I know they ate them–they love em. Maybe pine trees have figured out how to get us to leave their pinecones alone! Just a thought.
P.S. Good dark chocolate seemed to help me.
Hi I have been experiencing a really bitter taste in my mouth and for the last few days kept thinking that there was something wrong with me. I accidently came across your article which may explain my symptoms – i have just bought some pine nuts from Costco and had a handful 4 days ago – bizarrely my symptoms started not long after but i did not make that link.
I’ve developed pine mouth in the last two days after eating pine nuts from China, bought from Holland & Barratt. I thought I had something wrong with my sinuses or post nasal drip, but now that I’v found this site, it all falls into place. I thought my rose wine was off, then the Ready Brek also tasted horrible. Not more pine nuts for me! I’m going out to stock up on good dark chocolate to see if this helps the symptoms for the next 10 days!!
I found this excerpt off the www. The reason the majority of sufferers get better after 10-14 days is probably because their taste buds regenerate.
“It is the main factor in taste bud regeneration
or degeneration. It also says that cells within the taste bud have a
limited life span of approximately ten days to two weeks. So this
means that whether or not the taste bud cells get inflamed as the
result of a cold, they will eventually be replaced by new cells after
some time. So you can just imagine that every two weeks you have new
taste buds.”
The only thing that helped me was brushing my teeth and tongue before eating.
Hi I’ve had this taste for a couple of days now and was beginning to get worried wondering what was wrong with me. Glad I cam across this site. I too have been eating pine nuts which I bought from Morrisons. Have been eating a handful when I was peckish. I won’t eat any more but hope the taste goes sooner than 10-14 days.
me and my husband ate pine nuts two days a go and we both have a bitter
mouth. I was wondring what on earth cause both of us have a same problem
after serching on net i found out that the problem was pine nuts we ate two days a go.
Ok, my wife has had it for four days. She thought she was going crazy but didn’t tell me anything about it. We had both gotten this earlier in the year. I am so glad I stumbled across this article. Two days ago, she shoved some of the pine nuts she purchased from Whole Foods in Manhattan Beach, Ca – the pine nuts are a product from China. She had been eating them all week. I really wish she hadn’t fed me those!!! The bitter taste showed up almost exactly 2 days later and totally sucks! From what I remember it did take about 10 days to get better. My wife also tried the Kambucha tea and it helps.
I think I see a class action lawsuit coming!!!
hi there,
this site is amazing, i am truly astonished what’s going on, i am based in berlin and just started my pine mouth trauma :-)., i have never experienced anything like it. 3 days so far of constant metallic mouth. I don’t understand this, we have to find out what is causing this or at least alert people of why this is happening. Any scientists out there?
will this really last for 10-14 days? does it slowly get better. i cant stand it.
I’m so glad I found this site! I was beginning to wonder if I was sick! I purchased bulk pine nuts from Winco in Spokane Washington. I dont’ know where they are from. I’m relieved to know that I have “pine mouth” and not an illness. I ate a small amount of pine nuts on my salad for lunch every day last week. I was throwing away my veggies thinking they turned. I wonder what causes this? I have has “pine mouth” now for about 6 days. I wonder how much longer it will last??
Still got this bad metallic taste after 6 days. The only thing that seems to mask it for an hour or so is spearmint or mint chewing gum. Completely gone off coffee which I used to love but prefare a cup of tea at the moment or water. Has anyone got any remedies?
OMG.
This happened to me a few months back.
My mouth was burning with horrible metallic taste.
It was worse when I ate or drank (even milk.)
Then it went away about as unexpectedly as it came. I attributed to GERD.
Then it happened again…horrible metallic taste in my mouth.
This time I found these references to Pine Nuts…I had pine nuts in a pasta dish last night, but the taste started the day before?
Then I saw the post about PINE NUTS in PESTO and indeed the prior day I had a taste of such!
Nice to know I am not crazy or dying of a unknown disease.
First, I’d like to thank Mr. Hyam for taking the initiative in creating a forum for this very scary and disgusting phenomenon.I’d also like to thank everyone for posting their comments as the sheer number of comments make it much easier to sleep at night knowing that many people are affected by “pine mouth” and that other than bad taste, there isn’t much bodily harm (that we know of).
I purchased the pine nuts at Trader Joe’s in Union Square, NYC. I even commented to my wife who purchased them that they look really cheap. I noticed the size of the nuts in the bag varied from little tiny nuts to large ones and even varied in color. They tasted fine,I just though they looked weird in comparison to BJ’s (wholesale discount outlet) brand which are very consistent in size and plumpness of each nut (I have never had a problem with BJ’s brand or any other for that matter). After reading this article and comments,I quickly reached for the bag of nuts (from Trader Joe’s) and noticed something quite disturbing about the packaging. It says “product of Korea,Russia,or Vietnam”. Are you kidding? Is TJ’s lacking so much supervision that they can’t even identify the source of the nuts? Even if they are a combination of nuts from those three countries, is that really a wise distribution decision? What if one species of nut contaminates the other two species in the bag? It just seems like a huge risk for such a large company to neglect.
Lesson learned-I don’t blame TJ’s for the bad nuts, I blame them for neglecting to do anything about it, especially since it is a well-documented non-hazardous poison that is affecting thousands of people. Most of whom probably have not even made the association between the nuts and their bad taste.
This is day four for me with this aweful mettalic,mediciny taste in my mouth. It is absolutely aweful and has ruined every meal and every drink I’ve had since.I will never shop at TJ’s again (for anything) after this experience.If they pay this little attention to this product,it is easy to imagine how poorly they perform quality control and supervision.
Thank you all! I thought it was a bad fast food taco, but then like everyone else it is happening to everything I eat!! I had pine nuts in something I ate while on travel and pesto also. I can’t stand the thought of two more weeks of this but at least I know there is probably nothing medically wrong!!
I am in shock! I started having the taste Saturday morning. I thought i was having liver failure after reading all the stuff on line! I came across the pine nuts and was floored! Seriously! I just made stuffed portabello mushrooms on Friday night and mixed in pine nuts! Saturday morning I woke and there was the taste in my mouth… interesting…
That’s it… I’m calling my Doctor here up in the SF Bay Area. I too was thinking what the heck is going on?!? I noticed the funny taste in my mouth while eating a handful of almonds. I did make the day before a Orzo pasta with pine nuts. I bought mine at Lucky supermarket. The brand name is Diamond. Everything I eat taste bitter. Only escape is gum. I will post once I find out what my doctor says.
SERIOUSLY! I cant believe I thought I was going crazy too…I have been eating pine nuts on my salads and would of never put the two together! Everytime I eat or drink anything besides water I get a horrible metallic taste in my mouth. Nasty! So glad to have found this information!
Unbelievable! I started having this metallic taste in my mouth yesterday, and it was so persistent that I decided to check it out online. I could not believe when I saw this site. I put pine nuts on a salad on Saturday evening. I bought them at Harris Teeter. The bag is gone so I need to go back and check the country of origin for the nuts. Glad I’m not going crazy, and glad to know there is an end to it.
Hallelujah!! So glad I found this forum–I was really scared all day–nothing tasted right! Skipped over the “pine mouth” stuff the first time, until I remembered that we’ve had salad three nights this week with Costco/Kirkland pine nuts in them, and I’d grabbed a handful to snack on one of those days as well. Even water and plain pasta taste bitter, and wine tastes like poison! Maybe I’ll lose some weight over the next couple weeks!
Hi to all the unfortunate.
I also have this rank taste in the back of my mouth every time I eat. I had a few handfulls of Morrisons own brand pine nuts, although it says these are packaged in the UK the after ringing thier customer services they won’t disclose where it get’s the pine nuts from.
I think it would be an for us all to put down what stores we bought our pine nuts from so that less and less of us have to go through this again.
Hi, I put some comments on way back in September, and just thought I’d see how it was going for everyone. If you’ve recently got this problem I can say that it has gone for me, and clearly takes time, it took at least two weeks and longer to fully go. The intensity differs, and different foods and drinks seemed to bring it back for a while. I remember how scared I was, you feel like you’ll never be able to enjoy eating again. It will go though eventually.
Me too. Saturday had pine nuts from Whole Foods. Since Monday everything tastes soapy and bitter. This is the strangest thing. grilled peppers tasted ok last night. Not much tastes good. Diet Coke ok. Any cures????????????
Thank you Roger Hyam, I honestly thought I was headed to a specialist consultant for a lots of unpleasant tests as I was beginning to worry and worry that I had a medical problem and was looking and looking rather desperately on the itnernet when I came across the dreaded pine mouth . I made a huge jar of beautiful pesto from my own home grown herbs and was happily lunching on it every day this week with, spelt bread and parmesan cheese when the wretched taste appeared. I will live with it until it disappears as even though it makes for a slightly miserable life at least one knows there is light at the end of the tunnel and this may be a great reason for a November detox
THank u so much for taking the trouble to form this blog
Wow! I’ve had this horrible bitterness in the back of my mouth everytime I eat or drink anything for the past 3 days. Thought it was something serious and then did what everyone else did and ‘googled’. Came across the pine nut information almost immediately. Incredibly I just bought pine nuts this past Sunday to sprinkle on a dinner and was having a few handfuls as snacks every night. This is the first time I’ve had pine nuts in years. Now this horrible bitter, metallic taste in the back of my mouth no matter what I consume. I get the impression that this will last for two weeks?
Aloha…
I started experiencing extreme bitterness to anything I put in my mouth yesterday morning. This morning it is so bad that I can’t eat much – everything tastes bitter.
Goggled it… and lo and behold – Pine Nuts. Yes, on Monday I toasted up some Pine Nuts and had them. I love pine nuts and have never had this happen before – but I did not that the nuts I bought on Monday were not the freshest – so perhaps that was it.
Being in Hawai’i, I wouldn’t doubt that our pine nuts come from China (no proof though). These were sold by KTA supermarkets and are repackaged by them.
I’ll also note that right now we are going through a very wet spell – lots of rain (10 inches or more a day) – so again, that might have related to spoilage in repackaged (not airtight) nuts.
*YECH* Hope this goes away soon! If not, I’ll have to create the “Rancid Pine Nut Diet”
o my word i love google.
i’ve been telling everyone at my college campus that i’ve had this nasty taste in my mouth after eating anything and they get all wide eyed thinking i’m getting the swine flu or something. then i saw this on google and remembered i’d had some crazy italian liquor my friend brough back from Italy that is traditionally served with pine nuts and when i got the munchies i definately downed more pine nuts than liquor…so i suppose this is pine mouth settling in. thank you for the article! nice to know i’m safe from the swine
ps i have found that just drinking a ton of water or tea helps to kind of “clear the palate”
Wow, I thought I was coming down with something. This has to be the cause. I rarely eat pine nuts but my wife cooked with them over the weekend. I have also been eating about a half-handful of raw pine nuts each day. Literally everything I eat will have a bitter aftertaste since I have eaten the nuts. I rinsed out with Listerine twice a day, brushed like crazy..didn’t work. Even sweet things like chocolate have this disgusting aftertaste. Hopefully it will only last a few more days. We still have the pine nuts, I’m going to see if I can return them to the store.
How bizarre but reassuring to find this. I was panicking thinking I was pregnant again! But knew it very unlikely as had just finished my period. Then I was thinking it was hormone related. I am pretty sure my metallic taste is due to the pine nuts now – I haven’t eaten any for ages, then got the munchies 2 nights ago – there were no snacks about but then I remembered some pine nuts I keep in our ‘cooking’ cupboard. I probably ate quite a few , and I note that other people have mentioned it may be due to eating a lot in one sitting.
Hello, I work in a whole food shop in Australia and a few days ago a customer complained that our pine nuts gave her a bitter taste in her mouth for more than a week. She had returned the pine nuts and so a few of my workmates including myself ate some of the offending nuts to see if she was crazy or not. The nuts were from China and smaller than the usual big fat ‘juicy’ ones we normally have had (that I have never had a problem with.) Well initially the nuts tasted okay – maybe a little more bitter than usual but edible and not rancid.
Anyway two days later and I have had a very bad bitter taste in my throat and actually a bit of a sore throat too – which I’m not sure is related or not. Anyway, it’s definitely related to these specific nuts (small and from China – no idea what species) as I’ve eaten plenty of nuts before with no problem. I hope it doesn’t last for too many days!
My wife and I purchased some pine nuts(from China) this past week at Shaw’s grocery in New Hampshire. Two days after using them in a stir fry (and munching some straight from the bag) the wicked bitter, metallic taste manifested while eating a gold fish cracker. Then again when we ate dinner. Everything was horrible. This is now day 2 and the condition continues. Nothing is palatable. I’ve reported it to Shaw’s and will be calling the FDA this morning. I hope this clears before thanksgiving!
Hello, like most on this list I ate pine nuts (mine were purchased at Central Market in Dallas) and about two days later experienced a metallic or bitter taste in my mouth each time I eat. I am only on my second day and can’t wait for it to end. No more pine nuts for me…
Day 3 for me. So glad to know it’s going to go away. I bought my offending pine nuts from Whole Foods in Glendale, CA.
i too thought i had something wrong as I HAD A BITTER METTALIC TASTE IN MY MOUTH ALL DAY . I MADE A PESTO SAUCE WITH PINE NUTS 2 DAYS AGO AND I WAS GOING TO SEE MY GP TOMMOROW THINKING I HAD A PROBLEM WITH MY PEPTIC ULCER .THERE SHOULD BE SOME WARNING ON PACAGING THIS HAS BEEN DRIVING ME CRASY COULD THERE BE SEIOUS SIDE EFFECTS WITH PINE NUTS
Ditto everything you all said, but help! What do I do to get the taste out of my mouth?
I am experiencing the bitter taste eating foods after consuming Pine nuts from China (Aurora natural brand) There has been one thing that gave me temporary relief, I drank an ounce or so of red wine vinegar. On my tongue it tasted less sour than I am used to, but when swallowed, it made me choke and cough for a second. Oddly after drinking the vinegar, I don’t have the bitter taste in my mouth. Earlier this morning i was drinking coffee with soy milk and sugar and it was unbearable and bitter.
Testing further, I just ate a cracker and the bitter taste is back. Drinking a little more vinegar seems to make my mouth less bitter.
I have the same bitter, raw hoppy taste in my mouth! I ate the pine nuts my culinary school provided our class last week and I haven’t been able to enjoy ANY food since!! I really thought I had some strange disease!
Guys, thank you all so much. I came back to the UK after a business trip to Finland and have since had this horrible metallic, almost medicinal taste in my mouth. I also vommitted yesterday as the acid in my mouth built up. I read your comments surrounding pine nuts and suddenly remembered I too had eaten them on a starter in a restaurant in Finland only 2 days ago. I do not know of thier source/origin though
I am not too keen on waiting the 2 weeks but at least I hope this is what my symptoms are.
Good luck to you all.
I am so happy i found about about this – this is mad. I ate a pesto chicken sandwich from sainsburys in putney on Thursday and the taste arrived on saturday am. It is vile and i feel nauseous and generally unwell actually. Thought i had diabetes or something awful and was going to make an appt at the docs tomorrow. The back of my throat feels a bit swollen too, and my neck feels uncomfortable. Does anyone else have this
hi, im having this same problem. but im confused about all the people who are throwing in comments about class action lawsuits, and “I don’t blame TJ’s for the bad nuts” . i never saw anywhere that this isnt just a natural phenomenon. are these nuts bad? or is this just a reaction some people have? are there class action lawsuits against peanut distributors by people allergic to peanuts? if i missed something, please repost, or let me know…
I still have bitter reaction almost 3 months after eating Trader Joe’s pine nuts from “Russia or Vietnam”. (Is there any way to know pine nuts shipped from Vietnam and Russia did not originate in China? I think not). Today, 3 months later, I still get the reaction now and then. I called TJ’s and they tried to pass it off as an allergy. The only technical articles are from Europe (kudos) but they minimize the symptoms by failing to state that eating pine nuts makes OTHER foods and liquids taste bitter, something that should evoke much more concern and, beyond that, serious research.
I, too, am experiencing a horrible after-taste with every type of food or drink, evidently caused by eating pine nuts. Mine are Diamond brand from Sam’s Club. The bag does not say where they are from, but they are largish with an even, off-white color. I kept them in the freezer before and after opening the sealed bag. I ate a handful raw, from the bag, a couple days in a row. They seemed good, with a mildly piney taste, and did not seem spoiled or rancid. I was going to use them to make pesto with the last of the garden basil, but for once procrastination paid off. I’m glad I didn’t waste the time and the other ingredients!
On Wed. or Thurs. I noticed that my morning toast tasted funny. Soon I realized that everything I ate or drank gave me the same bitter & metallic after-taste. At first I figured I was coming down with a cold, but when it went on I decided to Google it and was relieved to find that there is an explanation, albeit an incomplete one. I have also had a mild, intermittent, headache, and alternately runny/stuffy nose. These I can probably attribute to newly cold weather, central heat coming on, pets shedding, etc., but more worrisome, I fell in my hallway on Friday for no good reason and crashed into a door jamb. I’m not usually THAT klutzy. The consensus seems to be that the nuts are not harmful or poisonous, but I wonder – are these other symptoms just coincidence? Has anyone actually gotten blood work to rule out heavy metals or other poisons?
I really don’t see how a food effect could last so long. It is now Sunday and I’m counting down the days. It does seem to be slowly improving and varies greatly depending on the food: for me the bitterness is less with spicy foods, dark chocolate, Vernor’s ginger ale, and Bengal Spice tea (unsweetened). I’m grateful to everyone for sharing, with special thanks to those who give the rest of us hope by re-posting after things improved!
I’m another victim of this strange phenomenen. I’ve been eating and enjoying pine nuts for years with no problems. Suddenly, this week I’ve developed this disgusting taste in my mouth whenever I eat or drink and, against my better judgement, I decided to google the symptoms to see what dreadful disease I had contracted. I could hardly believe what I was reading. Two days ago I had a handful of pine nuts and interestingly these came from a different retailer to my usual one. I usually shop at Sainsburys and have never had any problems with their pine nuts but these were bought from Julian Graves and were labelled as baby pine nuts so perhaps there’s something in the theory that this is only caused by certain varieties. It’s good to know I’m not the only one. Guess I’ll just chuck the rest and wait for my tastebuds to recover
P.S. Found other foods that have been tolerable: rye bread, grapefruit, cucumbers. Anything that already has a somewhat bitter flavor seems to work out OK. I gave in to a perfectly ripe banana that was calling to me from the counter – big mistake!
Two days after eating pine seeds, both my wife and I have a distinct bitter taste while eating other foods. We used up the little box the seeds were in so we have to find out the brand we used. It is very worrying that some chemical exists that modifies the taste feeling to a bitter taste no matter what you eat. This is serious regardless if it has a permanent effect or not (noticeable or unnoticeable), something that no authority has said anything about yet! If it is known since at least 2001, then why no warning has been issued and why has it not been reported on the big media news yet?
This is so weird. I have had the metallic taste all day, but mostly when eating. Lunch and dinner tasted so awful I didn’t want to eat. I started Googling for “metallic taste when eating” and saw that it could be cancer or something. Got freaked out, then found this pine nut thing. Then my wife tells me we actually had pine nuts 2 days ago in a recipe she made. The nuts were from Whole Foods. I would have thought this whole thing is some bizarre Internet prank had it not happened to me.
Me too! Got my pine nuts from B J’s, and the metallic taste appears a minute after eating anything. Will throw them away. So glad we have google. Good luck to you all.
I too have a chemical taste in my mouth after eating pine nuts from Whole Foods…going on 2 days. packaging says made in China. I would have never put the two together. Very strange. Will not be eating pine nuts for a while. Thanks for the blog entry.
This is happening to me too. I made some pesto with some pine nuts and also ate a handful the other day. Now I too have the bad taste. I thought maybe I’d poisoned everyone, as I first noticed it in a dish I’d cooked for 10! Thankfully, I’m the only one with the issue and I now just hope it goes before the Christmas feasting starts…
The only cure for Pine Mouth seems to be teabagging. Hair of the dog, with another kind of nut, I suppose.
Grrrrrreat… I have this, just in time for Thanksgiving. I made a pasta dish with pine nuts on Monday (today is weds) and then started getting this metallic taste in my mouth – just today (anything I eat). I wondered if there was left over soap or bleach on my hands from cleaning, was someone poisoning me.. what? Anyhow, the pine nuts were in kept in my fridge in a storage container and were probably a few months old. I didn’t think they went bad. I have eaten from the same batch them many times before (though awhile back) and never experienced this? So strange… glad to have an explanation but sad b/c I LOVE pine nuts…
I too am experiencing this unpleasant phenomenon. I had purchased a container of pine nuts for a special salad that I wanted to make for Thanksgiving. I made a test recipe this past weekend. The salad was fine. Since the container of nuts was so large I snacked on them and added them to another salad. They did have a bit of a sweet flavor, but tasted fine. Although other members of my family ate the salad none consumed extra nuts as snacks.
In the wee hours of Monday morning I awoke with a terrible taste in my mouth. I got up and drank water which made it worse. I went back to sleep and noticed on Monday morning that my coffee had an unusually bitter after taste, as did my cereal. I had used Crest White strips on Sunday and thought that it might be a side effect. I began an internet search for the side effects of the white strips and saw nothing regarding taste changes. I then searched the medical sites of Mayo Clinic and WebMD and found nothing that fit the one symptom I was experiencing.
On Tuesday afternoon I tried a Google search on “bitter taste in mouth, cause”. On the search results page, about 5 items down I noted an article titled “Pine Nuts Left a Bitter Taste in My Mouth”. Bam, the article described my symptoms exactly. That article linked me to this site and others. I went home and discarded the container of nuts, there were from China. I will use almonds in my salad.
Things that helped me are Orbit sweet mint gum and Buffalo Rock ginger ale. Buffalo Rock is a strongly ginger flavored drink available in the south.
Yep just had a small bag of pine nuts here in Finland, a few yesterday, today lunch and a banana tasted strange, some more this eve, dinner was really bad, as was icecream! No country of origin on the packet… One thing I’ve not read – is this a recent phenomenon? Seems strange if it happening all of a sudden…
I too have had an icky soapy taste in my mouth. It has been somewhat intermittent over the last 2 weeks. Just so happens, I purchased some Pine Nuts and have been eating them every couple of days. The weird thing was that when I got them they looked much smaller than usual and the color of them was a bit darker as well. These pine nuts were from Trader Joe’s. Source on package says “product of Korea, Russia, or Vietnam.” So, are they tainted or is it the type of pine it is coming from?
Has anyone thought this could be some sort of trial-run of a biochemical attack? It’s really frightening how we could ingest something without realizing it was so toxic to us to wreak such havoc on our olfactory system. This really is some sort of neuro toxin!
My mother and I both have been suffering for days, btw. Purchased the Chinese pine nuts from Trader Joe’s. Btw, every store now only carries “pine mouth”…I mean these pine nuts from China!!! We all need to complain to our local media to be sure it gets coverage and this stuff gets pulled off of store shelves! Who knows what long-term harm it is causing? The scientific community obviously knows very little about this!!
My husband and I made homemade ravioli with homemade pesto, using pine nuts Sunday evening. We noticed the pine nuts were smaller than usual although it was the same brand we always get. Melissa’s Pine Nuts from Albertsons in San Diego, CA. The next morning while drinking my coffee I noticed a bitter, almost bile like, acidic taste in my mouth. Later that day while eating my lunch the taste returned. It was disgusting. For dinner we had baked brie crusted in toasted pine nuts (same brand, new bag, toasted ourselves) The bitter taste came back again. Even while drinking water the taste returns. Unknowing it might be pine nuts since I eat them so often, raw and toasted (never experiencing this horrid sensation until now) we had homemade pesto again for lunch. The bitter taste was so strong and unbearable. I couldn’t even taste my food. For dinner we had apple chicken bratwurst wrapped in croissants (no pine nuts), the bitter taste returned. I don’t even want to eat or drink anything for fear of the taste. I’m now on my fourth day of bitter taste in my mouth while eating and/or drinking. My research has shown this has been happening to so many people and pine nuts seem to be the apparent culprit. But why now? I checked the bag and yes they are a product of China. PARVE? Perhaps the supplier? There needs to be a warning to make people aware. Further investigation as to why this is suddenly happening to certain individuals and whether or not it is potentially dangerous or poisoning. My husband and I have eaten the same thing though he has no such taste as I do while eating or drinking. I will continue to monitor this post as well as others and see if we can’t get to the bottom of this and at least find something to make it go away.
@gerry
From Gerry: Just to follow up, the bitter taste lasted two days with a much decreased level in day 3 and 4, day 5 seems to be OK. Still, this experience should not go amiss and it must be investigated by relevant authorities. The producer of this product had no right to interfere with our bodies in this way while we still don’t know the full extent of any adverse effects.
I had an avacado salad sandwich from Marks & Spencers on Monday and started to notice a bitter taste Wednesday. Looked it up today because more persisitent and glad to find this info. Hopefully the taste will be gone in a few days. Disappointed in M&S though, This isn’t just any sandwich, this is a bitter chinese pine nut containing sandwich! Shame on you M&S!
I am somewhat relieved to read these comments. For the past three days, I’ve had a disgusting bitter taste in the back of my mouth after eating most everything. It’s been so awful, I thought it had to be caused by bile, so I was thinking ‘liver cleanse’… and hoped it wasn’t anything too serious. Come to discover here, I too bought pine nuts (from Costco) and ate a handful. They tasted fine. A day or so later is when the bad taste started. Blecchhh! They are from China. Can’t wait for this to go away!
I am very relieved to hit on this site. I had no clue and thought I had oral cancer or something awful! The pine nuts I ate were from Trader Joes, and were Korean. Sure wrecked Thanksgiving dinner yesterday – all that cooking and could barely tell how it tasted!! Not sure how long this’ll last but waiting it out sounds a lot better than going through a Dr. and all the testing! Thanks!
I love google! I have been dealing with this bitter taste for a few days. It started with my starbucks latte, which tasted horrible! I couldnt figure it out. Then I noticed everything I ate or drank had the same taste! The night before all this happened I was really sick, so I thought maybe it had something to do with that. Come to read this info, I had pine nuts a couple days ago! Never again!! The weird thing is that my husband had the same pine nuts, and this is not happening to him…..but I am happy to know why everything tastes weird!
Thanks!
Just to say I bought pine nuts early this week at a branch of Tesco in Ireland. They are Tesco’s own packaged in Ireland but sourced in China and I too seem to have PINE MOUTH I even went to the doc this eve it was driving me crazy, this really bad metally salty taste in the back of my mouth with no other symptoms to justify it. My glass of wine tasted like poison tonight. I ate the nuts as a large handful around Tuesday and in one or two dishes sprinkled. I also ate some Roses chocolates and it was biting into the round solid chocolate one with the nut at the centre that I noticed the really bitter after taste that has not gone away on brushing teeth, drinking etc. I don’t see time frames printed here on how long it lasts. I couldn’t bear this for many more days it’s quite awful and I’ll never eat pine nuts again (in case) I’d be quite reserved eating nuts in the future. By the way I was the only one in my home eating the pine nuts from the bag and I ate a lot of the ‘nutty’ Roses because I seem the only one affected
My god, that’s it! Pine nuts. Who would have thought but I am convinced that is exactly the cause of this awful after taste. I bought them at Whole Foods for a recipe I was making and have been eating them ever since. I plan to go back to the store and check out where the offending nuts originated.
UK: I have had strange and quite strong bitter taste in my mouth for the last 4 days. It tastes like tartrazine. Googling the symptom lead me to the Pine Nut Mouth phenomenom. I have no other symptoms and dont feel unwell at all. It must be Pine Mouth as I bought a bag of pine nuts from Tesco last week and have been eating a handful each night before dinner. They are of chinese origin. They’re now in the bin!
So glad I found these comments when I did a Google search for bitter taste while eating. I too recently purchased pine nuts. The brand I purchased is Naturally Preferred Pine Nuts Extra Fancy distributed by Inter-American Products, Inc. in Cincinnati. I just wrote the company and asked them to go to this webpage and look at all of the recent comments regarding pine nuts.
This brand is also a product of China.
Thanks so much for this posting. It has been very helpful because I had no idea why everything was tasting bitter to me. I’ve not had any of the pine nuts for two days so I’m hoping this will clear up soon. Super weird!!
I’ve had a bitter taste in my mouth for days. (this is about day 3).I made pesto w/ Trader Joe’s pinenuts a few days ago. Had a handful or two, too. It’s hard to put the “timeline” together. I believe it was immediately when a glass of wine tasted strange. The rest of my family was fine w/ the pesto. (Though they didnt eat the extra handfuls.) I had forgotten, until I read someone else’s comment, that some glasses seemed to have a soapy/residue taste. I now have the bitterness in my mouth-at all times-not just when eating or drinking. It’s getting worse. I almost think that coffee has tasted extra bitter-even before having the pinenuts, though. ???? Yesterday, my mouth had sores. Dry lips, too. (could just be the weather.) Both better today. No headaches nor sinus problems.
My initial thought was that the metallic taste/bitterness is caused by GERD (which I’ve had a few “bouts” of–but different symptoms. I had severe pain in chest then. Not now.)
SO, ANY SUGGESTIONS? (Has anyone asked their doctor about it? Hopefully it’ll be gone-for everyone- before MDs are back in the office-in USA anyway, since it’s Thanksgiving wkend- in 2 days.)
What foods taste better for you in the meantime?
AJ, I wouldn’t think the pinenuts would have anything to do w/ your fall. If you’re concerned about it, tell your doctor.
AJ, could you have had an allergic reaction to the pine nuts?
Add me to the list. Didn’t expect to find such a concrete answer to the mystery of this bad taste I’ve been having all day. But like everyone else, I had pine nuts yesterday in a dish and the day before straight from the bag, just to try them. I bought mine from Ralph’s in Los Angeles and they came from China. And they weren’t cheap, almost $7 for a tiny bag. I can’t believe this may last up to a week. But at least I was glad to see this strange situation explained so succinctly. Thanks, everyone.
I am very relieved to find out the foul taste in my mouth is nothing too serious. For anyone else suffering from “pine-mouth” I found a very temporary solution to the nasty taste. Sprays for sore throat, such as Chloraseptic, have Anesthetics/Analgesics which numb the affected areas. Normally you try to spray past the tongue onto the back of the throat, but directly spraying the tongue will numb it, making it easier to eat. For me it usually lasts long enough to eat a meal, then slowly wares off.
Gina,
I also was going to do a Liver Flush just to help flush it from my system more quickly. I had the worst of it for about 5 days. It’s still there, but dramatically less now.
I have been sitting in a hot sauna daily for long periods to try and sweat it out. Also taking MOLYBENDUM a supplement which is supposed to eliminate copper from the body. Not sure if this helped to speed the process along. I have read that these seeds are linked to excess copper. Still, no one seems to no anything firmly about this.
I wish the media would cover it. It really is a concern that we could be poisoned like this and not know it at the time it is happening–ie taking 1-3 days for symptoms to occur.
From Malta. Made pesto with pine nuts from Good Earth two days ago and now get bitter taste during and after meals. Will stay off pine nuts for a while. Hope it gets better soon. My stomach doesnt feel right either.
I’ve got this at the moment. Strangely, I used the same pine nuts in a risotto with no ill effect. Then a few days later ate a couple uncooked. Couple of days after that, I notice a strong bitter taste everytime I eat or drink. Its lasted 3 days so far …
Wow. I am so relieved to find this page and see that so many have reported
–just this month — a distinctly bitter taste after eating practically any food. This began just one day after Thanksgiving. A friend brought organic, delicious tasting pine nuts, but now both my husband and I have been experiencing this bitter after taste either on the tongue or the roof of our mouths. Glad to know it will go away, but as of today I am still experiencing the bitter taste — four days since eating the pine nuts. I haven’t checked with our other guests yet, but one house guest has not had the same experience, so perhaps it is individual specific.
I googled bitter aftertaste with the same concern as everyone here. Two days ago I had a few leftover pine nuts in a container. I decided to toast them and add them to a salad. Same result as everyone above. I bought them at my local Bulk food store in Ontario Canada. How long will this last again?
SOUR DROPS
CURE PINE MOUTH
SUCK ABOUT 20 IN ONE SITTING AND THE SALIVA GLANDS WILL RELEASE THE TOXINS.
YOU’LL BE DONE WITH IT IN A MATTER OF HOURS
PLEASE POST FEEDBACK
DEE
OH my goodness am I glad I read this, I am in Australia have had the bad taste at back of tonge for over 2 weeks now, so disgusting, I too thought maybe I am diabetic, but after reading this blog I remembered I ate pine nuts twice in the last fortnight. They were raw and baby ones from a salad bar, so probably a cheap variety with chemicals sprayed on they or a preservative?? I wonder what it is…
I am very relieved to find this blog. My girlfriend and i live in Dublin, Ireland. 4 days ago we ate a handfull of tesco pine nuts which originally came from china. We have had this metallic, bitter taste during and after eatng and drinking since then. I find it very noticable when drinking wine. The aftertaste makes everything most unenjoyable to consume. We would love to find out more about this pine mouth phenomenon.
Oh thank heaven I found this page!!! I thought I was sick or ill with somthing seriously wrong…… I was scared. I had pine nuts last Tues and Wed right out of the bag, they were from china. My Thanksgiving meal was ruined as well. I am relieved to know this will go away but I strongly believe the public should be warned and aware! Seven days now and I think it is getting better. Wish I could taste food and drink like normal 🙁
@DEE IN THE DESERT
Going to get Sour Drops right after work and keeping my fingers crossed! 🙂
Hi:
I have noticed this effect twice now and it puzzled me at first but after the second time and now this Very helpful bit ofresearch you’ve done! I am convinced this is thew root of the proble, It has put me off food in general due to the bitter after taste. Lesson learned. there probably is no regulatory control on it so I’ll have to suck it up. But you’ve been a big help!
Thanks!
Mek
I also got pinenuts from the bulk bin at Whole Foods and they were a small variety! My husband and I started feeling a bad taste in the back of our tongue 2 days after we ate them and are still experiencing it. Unfortunately we ate left over stuffing today (which contains the pinenuts) before I found these articles!!!@Pine Mouth
@DEE IN THE DESERT
What do you mean by sour drops?
Thank you sooooo much, I too thought i was dying and stumbling across your site has delighted me. I had a delicious salad 3 days ago full of pine nuts!!!! Ah i survive another day haha
got it from pesto. yuck. i don’t like this. and i made the mistake of having leftover pesto the next day, before this set in. it tasted good then. wonder how long this will persist.
My wife and I bought the Pine Nuts at Safeway, Calgary. I tasted it at first coz I haven’t eaten 1 before and its quite expensive. When I am about to enter my car I told my wife that the pine nuts has an after taste. Shrugged it off and went home and ate some more (I put it in my ice cream). Next day everything tasted bitter. I scraped my tongue with the tongue scraper and gargled mouthwash – nothing.
I’m glad I went to this website and known about where it came from. When next I go to Safeway I’ll tell them that their Pine Nuts sucks and that they should take it off their shelves before more complaints come in.
I’m so glad I found this site. We had pine nuts a few days ago and I’ve had a weired taste in my mouth every time I eat ever since. I was so relieved to see that others have experienced teh same thing, albeit a horrible thing to experience! I too was worried it was some horrible disease like pernicious aneamia or cancer. Hoipefully the taste will pass soon for us all.
I am so glad I found this website! I had raw pine nuts Sat and Sat night I A tuscan Sowrdfish that also had pine nuts in the “Tuscan” part:) I noticed a sore throat Sun night and Monday an awful bitter sopay taste in my mouth every time I ate! Unfortunately I had more pine nuts today at lunch! Melissa’s from China! So how long will this go on? And what exactly are sour drops? What kind?
thanks for your help!
DESDE ESPAÑA:
HACE DOS DIAS EMPEZAMOS A SENTIR SABOR AMARGO TRAS INGERIR ALIMENTOS E INCLUSO BEBIDAS, INICIALMENTE PENSAMOS QUE ERA DEBIDO A UNA TARTA QUE ELABORAMOS EN CASA Y QUE NOS HABIAMOS INTOXICADO O QUE TENÍAMOS ALGUNA INFECCION MICOTICA EN LA LENGUA, PERO AL ENCONTRAR ESTA PÁGINA RECORDAMOS HABER COMIDO PIÑONES HACE CINCO DIAS (COSA QUE NO HABIAMOS HECHO DESDE HACÍA TIEMPO) EL SABOR AMARGO EMPEORA CON EL PAN, DULCES, CHOCOLATE Y BEBIDA AZUCARADA. NOS ALIVIA MUCHO ENJUAGARNOS LA BOCA CON AGUA Y BICARBONATO. MAÑANA VAMOS A LLEVAR LOS PIÑONES A SANIDAD. MI HERMANA QUE ESTUDIA NUTRICION TAMBIEN INVESTIGARA EN EL DEPARTAMENTO DE TOXICOLOGIA DE SU UNIVERSIDAD.
I developed the metallic taste today, and googled up the symptoms.I thought I’d developed kidney disease. So pleased to find others with similar reactions. I had a ravioli dish with pine nuts at a wedding in Sydney on Sat night so 2-3 is obviously the time frame for it to develop. Must check with other guests if they had a reaction.
“Pine Mouth” lasted about 5-6 days for me. Phew! (Follow up from Nov. 28 pos.) My Trader Joe’s pinenuts were from Korea, Russia or Vietnam. Mark, I noticed it was considerably worse when drinking wine, too.
This is still going on??????? I was here quite some time ago and just looked into it to see if it had stopped. At the time I went to the supermarket where I had purchesed the pine nuts. The produce manager was going to look into the source. He said he couldn’t get garlic from anywhere but China. Not the lovely California garlic – just CHINA. Well you know what! I’m really sick (and so are a lot of people I know) of EVERYTHING coming from CHINA. Lets face it folks – thats a long way for food to travel. Have you ever been in the kitchen of a Chineese Restaurant? I’m sorry but cleanliness is not an issue. I worked in a Chinese Restaurant for a short time when my kids were small. One day the cook dropped a plate of French Fries on the extremely dirty kitchen floor. The owner piled them back onto the plate and ordered me to take them to the customer. Sorry – I am not giving these fries to a little boy. They were furious with me. I sound nasty don’t I. I’m worried about what we are eating and where it is coming from and quality control standards and cleanliness. I am also worried about North American Economy. Soon we won’t make anything or grow anything here. Doesn’t anyone see it coming? Sorry this was about Pine Nuts. I haven’t eaten them since. Sorry really.
You can add me to the list of “victims” of the pine nut phenom. Mine were not old. I just purchased them on Sunday at Trader Joe’s and made pesto that night. Monday night the bitter taste started. It’s worse today. (Wednesday) I’m praying it doesn’t last long or isn’t, God forbid, permanent.
wow, glad I found this blog. first time I have purchased the small pine nut variety. Produced in China…what a horrible taste. Sounds as if i have to endure this for a week!
Wow. On Sunday night, I (and my husband and son) at some Pine nuts we’d had in our freezer. My son is a vegetarian and eats nuts all the time. Neither he nor my husband noticed anything strange, but right away i noticed they tasted bitter. I even took all the remaining nuts from them and threw them out to be on the safe side (they thought I was crazy). They were Trader Joe’s brand. Then, then next afternoon when I started to eat my lunch (usually my first meal of the day) I noticed a very bitter taste in my mouth. I thought the soup was bad now! Ugh. I actually left the remainder on my desk when I left (thinking that if it were contaminated I’d like to have the remainder. From that point on, everything I ate started up this bile like taste in my mouth and nose (I could even smell it). When I haven’t eaten for awhile, it calms down, but then it’s back. It’s been 3 days now. It seems to be started to get a little better. I haven’t noticed any other problems that could be related to a bitter taste in one’s throat (mainly jaundice, excessive thirst, etc. So, I”m just going to wait and see.
Well, my friend brought Pinus cembroides, Piñones! from his recent trip to Mexico, I’ve never tried them before and he told me they were very healthy, so I decided to try them and yes, two days after eating them, the bitter taste started, I told my friend and he couldn’t believe it until a day after, he started to feel it too! great to know this is temporary.
I’m experiencing this phenomenon, right now. I’m at work and the pine nuts are at home so I don’t know where they’re from or even the brand name.
But I’m curious, how long did this last for you? I last ate the pine nuts two days ago and still everything tastes bitter, metallic-like and unpleasant. Any idea when I can expect things to return to normal?
What the heck is going on with the pine nuts?
I’ve eaten them for years, no problem. Then, with nuts about six months old, I ate two or so handfuls a day for about a week. Two days ago — the last pine nut ingestion was 24-36 hours before, I’m whacked by a bitter/sour (can’t explain it any better than that) taste in my mouth and throat. It gets worse over the next twelve hours. All food tastes lousy. Drinking wine was like drinking sewage.
Went to sleep, awoke next day with the effect maybe 10% less acute. Rinsed twice with hydrogen peroxide and gargled. Little effect.
Today, it’s quite a bit better — maybe 75% less acute. Hoping for continued improvement tomorrow and beyond.
But….
a. why all of a sudden?
b. what’s with the long lingering effect that many experience?
c. why hasn’t some enterprising reporter pick up on what might be a food safety story?
I was in a culinary competition on Tuesday (now Saturday morning) and had made a pesto for my pasta starter.. obviously since I’m commenting here I too am feeling the wrath of the bitter mouth, even though I only had a teaspoon’s worth to check seasoning. Have anyone’s symptoms gone away? How many days average? Being a cook, this is really debilitating..
@Kurbee
Just thought I should add, I live in Montreal Canada. Hopefully this situation gets figured out soon.
12/5/09 I had a dinner party 8 days ago, and made a salad that included pine nuts. The next day, I ate a handful of the nuts. Soon thereafter, everything I ate tasted bitter. It’s only starting to fade now. I looked “bitter taste in mouth” up on Google and was shocked to see pine nuts listed as a cause. Also, my daughter complained that food tasted spoiled to her. She went out of state for a few days, so can’t ask her if she meant bitter too, as she was at the party. How strange. How sad, I had decided I would continue to eat lots of pine nuts, but better not. Thanks for the heads up.
Thanks everyone for apparently solving my problem – I don’t buy pine nuts as my husband hates them and very rarely have anytning but the odd few in a restaurant, but I ate a handful on a Virgin flight from Cape Town on Thursday and the horrid bitter taste that developed yesterday (Sat) is tainting everything I eat and like you all say, is quite worrying. Where would we all be without google. I shall hunt down some sour drops today – if they exist in the UK.
This is so bizarre, my dad, boyfriend and I all have this bitter taste after eating pretty much anything… homemade pesto (obviously with pine nuts) seems to be the culprit. It seems like it is an issue worldwide… I wonder 1) what it is and 2) who should be told so that the producer/supplier can be identified and this problem addressed… mmmm
Thanks for the information. Is anyone back to normal yet? This has been going on for me for a week and a half. It seems to be getting a little better. Has anyone experienced total recovery? Please let others know. By the way, my pine nuts are the smaller ones from China too.
Just following on from my comment last month my bad taste lasted 6 days and then went completely so there is light at the end of the tunnel.
I’ve had a bitter taste in my mouth the past week, only while eating (particularly sweet food) and after finding out my girlfriend (and her father) had the same problem, we googled the symptoms and found this page.
We also ate pinenuts a week ago and believe this is the cause… random!
Hopefully the cause is not a toxic poison.
Add me to the victim list. Kirkland (Costco) pine nuts from China bought in Boise, ID. Maybe this will be the one holiday season where I lose weight.
Victim #?: Kirkland (Costco) pine nuts bought in Boise, ID
I have had pine nuts before but don’t remember this happening…I ate a dip with pine nuts (a lot!) on Sunday and Monday. I noticed the bitter taste since Monday whenever I eat or drink. It’s horrible! I will not eat them again. I live in St. Charles, MO and got the dip from a Diergerg’s grocery store.
I have had pine nuts before but don’t remember this happening…I ate a dip with pine nuts (a lot!) on Sunday and Monday. I noticed the bitter taste since Monday whenever I eat or drink. It’s horrible! I will not eat them again. I live in St. Charles, MO and got the dip from a Dierberg’s grocery store.
Utterly amazing! Pine nuts are often in my diet so this is a first for me. I bought my last batch in Maui. Four days later I’m home and everything I eat has the same bitter taste as described.
Thank goodness I found this blog…. was beginning to get quite concerned after suffering the effects for several days now. My pine nuts were purchased from Sainsbury’s UK, when I phoned them they seemed to have little concern,however, they were able to tell me that their pine nuts are sourced from China.
Wow, glad I found this. I was getting really worried about the terrible bitter metallic taste. I ate pine nuts a couple of days agao, and thought they tasted bitter. The package says product of China, but little of anything else. Bought at a local grocery store, in Toronto Canada
Wow! Glad to find so many others who are “afflicted.” I have googled bitter taste in my mouth and overlooked those searches the last couple of days. I ate pine nuts 4 days ago and the bitter taste started almost 2 days ago. I am going on day 3 of “bitter mouth syndrome.” It’s nasty! Hope it goes away soon. Who’da thought!
Wow! I just did the same thing. I thought I had some strange and terrible diease and as soon as I read this blog I remembered eating Pine nuts just a couple days ago. The first I noticed something wrong, before I realized it was me was that I was serving wine to guests and told them it must have gone bad; I took away their glasses and poured the bottle down the drain. They had quite befuddled faces as I did so. The next bottle tasted the same to me, but they assured me they would just drink theirs.
One more thing: I noticed that this original article was written in October 2008. But the comments seem to be written very recently, from December 2, 2009 to now and often but not always mentioning “Costco”. A sudden pandemic of “Pine Mouth” victims directed here by google! I am pretty certain I got my pine nuts as Costco as well. I live in the Chicago area. Perhaps there is a bad “batch” out there. I have been eating pine nuts for YEARS and this has never happened before.
Not to worry, the taste will go away. I posted on Hyam’s site back in September. It lasted about 6 days for me, I was even tracked down and did an interview on CBC radio. I had the City of Montreal food inspection take a sample of the pine nuts and had the federal government notify me that it is being looked at but there is nothing to worry about.
A recommendation for those suffering – I am getting some relief from drinking carbonated waters – ones with just the slight flavoring like Talking Rain. If I drink it during and after eating, it cuts the bitterness down some.
who knows what these people spray on things nowadays. i got a bitter taste from eating pine nuts and i am from London. maybe its a chemical they are spraying on it. are there any organic pine nuts out there.
Checked the packaging on mine again and they are President’s Choice.
Just made pesto for the first time a few days ago and served it to a group of my friends and my family. Same thing. We all just said the same thing! We all were convinced we had a rare, fatal disease. I think I am comforted to know that it was this pine nut phenomenon, but I’m still not all that comforted. Hopefully it will go away. Until then, it’s a great weight-loss program since everything tastes awful.
My son reported the same symptoms this morning. He thought it may have been connected with a recent bout of the flu – I Googled and came up with this site. He had eaten a handful of pine nuts during the week at a friends home – and sure enough they are also experiencing the same symptons. They thought it was something to do with a “bad tooth” They looked at the nuts and said they were smaller than normal and came from China. Seems that the same nuts you guys ate are also available in Australia. I reported it to the Health Department (and as soon as I said the word “Google” I got the distinct impression that the Dr I was speaking to thought I was a “nut case” myself. He said he would follow it up “on Monday” – it is Saturday am here.
Looks like the same nuts are available in Victoria (Aust) Mt son and his friends who ate “smaller than usual” pine nuts originating in China have the same symptoms – we have reported it to the Health authorities.
To those of you in the states – call your FDA district office –
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/ReportaProblem/ConsumerComplaintCoordinators/default.htm
I expected never to hear from them, but I had a call back within an hour and within 24 hours, I had an FDA agent at my door collecting the pine nuts to send back to headquarters.
I ate Trader Joe’s Raw Pignolias (pine nuts) on Tuesday and starting Wednesday everything I ate or drank had a terrible after-taste (like earwax or something). Reading these previous comments leads me to believe I have the same issue, but the pine nuts I ate are a product of Korea, Russia or Vietnam…and no one else (who ate them) has complained about the same issue?
This is currently happening to me. I am on a week of everything I put in my mouth taste bitter. Its awful. However, I have not eaten any kind of nut in a long time. So, I confused as to what it might be.
Found this online: Apparently, according to a scientific article that appeared in 2001 in the European Journal of Emergency Medicine, certain pine nuts, and specifically the ones imported from China, can cause a taste disturbance — a bitter, metallic taste in the mouth, especially prone when eating, can develop and last for days!
Lots of people from all over the world have reported on this strange phenomenon — even Wikipedia describes the risk of eating pine nuts!
The good news is, that although the strong, bitter taste is a nuisance, there is no evidence of any health concern. The bad news is, that there is no known cure to the taste disturbance.
The same thing happened to me – I love pine nuts and have cooked with them and eaten them out of hand (usually toasted first) for years, and never had this problem. I usually purchase big bags of pine nuts at Whole Foods. This time, I purchased them from Food Emporium. Unfortunately, I threw away the container, but I think I remember that they were imported and repackaged by a company in New Jersey Bad move: now everything tastes horrible, and I’m on my fourth day. The FE ones could have been rancid (probably less turnover), or sprayed with something nasty – who knows.
One thing I am wondering is if cooking them takes away this problem. I usually toast them first, but this time I grabbed a few handfuls raw from the freezer and experienced this.
I bought mine from a Dominick’s in Chicago. I eat them all the time and never had a problem until this batch. It’s a horrible feeling and I am just glad to know it will go away.
Well, I LIVE in China and just ate pine nuts in pesto on Sunday and am absolutely miserable from the bad taste still in my mouth that started yesterday! Has anyone found something to get rid of the taste?!?! I am going to warn all of my friends here not to buy the pine nuts anymore!
I bought a cup and a quarter in bulk in Atlanta, Thanksgiving day, and made 2 raw yam pies. i soaked the nuts for 15 minutes before using. No problems from eating the pie. This past Friday, I ate the remaining pine nuts ( a little less than 1/8 cup). The next day I noticed some freshly baked cookies from our local natural foods store tasted bitter but thought someone goofed up and made a mistake with the recipe. Then it seemed everything else was bitter. I didn’t think much of it until the next day. Everything was still bitter. I thought maybe I had a dental problem. So this morning I decided to google and came across this blog. Wow!!! I’ve never had this happen from eating pine nuts before and haven’t had them in about a year until Thanksgiving. Maybe the ones in the pie that were soaked and rinsed helped. This taste is terrible. Hope it ends soon. I’m on day four.
just wanted to let people know that I tried a salt water and lemon juice mouth rinse and it helped to very temporarily alieve the bad taste, long enough to enjoy my morning coffee. It isn’t a cure, but at least it helps for a little while.
I bought some pine nuts from a bulk food dispenser at Whole Foods about a week ago. Most of the batch was fine, but the last few I had yesterday put that nasty taste in my mouth. I’d been keeping them in my fridge — maybe they went bad after a week? Or maybe those last few happened to be the bad ones? It came on about an hour after I ate, when I thought I’d bought some bad tomato juice. One day down …
Well 10 miserable days of everything tasting bitter and I am OK again. Of interest my husband decided that I was exaggerating the terrible taste so decided to try the pine nuts:-) Well 2 days later he wishes he hadn’t!
Yeah, for me lemon and apple cider vinegar made the taste less bitter and more metallic, which was preferable. I’m on day 9, and have substantial improvement. It’s barely lingering at this point. Funny story, Carole. I’ve had so many people dismiss me and call me “nuts” – maybe they’ll learn someday and at least the FDA is taking me seriously.
I got pine nuts at trader joe’s 3 days ago and made my usual orzo salad for a holiday potluck. At work over the next 2 days I snacked on the pine nuts more, probably more than I should have, although not ridiculous amounts. Last night I noticed the bitter feeling in the back of my mouth. I used to suffer from GERD and it reminded me of how I felt when I woke up some mornings, but this wasn’t going away. Thank goodness I found this and many other articles/blogs! I think I need to follow up with Trader Joe’s.
After making a pasta dish with pine nuts my family and I are suffering from the bitter metalic taste too. The pine nuts I bought were sold as baby pine nuts so that is similar to the previous stories told. We had removed carpet the same day and found mold and thought the bad taste might have been from breathing in the spores, but thanks to the internet i can stop worrying. We are on day three and havent noticed any improvement yet. I hope it doesnt last too long.
Good to hear that FDA is looking into this. I have eaten pine nuts from Russia for year, and never had a problem. The athletes over there swear by them.
There are other cuases like medications. I was took an antibiotic that did this to me.@Donna
Thank goodness for this site..I was searching for an answer to the bitter foul taste in my mouth that started 2 days ago. I thought for sure something was drastically wrong…and then I realized I had pine nuts on my salad Monday!! I am sure this is the cause after reading all your blogs. I bought mine at a reputable Italian deli..the were in a jar
labeled “Cento”. I have no idea where they are made, but beware!
Will try the salt water rinse..if anyone has a better solution please let me know.
I’m suffering from it now. Was going through article after article, figured its not (jaundice, diabetes, heavy metal poisoning, tooth decay, pregnancy)… and stumbled across this. I had pine nuts on my lunch Tuesday at a restaurant. I started having the symptoms yesterday. I’ve brushed and flossed like a madwoman, scrubbed my tongue, used The Original Listerine until I had tears in my eyes, and still it persists. It is comforting to have found the reason, though. I am not mad, I just have a tongue that my mouth wants to run away from 🙁
I am reading this site because I was searching for a cause for the bitter taste in my mouth that will not go away. Thinking back, I had a salad with pine nuts 4 days ago in a restaurant near Philadelphia, PA. The bitter taste is worse after eating anything sweet.
Hello to all. I’m in New Zealand. Hadn’t eaten pine nuts for years but recently my local health shop got some in. They were not packaged, and so expensive I just purchased a small handful as a treat. They were okay but I thoght at the time they didn’t taste nearly as nice as I seem to remember from years ago. Didn’t think anymore of it. A couple of days later started this horrible bitterness everytime I ate something. I did what everyone else did and Googled the problem. As soon as I saw references to “pine nuts” cropping up in relation to this, I knew what had caused my problem. Guess I won’t be over-eating this Christmas! Seriously, the authorities should look into this, especially if the source is China. The recent case of Chinese melamine tainted milk powder that killed four babies is a prime example of their corrupt food production industry. For some years I’ve made sure never to eat any foodstuffs made in China or where any of the ingredients could possibly originate in China.
Same symptoms. Bought mine from Costco in Los Angeles. I often use toasted pine nuts (from Costco) in my cooking and have never had this problem before. But two nights ago I ate a couple of tablespoons of these, raw, with some other nuts. So did my husband and he doesn’t have the same problem. It’s disgusting, but at least I know now that I’m not alone and not dying!
I am having the same problems everyone else on this blog does. Day three. Pine nuts from Cub Foods in Minneapolis.
Bought pine nuts from local supermarket. Use by date May 2011! Anybody any idea how to flush this bitterness out?
I am in New Zealand. I have never had problems after eatring pine nuts until this week. Now I have the horrid bitter tastethat you describe after eating which has persisted for a couple of days. The pine nuts that I ate were not pre packaged and I do not know which country they were from. Thank you all I am glad that I now know what has caused it. Does anyone have any other symtoms related to this? eg Dizziness /vertigo. Maybe someone should market this as a food diversion therapy as it sure puts you off your food.
I’ve had a weird, bitter taste in my mouth for about 3 days. I bought some pine nuts (from China) at the store the other day and have been snacking on them. The bitter taste is on the roof of the back of my throat/mouth. Very strange. The nuts are gone, I hope the symptoms go away soon so I can enjoy the Christmas sweets.
My son also ate some, but didn’t get any symptoms. I think I ate more than he.
(At first I thought I had Thrush….I’ve had it before.)
I am so glad I ran into this blog. I too have been suffering from a bitter taste in the back of my mouth after eating EVERYTHING. I double checked with my husband – the foods taht I thought tasted awful (left a bitter after taste) he raved about. I realized after about 2 days that something was wrong with MY taste, not the food.
Most of what I eat is raw and I recently made spaghetti (really zucchini)with marinara sauce and “cheeze” (made of . .. you guessed it – PINE NUTS). I had approximately 2 table spoons of pine nuts over the course of two days. I eat pine nuts all of the time but had a box in the freezer of baby (really small – much smaller than the typical size I usually buy) pine nuts that I purchased at a different store from my usual. This is probably the culprit.
I would like relief, however. I’ll continue to read for suggested remedies, but if anyone knows of any right off – I’d appreciate an email. Thanks.
I’m back … just a note. I looked at the package of pine nuts that I have and they are “Chinese Pinenuts Raw” from Ferris Coffee and Nut Company in Grand Rapids, MI.
I am experiencing the same thing. Pine nuts we served the other day at a dinner party. I’ve had pine nuts many times before but never experienced this problem. I’ve been experimenting with brushing my tongue as a way to alleviate the aftertaste. Unfortunately since the taste is near the back edge and sides of my tongue, I can’t brush well without gagging. I tried Chloraseptic spray as a way to numb my tongue and did manage to brush it somewhat – I’m going to keep trying this. Also, the spray seems to be the only thing (other than water) that didn’t trigger the aftertaste. The Christmas sweets will be gone by the time I can enjoy them — which is fine by me 😉
Hi I’m in the UK and have these symptoms have had it before and it did go away … eventually. I thought it couldn’t be pine nuts then remembered i’d been eating a ‘pesto dip’ from Marks and Spencer. No way of checking when it’s happened before if that’s what I’d eaten but highly likely as seems to be the same symptoms – I think! Although i do get a sort of prickling sensation on my tongue – tastes like i’ve eaten aniseed – anyone else feel that? Also how do we get rid of it … nearly Christmas Day!!
OMG Its Christmas morning and I woke up with the same wierd taste, I told my husband about it and he kinda didn’t believe me. I asked him to give me a kiss to see if he could taste the horrible taste and he did kiss me and said ” ewwwww you taste bitter”…Ya no kidding thats what I was trying to tell you! I got all upset, he told me to go to the DR,( ya right its Christmas day!) I thought I was dying and that I had been somehow chemically poisoned by the new furniture (the smell) that we had just got! I googled as we all did, and WHALAA an explaination for this horrible taste. I got pine nuts at Wegmans in State College, PA and noticed they were much smaller than the ones I usually get. However, I am addicted to those things and thought I’d get some to snack on. Turns out they are from CHINA and are now the cuplrit for the nasty gross taste in my mouth. Guess I’ll be losing a few pounds this Christams! The ONLY thing that helps is eating garlic to the point that no one wants to be around you! OK and WHATEVER you do, don’t do the following: Yesterday morning, still not knowing what was causing my taste bud fiasco, I got up poured my organic milk over a bowl of sugar smacks and after the first bite that truly nasty taste was MIND BLOWINGLY STRONG!! I DO NOT advise you to eat anything with lots of sugar…IT’A TOTALLY GROSS!! The garlic thing works but now my husband wants to stay away from me… oh well the bright side is that I am not eating much of anything which will help me ring in the new year a few pounds lighter!! Gotta find a the bright side I guess??? I threw away those nasty pine nuts from China and its like day 3 for me but I ended up eating a handful yesterday so who knows when its going to go away! I pray to God its soon because it beyond annoying at this point! Merry Christmas!!!!
This is absolutely bizzare! I am a physician from Canada. I went to a party two days ago. Everyone brought their best wines. I was surprised to find that most of them tasted a bit off?? The next day I realized that my breakfast tasted bitter. Everything. My first thought was that I had a brain tumor and did a self neurologic test. Nothing seemed to come up so before I ordered up an MRI I checked the web. I remembered eating toasted pine nuts in a salad a few days earlier. They were from Costco in Calgary. China produced. This is something very unusual. I have never encountered nor heard about this before in all my experience as a doctor. I’m sure there are more people out there who are going through tests to figure out why everything tastes bitter. I am really surprised that this isn’t making the news or health alerts aren’t being released by public health. Although not overly popular, lots of people are eating pine nuts. Good luck to all those out there. This is really a drag over the holidays. Nothing tastes good.
@Alison D.
One fellow on another site says that it can last 6 months to a lifetime (LIFETIME?!).
What site?
Interestingly, as evidenced by one of the comments on Roger’s other blog post on this topic, this also seems to be occurring in Spain, where pine trees and nuts are plentiful. (I grew up Spain, and never did we nor anyone else experience the delayed bitterness).
So, how is it possible that the same thing is happening on the opposite side of the globe?
:
a) Spain has also fallen victim to ‘globalization’, and are importing pine nuts from the far east.
b) The molecular/genetic make up of one or more Pine Tree types have somehow mutated
c) There is now a new compound in the human body that when combined with Pine Nuts creates the bitter taste. Perhaps a metal. ( does anyone else discern a metallic shade in the bitterness? ). As far fetched as this may sound, it might just be the case, specially when one considers:
– 1) the amount of pollution containing metal particulates,
– 2) chemtrails (which have been proven to contain aluminum and barium), or
– 3) other metal based additives rampantly used in our food supply (the coating of M & M’s contain titanium oxide, mercury has been found in corn syrup ( Google ” corn-syrup-mercury-460209 “), and cadmium in peanuts, peanut butter, potato chips, french fries, cabbage and more (google ” Metallic Lunch: An Analysis of Heavy Metals in the Canadian Diet ”
d) It is indeed one of the Oriental varieties Roger describes that causes these symptoms, which would mean globalization is much further along than we think, and so the Chinese / Asian exporters must be wiping out a plethora of pine nut sources all over the globe.
Anyone else have ideas as to why this is happening?
(just saw there’s also a comment from New Zealand – same story…)
___________________________
Spanish to English Translation from the first post below ( December 2, 09, by YAEL) :
___________________________
From Spain:
Two days ago, we began noticing a bitter taste when eating food, including drinks. Initially, we thought it was due to a cake my husband made at home that had poisoned us, or that we had a mycotic infection on our tongues, but having found this blog, we remembered that we’d eaten Pine Nuts five days ago. (something we hadn’t done in years). The bitter taste is worse with bread, sweetes, chocolate or any sweetened drink. Brushing and gargling with water and baking soda (bicarbonate) has helped a lot. Tomorrow we’ll be taking the Pine Nuts and our experience to the Health Authorities. My sister, who studies nutrition, will also be investigating this in the Department of Toxicology at her University.
Ok. I read the whole thread. For me I don’t remember eating pine nuts but I did eat Planters assorted nuts which are -pine nut free- unless somehow some got in the package. My symptoms started with a headache that lasted days, with a pain in my groin on the left side, like I had pulled something. It has escalated into nausea and the rancid taste in my mouth. It has been about 7 days since the first symptom and the taste is getting worse. I have tried gum made it worse,sour drops made it worse,gargled with salt water,no help,a tablespoon of Sherry Vinegar, no help. I am off the the health food store,Bunn’s,to have a chat with the owner to see if she can shed some light on this problem. While I am there I will get Aloe Vera Juice, Alpha Lipoic, Parotid pmg and green tea. At this point I will try anything.
On a legal note: the fact that this has been known since 2001 and a paper has been published but nothing has been done in the US to address this problem is a example of our conformatity as a people. What these producers need is a good class action suit and the politicians need to find another job maybe work in a pine nut factory where they get paid in small Chinese pine nuts.LOL
PS And anyone believes that these symptoms are harmless after just one study ,where they still can’t find a cure or guidelines to how this is happening to some and not others, is just limited thinking. How can anyone say that this is harmless tell me that 20 years from now after a dozen studies and you will have my attention.
Good Luck to all and Take Care.
Well, I’m in the same boat.. After using some small pine nuts to make a chocolate/ricotta cheese tart, and indulging in a few small handfuls of pine nuts, I’ve got the nasty, bitter taste on the back of my tongue. I hope that this goes away.. It’s very disturbing.
Mike, given you didn’t eat pine nuts and you are experiencing alot of other symptoms, you should seek medical attention, it does not sound like pine mouth.
I already posted this on the previous page, but I see people are still throwing away their pine nuts after this happens. Do NOT throw them away if you are in the states! Contact your FDA district office, they will come take them way for you and there will be hope of findingo out what is going on with this:
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/ReportaProblem/ConsumerComplaintCoordinators/default.htm
Add me to the list. I eat pine nuts regularly. Roasted and ate them Xmas eve. Xmas day, I started getting that bitter taste in my mouth, and it hasn’t gone away since. They were from Costco, from China. Anyone come up with a solution? I’m thinking of doing a cleanse.
The same exact thing happened to me. Thanks for taking the time to write this article. It put my mind at rest.
Hi,
I know I ate nuts 3 days ago and the bitter taste seem to have appeared not right away but a day ago. I am from Siberia originally and have eaten Siberian pine nuts for years so I guess we can eleminate those. On the other hand, the author confesses to eating a lot of pine nuts before actually developing that bitter taste.
Thank you! I am having the same symptoms, bitter after taste at back of my throat/tongue after eating anything. Come to think of it, I had pine nuts in my tea on 12/23 at a coffee shop. I think I notice the bitter after taste on Christmas morning. I thought my sensory wiring was failing me… 🙂 Does anyone know how long this bitter after taste can last? Shouldn’t the symptoms disappear after few days if it’s a mere irritation or allergic reaction?
Well I am relieved after reading this site. On Christmas night I ate a salad with pine nuts. I don’t know where they are from because my sister-in-law made the salad. She left the rest of the pine nuts here – She said that they were already toasted – she had them wrapped in foil. I ate a handful the next day. Last night I noticed this strange taste in my mouth and today is really bad. Everything I eat tastes awful!! Does anyone have a remedy?? I will probably go to the health food store to see what they recommend. If any of you know of a cure please let me know.. Nothing tastes good and it’s not fun! Thanks for your great website.
My husband just informed me that my breath smelt of onions and I told him I had had a bitter taste in my mouth for about a month or so. I googled it (thank goodness for Google) and pine nuts were mentioned! A month ago I started buying bags of mixed nuts because everyone says nuts are healthy etc. I eat them (a large handful) twice a day and the bitter taste, particularly after eating something sweet, is really bad and I am not enjoying my food (every cloud has a silver lining!) I have Manuka honey in my porridge every morning but have been leaving it as it tastes so bitter. I have just thrown all the nuts out for the birds.
First, thank you – this is a nice blog on the topic and I will certainly add it to our blog and our page, http://www.pinenut.com We stopped selling all imported pine nuts about 2 years ago. We had 1 client call about the problem, I researched it and said, “no more imports.” Their species was Pinus sibirica also called Cedar Nuts, albeit it is a pine.
We now offer only American pine nuts, P. Monophylla and P.Edulis. The condition does NOT appear with American Pine nuts. Likewise There is no problem with P.Pinea from Spain.
We get lots of calls and emails about pine nut mouth. I had 1 major grocer call because their in house taste samples resulted in 5 of 10 people reporting the taste disturbance. They were in a panic. The problem continues to grow.
I added a page on the site about it. There are some people reporting it as related to a particular species of pine nut. Pine nuts have become so lucriative that many other species non-traditional pine seeds are making it into the supply chain. China purchase most of the pine nuts grown in Asia and process them. I believe it is in the processing. We will have domesticly produced shelled pine nuts in the very near future. The food safty issue was a huge factor for us, in developing shelled pine nut products. Until then, the soft shell – P. Monophylla is a good and safe bet. Shelling isn’t that hard or time consuming. Just crack the small end of the nut, and roll it like a garlic clove.
Pine Nut Penny,
We had pine nuts(Kirkland brand from Costco bought in Illinois), on Christmas eve and again 26 December. Since last night 2 persons in our family have had a bitter taste everytime we eat. It is pretty bad. I have had pine nuts before, this is the 1st time this has ever happened. What is happening to our food? This is really weird, some chemical reaction happening in our bodies. Are our bodies/liver being affected?
Are people being tested? This is terrible. Great way for someone wanting to lose weight.
Does anyone know how long our taste will be “off”?
Nothing tastes good!! I wonder if there is an antidote?
Fresh mint, lemon juice, anyone?
thanks and good luck to all of you taste lost to pine nutters out there.
Wow! I ate pine nuts in two salads (Dec 24th and Dec 25th). I started noticing the bitter taste when eating breakfast on the 29th. I have had the same bitter taste every time I eat or drink anything. I am really, really interested in a remedy or at least a timeline of how long this will last. Please help!
Ok I posted on Dec. 28th that I had pine nuts but was not sure where there were from. I went to the store today where my sister-in-law went to buy them and sure enough they are from China. Just wanted to let you all know. My biggest concern now is how to get rid of this awful taste. Maybe this is a new diet secret — because you certainly don’t want to eat anything because everything tastes awful! Water is the only thing that I can stand. Anyway, still looking for someone to let me know what I can do to get rid of this!! It’s now been 4 days. HELP!
Ya, ate pine nuts three days ago. “Organic” natural pinenuts from local store… not local pinenuts. Next day, everything tastes bitter and suddenly my gums are bleeding when I brush (first time in years and years – have always had healthly gums, zero cavities)… Interesting how many posts have shown up here in last two weeks…
Hello. I have the same problem although I have eaten ecological swedish baby pine nuts here in Sweden. Had a handful of them a few days ago and have had the symptoms for a couple of days now. Everything tastes bitter. I saw in a swedish newspaper that “pine mouth” cases have mow been found in Sweden as well, WHAT IS THIS???
I just checked were the pinenuts originated. China.
I am mystified… I am a physician and have sporadically eaten pine nuts all my life, and never experienced or even heard about this.
A bitter taste that colors anything one eats and rebounds even worse after eating either naturally or artificially sweetened food. There is a date on top of my bottle of Chinese pine nuts, I was not sure whether it was the day they were packed or the expiration, so I asked the supermarket manager, who reassured me that ‘they last forever anyway’, so used them to cook (and ate another handful in the process). I remembered that stale pinenuts have this rancid oxydized taste, but they are not bitter, and mine actually tasted quite sweet when I tried them raw immediately after purchasing them (they are quite expensive). I also noticed they are smaller than the ones I remember using in the past, and have a darker yellowish color, but no obvious staining, molding, or odor. I think that Goods from the Woods has it pegged, and this is a different variety from the ones I am used to, and perhaps should not be used for human consumption. Hope something can be done about this, Goods in the Woods can have my leftovers and perhaps tell me if they are from Pinus Sibirica. Meantime, I will try bicarbonate and see if that helps… Yuck!
Happy New Year to all!
Well, me being a doctor and having a curious mind and library access, here is what I found in the medical literature. I think that perhaps, regardless of the stamped date, we may have eaten stale pine nuts… I guess China puts profit before food safety.
European Journal of Emergency Medicine
Issue: Volume 8(1), March 2001, p 76
Copyright: © 2001 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.
Publication Type: [THE XXXVIII CONGRESS OF THE SOCIETY FOR CLINICAL TOXICOLOGY: Abstracts]
ISSN: 0969-9546
Accession: 00063110-200103000-00036[THE XXXVIII CONGRESS OF THE SOCIETY FOR CLINICAL TOXICOLOGY: Abstracts]
Taste disturbances after pine nut ingestion
Taste disturbances after pine nut ingestion M. Mostin Poisons Centre, Brussels, Belgium Case report: A colleague anaesthesiologist experienced two episodes of taste disturbances after pine nut ingestion. At the first time, he just consumed a handful of pine nuts. Two days later, he developed an episode of taste disturbances (bitter, metallic taste). The disturbances lasted a few days. He made a link between pine nuts and the taste disturbances after the second episode when his wife and friends who shared with him a dish prepared with the same pine nuts complained of a persisting bitter taste sensation 2 days after the meal. Examination of the pine nuts revealed they were oxidized and not fit for consumption. No fungal contamination was found. No explanation was found for the taste disturbances. In the following months, six similar cases were reported to the Poisons Centre. The pine nuts involved in those cases were imported from China. The pine species remain unidentified. Analysis on pesticide residues and heavy metal did not reveal any contamination. One member of the medical team of the Poisons Centre tested on himself several brands of pine nuts and experienced two separate episodes of taste disturbances with the pine nuts imported from China. The phenomenon remained unexplained. A student in pharmacy undertook chromatographic examinations on two samples involved in the taste disturbances and compared them with pine nuts from other origins. This led to the isolation of constituants compatible with triglycerids, formed by 16–18°C unsaturated fatty acids. The role of those triglycerids in the taste disturbances remains hypothetic.
Mr Hyam:
My apologies for inadvertently repeating in my second post a reference that you had already provided a link to in your initial entry. Please feel free to remove post as it’s obviously redundant. Thank you for looking it up for us and shedding light on the subject.
All the best,
S
This is almost funny…I just googled bitter taste, fearfully expecting to find out that I might have a fatal illness, and instead I discovered this group of bitter-taste sufferers who – like me – have all eaten pine nuts recently. I’ve never had this reaction before, but the other night I found a small container in the cupboard and had them for a snack. I’m not sure where they were purchased, but I’m going to try and figure it out.
@ JOANNE #26, I had this problem end of June 2009 & based on my experience I think it will take 6-7 DAYS(another 2-3 DAYS for you then)to ease the bitter taste after eating, since then I have not had the the problem again(I DO NOT EAT PINE NUTS!!!) Cheers, Ray.
Me too. It is horrible. There must be a way to get rid of it?
@Joanne
I had the same symptoms after eating pine nuts in salad. On the second day I took charcoal tablets (2 every 4 hours) and the bitterness has gone away. Charcoal absorbs poisons/toxins.
Thanks Ray for your response. Boy I hope you are right. And you can bet that I won’t be eating Pine Nuts again.. it’s ashame because I love them but I can’t go through this again.
Thanks,
Joanne
Hi guys. I am so happy to have found this list of comments. Around Christmas Day I started having this weird metallic taste in the back of my mouth, this has later turned into a bitter taste on the top back of my tounge and roof of my mouth and it has been driving me crazy. Finding this blog at least put my mind a bit to rest.
I also use a lot of pine nuts in my cooking and recently bought a new pack from Whole Foods (packed in Sep 09,2009). Didn’t think much of it apart from noticing that they were smaller and didn’t taste as usual. Started using them around Christmas eve. Unfortunately I managed to rip of the label indicating where they come from, but they are the type of “baby” pine nuts that some of you have described. Secondly we got some chocolate covered popcorn as a gift and trying them kicked this bitter taste symptom out of the ball park so to speak. They’re from “Peterbrooke” Jacksonville Florida and have been processed in a plant that also process nuts. Don’t know if there’s any connection, (starting to get paranoid), but maybe someone else have had a similar experience.
Most things taste awful or at least bland. It’s like the taste buds have just checked out, also have a burning/numb sensation on the tongue like when you burn yourself on a hot liquid (and I haven’t). Sweet things in particular triggers this, especially things with colour or corn syrup added. Seems like a lot of people are having problems at the moment, anyone else wondering it there is some culprit plant out there that has sent out a bad batch? Anyway, Happy new year and may our taste buds recover.
I live in the UK and have the same problem.I have been so concerned over the last week and am relieved to find this site which seems to offer an explanation.I bought some ‘own brand’ pine nuts from the local Tesco supermarket last week.I used them in a recipe and also ate a handful of them.I have just checked and they originate from China. I have a terrible bitter taste at the back of my tongue and a very slight rash on my face.I wondered at first if it was some sort of allergy or gastro esophogeal reflux, but there does not seem to be any acid in my throat. I also feel as if the taste is sitting on the back of my tongue and roof of the back of my mouth , not coming up from my stomach/throat.The bitterness increases everytime I eat and is present but less evident in between eating.It is ruining my enjoyment of food and causing some very strange taste sensations.Things are tasting very different to how they are supposed to and not very pleasant.This has lasted about five days now and no sign of disappearing.There seem to be quite a few recent comments regarding this problem- I wonder if there are some rogue batches of pine nuts on the loose,or more alarming a dodgy food producer! I also wondered if anyone has any advisory feedback following the research on the offending pine nuts?
Apart from the obvious unpleasant tastes, could there be any more serious harmful effects? I am assuming this may be some sort of poisoning? Thanks.
OK this is totally weird. I ate waffles this morning and had an awful taste in my mouth the whole time. Now I’m sitting here eating dinner and the same thing happened. So obviously I found this blog and am amazed because I’ve not eaten pine nuts in ages but on Wednesday and Thursday I ate a huge bowl of hummus with pine nuts and now today I woke up with this weird thing happening. Wow.
I made a delicious festive quiche for New Year’s Eve, and what’s more festive than a generous handful of (awfully expensive) pine nuts? Two days later, I’m stuck with this bitter taste in my mouth every time I eat or drink something (except water, thankfully). Guys, I know your pain. If this condition lasts for a week, I might drop off a few pounds because I don’t feel like eating much… Brushing my teeth and gargling with mouthwash helps a bit after eating.
For your information, my boyfriend who ate the quiche as well, has not developed this pine-mouth condition. The nuts have been sprinkled on top of my quiche and roasted. On the other hand, I have eaten a small handful of raw pine nuts before making the quiche, and one of them was awfully bitter (I though the skin was still on it). I hope it’s only the raw nuts that give this problem, because 10 other people have eaten my quiche! I bought the nuts at a health food store in Montreal, Canada.
If someone finds some info as for the exact cause of this problem (what protein / glyceride / fungus / etc is causing this), or a cure for it, please post it!
Courage everyone…
Still looking to speed up a cure….man I have it bad, I was eating the Trader Joe pine nuts for over a week! The only things I’ve read are charcoal pills and vinegar so far…Trader Joe pine nuts say “Korea, Vietnam, Russia” on them, but I know it’s common to funnel China stuff through those countries….
All I can say, it just n…..nasty.
Wow! What a way to start out the new year. I ate some pine nuts last week. New years day I started to get this strong bitter taste in my mouth. I thought there was something really wrong with me. I went out to dinner last night for my birthday, every thing i ate tasted horrible. I googled the problem this morning and found the pine nuts are the cause. I’m glad its not a seious problem. I think that people should be aware of this problem. I hope this goes away quickly.
This was a very useful site as I also ate pine nuts (just a couple!) on Monday December 28 that I bought at Trader Joe’s. I got the bad taste the next day — all food and drink tasted bad and then by Friday, food was tasting okay, but I got an aftertaste. Today, Sunday January 3, it seems to have passed for the most part. I called the FDA in Michigan and was told by the representative there that they were treating it as an allergy and that I should go get tested for allergy to pine nuts — this is their procedure, I guess, before they will look at whether or not something is wrong with the products themselves, which is pretty ridiculous. I also called the Trader Joe’s where I bought them and they said that TJ’s was not carrying them any more.
The pine nuts that I had were raw, and did not taste good when I ate them, although they were not past their freshness date and I had had them in the freezer.
I think we all would be very interested to know if there is any further study on this topic.
This was a very useful site as I also ate pine nuts (just a couple!) on Monday December 28 that I bought at Trader Joe’s. I got the bad taste the next day — all food and drink tasted bad and then by Friday, food was tasting okay, but I got an aftertaste. Today, Sunday January 3, it seems to have passed for the most part. I called the FDA in Michigan and was told by the representative there that they were treating it as an allergy and that I should go get tested for allergy to pine nuts — this is their procedure, I guess, before they will look at whether or not something is wrong with the products themselves, which is pretty ridiculous. I also called the Trader Joe’s where I bought them and they said that TJ’s was not carrying them any more.
The pine nuts that I had were raw, and did not taste good when I ate them, although they were not past their freshness date and I had had them in the freezer.
I think we all would be very interested to know if there is any further study on this topic.
Jennie
I can’s believe this…just googled metallic taste and found this site. Had pinenuts in my cupboard and used these and some new ones over xmas and the new year in salads, taste in my mouth now is awful! How long does it last?
I have this strange bitterness in the middle back on my tongue for a few days …seems a bit less bitter than before. Every time I eat something, i can’t seems to taste the real normal food taste instead bitterness.
I bought the pesto with basil from Waitrose, had it with some toasts a few days ago…there are some pine nuts in it..i have not had them for years…now i know why and where is the bitterness from …how long it will last for..i can’t enjoy my food! thanks
Ok just want to update everyone. Took Julie’s (comment #18)advise and called the FDA regarding this matter:
Here’s the FDA’s link: http://www.fda.gov/Safety/ReportaProblem/ConsumerComplaintCoordinators/default.htm
I spoke to Frank Lee 949-608-2953 who is the Southern California person. There is a different contact for each state in the USA. Not sure what you do if you’re in another country. Anyway, I recommend that you call or email them regarding this problem so that these China pine nuts are not sold.
Frank told me that it is a certain pine nut that is coming out of China that is causing what he called an allergic reaction. That’s why it only happens to certain people (I guess) He told me that it does go away, that it’s not harmful. The thing he did tell me is that if it last for more than 6 month to see a doctor.. What is that supposed to mean?? I forgot to ask him how long it last for most people. Yesterday was day 8 and I was feeling much better but all of a sudden today – day 9 I am tasting it again… Hope this helps some people out there!
I don’t think the cause of pine will makes you all crazy. I have been eating pine nuts for many years, and it never happen to me. It doesn’t matter where it came from, Korea, China, or America. “Nuts” is just nuts.
I guess the result that pine nuts caused had taken many effect towards people who ate them. But, if you know how to eat, you won’t have any problem.
Nuts, particularly pine nuts has more monosaturated fat than any other nuts. (see http://www.pinenut.com/homeo-nuts.html.) Pine nuts and Walnuts often use in Chinese herbal remedies when they are raw. So, the affect of the bitterness in pine nuts makes the the herbal more effective to certain remedies.
Pine nuts, walnuts, and sometime peanut often sell as raw supplement in the health food store or supermarket,and some people who need those supplement sometimes must eat them raw. But, not all nuts can be eaten raw. Pine nuts and walnuts has bitter agent around their shell and in the nut. But many people don’t know this matter because they think nuts is just nuts no matter what kind you call. That is why after they eat, their tongue will get numb, tasteless and bitter. Because of the bitter agent in the nuts, so they must be roasted first in order to get rid of the bitterness.
I never have any problem eating pine nuts at all, I have been eating those since I was young, cause my uncle has a herbal store and he often had walnuts and pine nuts on the shelves. What I did was, I roasted them first before I eat. Just make sure when you roast them long enough so the oil of the nuts will cover and roast them ’till brownish color. The best time to roast them about one hour to one and a half, low fire.
Try it, buy a half or quarter pound of pine nuts, and roast them, and see what happen. Remember, roast them long enough…
Cheers!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_nut
Glad to know it must be pine nuts. This has happened to me several times. This is the first time I have noticed it after eating pine nuts. I feel like it must be in only certain nuts because I have had pine nuts every couple weeks or so for several years and have only had the funky taste a hand full of times.
@Joanne
First, thank you for calling and making the complaint. Secondly, the FDA is mistaken. We had one report of pine nut mouth before we stopped selling imported pine nuts in 2007. That problem was caused by the Siberian Pine Nut (Pinus Sibirica) which is a very good pine nut.
It had been roasted pior to being imported. As soon as our client called, we got on the internet found out about the problem and stopped offering imported shelled pine nuts. For us, that is what a responsible vender would do. Both Trader Joes and Costco have many, many reports of the problem documented by 1st hand accounts on the internet.
We have worked with a half of dozen pine nut species over the 14 years, we have been working with pine nuts. All species of pine trees, together with their nuts are different, when they come off the tree. Once the pine nuts are processed, the flavor and texture becomes fairly uniform and it is much harder to tell the species apart.
We think the uptick in reported cases shows the problem is growing and that the condition is not natural. This blog is the best resource on the internet about the condition.
Penny
@DEE IN THE DESERT
Dee what are sour drops and where can I get them? I am going on day 9 and it’s still there!! Help. How long did it last for you?
I got some pine nuts at whole foods on January 1st and ate them Jan 1st, 2nd, and 3rd and a great deal of them at that. I noticed that these were the smallest and darkest pine nuts I have ever seen. They didn’t look pretty like normal pine nuts, but still worked for the food we were making. They didn’t bother anyone else in my family who ate them (about 9 other people). Maybe there were a couple really rancid ones mixed in with the others that I got or maybe they affect us all differently. I actually looked up bitter taste/metallic taste (even though it doesn’t seem all that metallic, it’s just one of the only “bad” taste searches listed on the internet) and for a second thought, um..I could be pregnant, but then was shocked to see that the smallest and least apparent cause was pine nuts!
Salty foods seem to help, but sweet foods are terrible. The taste is like the flavor of grapefruit seeds hanging out in the back of your mouth when you are eating. I don’t recommend trying new foods you’ve been wanting to try or spending any money on restaurant foods or dates because it will just taste gross anyway. I may never eat an orange again! I called Whole Foods to tell them about what happened. A girl said that she would take care of it, but I was there yesterday, Jan 4 and saw the same dark, small pine nuts piled high in the bin. C’mon people, let’s go for quality over quanity…
and FYI that 365 brand at Whole Foods is so cheap because they ship a lot of their foods from China. China is somehow able to evade health regulations for exported goods. It’s a twisted thing they do to get by laws. Look it up. I saw it in the paper and do not buy cheap 365 foods anymore. So yeah, pine nuts…watch out for those little brown ones.
@Hong
To the comment “nuts is just nuts”, that’s about as true as apples are just apples. There are several brands, strains and types of pine nuts that vary based on regions, growing conditions, etc….just like apples have several different varieties with different characteristics, so do nuts.
I’ve been eating raw pine nuts my whole life and have never had a problem until i ate this bag containing chinese pine nuts. Unfortunately i ate so many that my pine mouth has me on the verge of throwing up all day long. I spoke to the FDA yesterday who assured me that yes, this was a new, common issue seen only with chinese pine nuts and no, they are not at all harmful. I just have to wait it out….sigh…
I’ve tried charcoal tablets and benadryl, so far nothing has changed. I find that sweets and starchy foods are absolutely the worst, had chicken last night and the foul taste was barely noticeable. Stick with proteins that can be swallowed quickly and avoid starches that linger in your mouth. Strong mint gum has become my best friend the last few days.
PLEASE if someone has any other tips, let us know…I wouldn’t wish this on anyone!
I haven’t dared eat pine nuts since my week of bitter pine mouth last june (care of Dominick’s Chicago pine nuts- comment #18 page 7). But I saw a packet of pine nuts in an office lunchroom the other day, and asked aloud if anyone had heard of a bad taste reaction to them. Someone there suddenly realized what had been wrong with her sense of taste all week. I told her 2 out of 12 people who ate my home made pesto at a party had come down with this. (16% chance?). Stamp out bad taste- spread the word.
Hey guys – again. Thought I’d share some good news. The weird bitter/metallic taste finally started to go away this last Monday January 4. Today the 8th it is almost all gone (I sincerely hope). In short it lasted about 12 days. I’ve been drinking a lot of herbal teas, and doing a bit of de-toxing on sugars, coffein, alcohol, and processed foods in general. Boring I know, but it might have helped. Good luck
@Hong
Hong you are wrong! I am over 55 and I have been eating “pine nuts” for a very long time! My experience with the bitter taste was back in October. This was not just a case of not roasting them. There is a problem and it is very good for you that you have not had the misfortune to have the bitter taste for a week or more. You keep on eating them, I will too but I will be careful that they are of high quality.
Going through the same symptoms. I bought raw pine nuts bought at my local grocery store imported from China. I’m in the USA and spoke with someone at the FDA and left a complaint. They’re going to do some investigation and get back to me on Monday. I’m on day 6 and will post an update once I get over this and once the FDA gets back to me.
Another thing I’d like to add… I’m looking over my pine nuts right now. I’m noticing that some of them are very white in color, while other ones have more a yellow tinge to them, and some have more of a brown tinge to them. Also I notice a few that look kind of dry looking (like their becoming brittle). Just thought I would throw that out there. As I have this theory in my mind right now that not all the pine nuts in there are bad but only a few of them and those are the ones that cause pine mouth. The reason I’m thinking that is because in a lot of these posts. A person will get pine mouth but another person that ate the same pine nuts did not get it… Just a hypothesis. Could be wrong.
I think my pine mouth is improving…it was so bad I almost cried starting on Monday. On Tuesday I started taking Alpha Lipoic Acid (an antioxidant that binds to metals in your body and helps you pee them out, supposedly). My theory is that one blogger said the pine mouth tasted like his iron tablets, if these are oxidized pine nuts traveling in metal containers, could they be high in iron? JUST a theory, but everyone has different levels of iron in their body which might explain why only some are affected. Again, JUST a theory but having gone from gagging to tolerable in four days, I’m sticking to it.
Note: eating natural-ish foods kind of quickly before the taste sets in helps, i find a piece of dark chocolate completely eliminates the taste, as does strong gum.
Forgot to mention, I called the FDA, they are interested in those with symptoms who still have their pine nuts. See contact info for your region in this blog…I called mine who took the info then got back to me asking for a statement and the remaining nuts. PLEASE contact them, it only takes a few minutes and this could be serious, who knows. 🙂
Everything has tasted bitter for 2-3 days now. I did eat pine nuts either the day it started or the day before. I think they were old, no idea what kind or even where we got them. my wife seemed to think she got the runs from them. I’ve also been doing a lot of selenium, which I see can cause a bitter taste as well. But my money is on the pine nuts as the cause. I hope it goes away soon. I’m going to drink a lot of water for a few days and see if that helps.
i have just been experiencing this metallic taste at the back of my mouth, although it only happens once i’ve eaten something. I did eat a handful of raw pine nuts a couple of days ago. These were imported from China. I am relieved to find this website, as I was convinced it was the symptom of something more serious.
@Joanne
Joanne, Anne – what did you use to get this awful taste out of your mouths? What other symptoms did you have?
I ate a ton of pine nuts in my lunch salads on Wed and Thur. Friday – I was hit with the odd taste, but also a headache and upset stomach. It’s Saturday and I’m still sick, plus have that gawd-awful taste in my mouth.
Did you notice a medicinal smell to your urine as well (like what happens when you eat asparagus)?
Please tell me how to expedite this process. This taste in my mouth alone makes me nauseous. Help! (I bought my pine nuts at Giant Food. Never gave a thought that they’d need special handling. Someone said they may have been rancid?)
_jane
I consumed a small bag of pine nuts from a brand called Diamond sold at Albertson’s and experienced the same bitter taste problem. It’s day 7 now… I hope it will go away soon.
This problem first happened several months ago, and after I Googled around a little I saw the connection with pine nuts. Turned out I had eaten raw ones two days prior, and yes, they were from China. It took about 10-14 days to really improve, but several months later I still have a little residual aftertaste, particularly after eating bread. That seems to be the only thing that triggers it anymore. I am 62, so perhaps the process of regenerating those damaged taste bud cells takes longer. Needless to say I am adament about not getting near pine nuts again.
Does anybody else here live in Seattle? I noticed that some of these posts are recent. I am having the same problem. Everything I eat tastes metallic. It only happens when I eat and drink. This is insane! I can barely eat and drink. Wine was the worst. I had pinenuts 2 nights ago with a salad that I ordered in a restaurant. I can’t think of what else could be causing this – I’m not on any medications and I eat a pretty healthy, well balanced diet.
I purchased Pine Nuts from ASDA this weekend and have had a very bad sour taste in my mouth since. Still got the product at home will find out what type pine nuts they are. relieved to find out the cause of the taste. Are you saying that it will a week for my taste buds to get back to normal?
Yay! I don’t have liver disease or neurological problems. I ate pine nuts, Tesco’s own brand, on Friday and ever since have been noticing a very bitter taste at the back of my tongue. It’s most definitely not worth eating them if this happens! The worst for me was after eating cereal, the taste became really strong and put me off my food. Good way to lose weight though hey!
I am so glad that I found this website! I didn’t know what was wrong with me. I ate raw pine nuts (product of China) last Tues & Wed. (purchased at Giant Eagle) On Thursday, I had such a metallic taste in my mouth whenever I tried to eat anything. I called my dentist on Friday because I thought something might be going on with a metal filling I had. But, it appears that the problem is that I ate pine nuts.
I called the Ohio FDA to report this issue and he said that they have been getting reports of this issue, but they still don’t know why. An investigator is going to be picking up the pine nuts that I have.
The bad taste is starting to subside a little. Now, it doesn’t occur as soon as I put something in my mouth. I hope it goes away soon!! Good luck to all of you suffering the same problem. I will never eat pine nuts again!
i also have discovered the horrible world of pine mouth, a few months ago i had a problem with my stomach acids (so i thought it might be that again… but im not vomiting). pine mouth tastes very similar to all those nights of voimiting acid. i really hope i do not have the same as others where it lasts two weeks. i feel like vomiting just from the taste. i unlike others have the constant taste in my mouth. when swollowing the taste really kicks in. i find breathing through my mouth makes its easier to stomach the taste (i know it sounds weird, but is working for me).
Thanks for this! Had a load of pine nuts about three nights ago, still have a very strong bitter taste when I eat. I thought I’d google before committing myself to getting worried, and this popped up!
Hello
I started to get a bitter taste in my mouth last thursday by saturday everything i ate tasted disgusting.
I have made a doctors appointment for this Friday but have since been able to attribute the taste to pinenuts which I aste last tuesday.Purchsed from sainsburys and indeed they are from china.
Where do I go now?
@shirley cambridge
I ate pine nuts on Friday night, and have experienced the same bitter aftertaste since. I woke up Saturday with an awful taste in my mouth and since then, the taste only comes back after eating or drinking. Horrible! I purchased them from Harvest House in Concord, California.
I am also having this bitter/metallic taste in my mouth. And I ate some (roasted) pine nuts. Question, though. I ate the pine nuts Sunday afternoon. The bad taste started Tuesday (yesterday) morning. With the rest of you, is it something that you experienced as soon as you ate the nuts or was there a delay? Wondering if this could really be the cause for me…
I’m fine after I brush my teeth and if I only drink water. But any other food or drink and…YUCK! From what you are all saying I could be feeling this way for awhile.
Jane, and all the others – I wanted to give you an update. When you’re going through this it is awful!! It took 12 days for my bitter taste to go away.. I did not notice a bad smell from my urine but I am sure that is possible. I did get an awful headache and upset stomach almost every day. I did have some diarrhea but may have been caused by all the detoxing I was trying to do. It was not fun and I’m not sure I can eat pine nuts again. Angie, I live in Southerna California but it you read all the posts it’s happening all over the world. I reported to the FDA in Ca. but they did not make it a big deal and because it’s not happening to everyone they said they would not take it off the market!! If you have the pine nuts with the original package they want them. The guy at FDA scared me when he said it could last up to 6 months. I think the average is about 2 weeks.. My pine nuts were roasted so the theory that they are raw goes out the window. It’s happening with both raw and roasted.
Ok I know most of you want to know what helped to I will get to that:
I consulted with my health care practitioner and this is what she had me do – I don’t know if this was the cure or if it went away on it’s own:
1. Liquid Chlorophyll (twice a day)
2. I took Thorne Bio-Gest probiotics – 2 tablets on emty stomach in the morning, and one with every meal and then one before bed
3. I also took my Green drink – Green Vibrance – I just did this because I thought it would help to detox.
4. I did not do the Charcol like some people did but my health food person said that that would be good but can sometimes cause constipation.
5. I did drink Green Tea – but it’s was difficult because most tea’s tasted awful to me.
Ok things that I could not stomach:
1. Sugar
2. Bread
3. Fruit
4. Orange juice
(Well mostly everything made me sick.. as long as I was not eating I felt fine but we all have to eat.. so that’s not an option)
This helped me a lot after I ate someting:
1. Wrigley’s Extra Long lasting Flavor Spearmint Gum
2. Did ok with some protein (lunch meat not so good) regular chicken not too bad
Let me know if it helps any of you.
Well I hope this helps you all out there.. I feel for you because it’s awful when you’re going through it.
Please for all of you that are going through this and then it ends please update the blog so that others know what to do, what helps and when it ends.
All my best to you!
Love the Internet. Have had a bad taste in my mouth after eating for the last two days. 30 seconds on the Internet and came across this site on pine nuts. Last week my wife and I got hooked on making pasta with pine nuts (lots of them) – which we had several nights in a row before the bad taste arrived. Thanks, seems to fit my case perfectly.
I forgot to add that I did ok on oatmeal. That was pretty satisfying and tasted ok.
Thanks for this info, I’ve been eating pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflowers seeds & brazil nuts for the last few days as a snack whilst at work. Obviously trying to be healthy new years resolutions and all that! started with a horrible bitter taste in my mouth last night, absolutely gross, I’m so miserable that I’ve heard it can last 2 weeks. supposed to be going out for a meal on Saturday night, I was really looking forward to it but not anymore. I bought these pine nuts from Sainsburys.
This has been happening to me with Trader Joe’s pine nuts. It’s annoying since I really like them and was worried I was having some other problems causing the metallic taste. It lasted 3-5 days after eating pine nuts.
I’m in San Diego and ate the “melissa’s” brand pine nuts from China on Monday evening. I think I picked them up at Vons or Sprouts. I had three handfulls and they were raw from a freshly opened plastic package. The pine mouth started Wed morning and affected everything I ate. The taste is like chewing on an orange rind. I can manage oranges, green tea, and water without the bitter taste but every other food is awful. Gargling with warm salt water alleviates the taste until I eat again and I can’t be without my mint gum! I also have stomach bloating and gas after eating. I just tried some tofu and felt additional symptoms, a burning sensation in my mouth and throat which progressed down thru my stomach and intestines. Not awful, but definately noticable with accompanying mild dizzyness and very mild head ache. I feel better now but I really dread eating. I left a message with the FDA. I’ve eaten pine nuts for years with no problems. This is freaky. I still have the nuts and hope they do something about this.
Both my husband and I had ourselves dead and buried! We were both convinced we had something really bad until I looked up our ‘bad taste’ symptons on the internet. We too had eaten a packet of pine nuts, bought from our local Tesco store. Sure enough, we experienced this awful taste which is still ongoing. Hopefully things will return to normal very soon. Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences. We are so pleased that we have found out what caused our problem. We will never eat pine nuts again!!
Yep, I’m in the same boat as you people. I ate pine nuts purchased from Morrisons over a few days, had them in a meal (home made Pesto- next time I’m splashing out on cashew nuts) then kept snacking on them. Now I too have the taste. If I hadn’t stumbled on this I would be convinced it was something awful, so thankyou. It’s good to know I’m not alone in experiencing the horrors of Pine Mouth. I find it especially bad with strong tastes like garlic and chilli (which I love so that’s really annoying).
Also to Maylia apparently it’s normal for the symptoms to start 2-3 days after ingestion so don’t worry.
@Hong
I totally agree with you.
I don’t think my daugher is allergic to dogs either! I have been around them all my life and they don’t make me sneeze. I tell her, if it bothers you that much, just don’t breathe – that should take care of the problem! I mean, after all dogs don’t bother me, and dogs are used to calm children and people in hospitals. They are good for you, so all those people who think they have an allergy must be wrong! They’re just not approaching the dog from the right angle. Believe me, if you come at the dog with your hand, rather than your nose, it will never cause you to sneeze. Look at me! Dogs never make me sneeze. My grandfather raised hunting dogs all his life and he never sneezed either! Do it my way and surely you’ll find you were mistaken about dogs. Good Luck!
Unbelieveable! For 3 days now I felt like I had “poison mouth”. The only thing that changed was that for the first time I ha eaten pine nuts. They tasted great. Next day I started with a totally awful taste in my mouth with everything that I ate. Can anyone add a bit of comfort to this predicament. I bought these at Kroger’s, the “Naturally Preferred” brand, also from China. Joanne, the oatmeal is a good idea. It has the least bad taste side effect.
What are relief ! Ate a small handfull of pine nuts from one of three small tubs bought at Lidl and a day later
experienced this awful bitter taste after eating roast ham studded with cloves. Blamed the cloves until breakfast the next day. I do have mild diabetes and was worried it was a side effect of medication until I made a quick search on the net and found all these entries. I am now on day five and the problem only occurs when drinking and eating. Green/mint tea is the most pleasant antidote in taste terms but have not found a single food palatable.
Due to go to an 6 course banquet tomorrow night too !
@Susan
Susan,
FYI I am also from San Diego and I bought mine at Albertson’s. It also was the Melissa brand of Pine Nuts. I did call the FDA but I threw the package away so they would not take the ones I had left. They may take yours if it’s in the orignal package. Can you let me know what the FDA tells you? Thanks! Hope it’s better for you.. It was a very long 12 days for me.. when I was going through it I did not think it would ever end.. but the good news is – is that it finally did..
I proclaimed i was pregnant to my husband this morning because i have this bitter bad taste in my mouth, but after reading this, it’s more likely that I’ve got pine nut mouth. I ate old pine nuts in my salad on tuesday night, and on friday was tasting something really weird, my pee has also had that asparagus smell. they were from trader joes, but the were old.
Just experienced this problem after eating Pine nuts from a “sumo salad” outlet in Australia …. I have always loved Pinenuts, eaten them frequently in salads, pesto etc and never experienced this bitterness before. It really impacts on your capacity to enjoy the flavours of the food you’re eating…gggrrr. I thought I had a digestive problem – linked to bad breath etc.
thought i’d join the club! Crikey! – pine nuts on thursday and well, it all been said already! Fellow sufferers I feel (or taste) your pain!
Hi i am so glad i googled bad taste in my mouth, otherwise i was booking a doctors appointment tommorrow. The first thing that jumped out at me was pine nuts or pine mouth in ever link. I cooked a recipe that had pine nuts in it with curly kale, when cooking this i ate some raw and loved the taste, and then toasted some following the recipe and ate them with the meal which was lovely. Nothing happened until over two days later when i ate some chinese, then came the bitter taste in the back of my throat and roof of my mouth, which i can only describe as a foul medicine taste………not nice at all.I purchased my pine nuts from morrisons in Wales but they do not say what country they come from, so im not sure if they are from China. I am on my second day of this so called “pine mouth” now and have found its ok after brushing my teeth for a bit, but as soon as i eat or drink anything i have trie and it returns………not happy at all, and to find out it might last another twelve days or so aaaarrrrrggggggghhhhhhh……..!
Thank you for this website. I was beginning to get concerned that this bitter taste hadn’t gone away as I’m on day 2 – how depressing to learn it could last 8 days! Ate the pine nuts from a jar of Dress to Impress pesto on Fri but notice the taste until late Sat night – but was much worse Sunday morning and included a headache. Everything horrible. Even the air on my tongue tastes bitter! In the UK is there anyone who collects this information or do we just suffer in silence?
I brought pine nuts from my local morrisons and 2 days later have this awful taste,I cant bring myself to eat right now as it makes it worse when i eat
The only thing that has seemed to help is sugar free ice pops,everything else tasts rank
I am living in New Zealand and would like to say that I, too, have eaten pine nuts from China. I couldn’t understand why I had this awful taste in my mouth which didn’t go away. I had made a yummy pasta recipe which included pine nuts and the bad taste in my mouth started soon after. I am pleased to know that it eventually will go away – hopefully soon!
@Sally
@Joanne
Hi Joanne, I left a message with the FDA and the call was promptly returned. He took all my info and told me an investigator would call to come pick up the nuts. I haven’t heard from the investigator and we spoke on Fri. He told me that the problem was with pine nuts from China. He said there are 2 strains and 1 of the strains grows irregularly. This is the strain causing bitterness. He was familiar with Melissa’s brand. To everyone else out there- my symptoms started subsiding on day 4-5. The lingering bad taste still exists but it gets better everyday and is nothing like it was originally! The FDA was grateful to hear from me and said that it is the calls from the public that help in these situations. Make sure you all call. Susan
I am so happy I found this blog! I cooked with pine nuts (and ate a few raw ones along the way) on Friday and didn’t realize the unbearably bitter taste I’ve been experiencing after eating (especially sugar and starches) is from that! I am towards the end of my pregnancy but pregnancy blogs talked about a first trimester bad taste, apparently unconnected with eating, and the symptoms didn’t seem to fit. I ate pine nuts for the first time in months on Friday and have had this horrible taste ever since, so I think it must be this. I’m in day 4 and really worried because I am barely eating and I should be eating for two! We live in Israel so this is a global problem, but I’ll try alerting authorities here too and I’m definitely not eating pine nuts for a long time…the one thing I found that helps a little is washing it down. So I keep a big bottle of water handy, and as soon as I’m done eating, I start chugging water to get rid of that bitter taste. It helps, but doesn’t eliminate it entirely. Thanks to everyone who has posted their assurances that it does subside quicker than 6 months!
@ debbie
I rang the foods standards agency and they are aware of the problem and she took down all the details
I really think there needs to be a warning on the packet and more research done
They say its not harmful but how do they really know
OMG! I have been wracking my brain as my gf and I have both been complaining about a bitter taste in my mouth. also the side of my tongue is sore. Anyone else experience that? The bitterness is absolutely disgusting after I eat and it’s been almost a week. Pine nuts,,, who knew.
I am so glad I have found this site! My husband, son and myself started noticing a horrible bitter taste/metal in our mouths on Tuesday evening.We werent sure what was going on and was thinking it might have something to do with our water..but then I found numerous postings about pine mouth and all three of us had consumed pine nuts at a friend s house on Monday evening. They are the Diamond brand and purchased at Sams club. The bag was thrown away before I had time to see if they came from China. This taste is horrible and it seems that nothing relieves it. We just keep drinking water to try and flush it out. It seems worse while eating!!! I have contacted the FDA..you would think that with all these reports they will start looking into the problem. It seems crazy that symptoms start 1-3 days after consumption!!
Pine Nuts… gosh dangit! my buddy had me grab some and here i am 3 days later thinking it is month old bread. Good looking out!
@Brett
exactly the same!
I’m amazed! I just checked online concerning a bitter taste in my mouth that I have had since Monday evening AFTER eating pine nuts that came from China. They had a slight bitter taste and after several handfuls I started to wonder if they had spoiled. I didn’t eat anymore but later that night I began to notice a bitter taste in my mouth all the time, even my food didn’t taste quite right. Does this go away? Should I see a doctor?
I have had an email from the foods standard chemical risk assesment asking for lots of info
I kinda feel freaked out now!!
who knows what long term damage its done if it is nerological damage
I came across your post by chance after googling ‘bitter taste in mouth’ and found it might be caused by pine nuts. I bought pine nuts in Hong Kong which said: “Origin: one of USA or China”. I found this strange and assumed it was from China. I ate these for 3 days with cerial and soya milk for breakfast. I am convinced those pine nuts which I assume were of Chinese origin are the cause of the bitter taste I now experiencing after reading this plus the articles in Wickipedia and the UK Daily Mail.
I have had a bitter taste in the back of my tounge since this Monday and yes I did eat pine nuts from China(most of them are from China by the way) two days before.
Every time I eat the bitter taste gets stronger and gets better afterward, but then I eat again and it comes back. I wasn’t what was tha cause and have goe an appointment for my doctor and dentist next week.
It worries me a lot!
Could these nuts be contaminated?
@Danil
By the way I am in Glasgow, UK.
Have bought the nuts from Sainsburys.
By the way I am in Glasgow, UK.
Have bought the nuts from Sainsburys.
I am from the North West of England and started to suffer with bitter taste in my mouth 10 days ago. Everything that I ate or drank had a horrible metalic aftertaste and sometimes soapy taste. Red wine was disgusting as was my favourite tomatoe and chilli pasta. As you do I went in to panic overdrive thinking that something was seriously wrong with my brain and that I had lost my taste buds forever which is a tradgedy for me as I love my food and drink. After the 4th day of this horrendous experience I deceided to be brave and google bitter aftertaste when eating (scared of what I might be told) and came accross this and other sites re. pine nuts. I could not believe it, I had eaten pine nuts for the first time 48 hours before the aftertaste started – relief was not the word! The pine nuts were purchased from Tesco in the UK and of course came from China. The bitter after taste has now completely gone and I will never eat pine nuts again! Thank you for this site it kept me sane! NO – ONE that I have spoken to about this has ever heard of this and I am extremely doubtful that if I had of visited my doctor that he would have known either! More awareness in the UK is definately required.
I have had the same thing for 3 days now. I also ate pine nuts, from trader joes.@Brett
I’ve had a bitter, metallic taste in my mouth for about a week now. It gets worse after eating or drinking. I have a cold and sore throat so thought it was infection in my throat or sinuses. I also worried that it was tooth decay, gum disease or yeast infection. However, I’ve had all of the above checked out and none are to blame. I did eat some pine nuts (bought from Sainsbury’s and produce of China) just before this began. They did taste different than usual – I wondered if they were stale or old. I’ve also seen from internet searches that pinenut oil (particularly Korean) is used as an ingredient in slimming products as it suppresses hormones that control appetite. Could this be relevant to the ‘pine mouth’ problem?
What a relief to discover that it’s not just me! Had pine nuts from China from Tesco’s and would have never related the metallic taste in my mouth to them. Taste now only noticeable after I eat, this is about a week since I first noticed the problem. Has anyone heard if this is dangerous? Have also got a cold and had what I thought was a water infection – similar symptoms but went without treatment after a day or so. This was just after eating pine nuts. I wonder if that was related too.
I’ve had a bitter taste in my mouth for days and have been unable to get rid of it. I googled today, and totally shocked to find this website.
Almost a week ago I was tempted into buying one of my favourite snacks… pine nuts. I haven’t had any for ages, but thought I’d treat myself. I’ve been snacking on them here and there ever since.
I bought mine from Asda, and they don’t say where they originate, other than that they are a product of many countries.
I am glad to say after 7 days of taste distubance I am finally free and the awful taste has gone
I will NEVER EVER eat pine nuts again
Hi so after getting this and looking on the internet for reason, then finding that pine nuts are the cause!!! Yes mine were from China.
A day and a half pass of misery!! I love food. Anyway, trying to find a cure or something to alleviate the symptoms on-line comes up with nothing. Well except wolfing down your food then suffering the uber bitterness and indigestion from scoffing so quick. Well today eating my dinner I was suddenly aware the bitterness arrived then left, I had pork chops, roast potatoes and some vegatables with gravy. I was extactic! I could taste the food! I thought it was the brocolli but it wasn’t untill after my dinner did I discover it was the cabbage that was making the bitterness go away! Seriously. Cooked Savoy cabbage (it was boiled) made the bitterness go. So much so that I had some cheese cake and managed to enjoy it all! So there you have it, worked for me, hope it helps someone else.
Also this is such a mad thing! I wouldn’t have believed it unless it had happened to me.
OMG! This is so funny. I thought I was coming down with some crazy illness and was going to die from internal bleeding or something, and all this time I was suffering from bitter pine nut taste! I had bought some pine nuts from trader joes. Some of my friends and I had pesto pasta this week and added more of those pine nuts to it. So, a couple of days ago, I was complaining about this bitter, almost metallic taste in my mouth. My friends were concerned and thought I might have diabetes, or my sinus’s were bleeding out or I had a vitamin deficiency. Well, my two friends went out of town this weekend and while they were gone, they were complaining that their wine was bitter and bad and their food tasted bad. Ha! So, I came across this thread and told them about it. Needless to say, the pinenuts are now in the trash and I will never eat them again. Ugh, when will my wine taste good again??
I agree with Maisie~I thought it must be a tooth decay problem, gum disease or even a brain tumor as one site mentioned! I had pine nuts in a store purchased salad last week. Funny thing though, out of the other four members in my family, no one else reacted to the pine nuts the way I did. Thank goodness I found this site!
The same thing happend to me.
2 days after eating a hand full off pine nuts.
It have never happend to me before.
I wish I had found this blog a few days ago. I was convinced that my reflux was acting up. I went to my ENT and he had no idea what could cause my pine nut mouth. I ate some nuts on my salad 7 days ago on Monday and started getting the god awful taste on Tuesday. I am drinking water like crazy but as soon as I try to eat something the taste comes back. I’m looking forward to a regular meal soon.
I don’t know where I got the nuts put they are in the trash now.
I had a similar experience after eating pine nuts. I’ve eaten them in the past but never got that bitter metallic taste in my mouth before. I bought them from McGinnis Sisters grocery but there is only a note saying processed and packaged in Pittsburgh, PA but they probably came from China as does most things you buy now. I also wear copper bracelets for my athritis and thought that was the cause of the awful taste but Ive been wearing them for months and this never happened before. So it has to be the pine nuts. Like every other poster here, I was afraid that something was seriously wrong. Im relieved to know it was something so simple and so easy to fix. (I LOVE THE INTERNET; YOU CAN FIND OUT JUST ABOUT ANYTHING!)
How Crazy!
My Husband and I both noticed a metallic taste in our mouth’s, me yesterday and he today. I thought it may be due to a recent diet change as we are both on a new hard core fitness routine and ha we temporarily upped our protein intake we also started on this new rice protein supplement powder (I thought might be the culprit). I noticed something like this before when I went vegetarian almost like my body was detoxing and I thought this was happening again. But after reading this I realized I have been eating Pine nuts a lot over the past few days and they were the little ones, they are a brand called Nature supposedly organic. I made a home made pesto 2 days ago, and often put them on my salad.
Wow what a strange thing thank you
I will eat them agin I love them so but maybe I will stay away from the small ones.
I’ve been a fan of pine nuts for years and just had this problem for the first time about 6 months ago. Here’s my blog entry about it:
http://www.justpeace.net/2009/07/dingo-stole-my-baby.html
I’m guessing the Chinese origin of the offending nuts is key. And btw, the nuts themselves tasted quite delicious. It wasn’t until I dumped out the entire pot of morning coffee two mornings in a row thinking it was bad that I started making the pinenut connection.
Sounds awful! I’ve only experienced something like that after taking Zopiclone (Imovane/Zimovane), a prescription sleeping pill. For me the taste is like sucking on a penny, or something like the coppery taste of blood, and usually persists for more than a day. It’s just horrible. Sounds very similar to this effect, the taste gets stronger when you eat or drink. Not going to buy pine nuts any time soon.
Same for me in Australia. After reading this my wife noticed that we had some pine nuts in a salad at a friend’s place last Thursday and noticed this problem start on Sunday. Hopefully the bitter after-taste after eating anything won’t last more than a week & definitely no more pine nuts for me!
Wow! I’ve been wondering what has been causing this bitter taste in my mouth after I eat or drink anything! It makes sense! I never eat pine nuts, but this all started after I ate them for the first time. Package stated they were from China. Never again!!!!!!
PS: I’m in the U. S.
Same here, I have cooked some Chinese food some days ago using Pine Nuts from ASDA, it states on the packet, seeds are from different countries, I also thought I might a liver or gall bladder problem, I first noticed when drinking a glas of white wine and I thought the wine was off, it dooes seem to start only a few days after one has consumed the nuts, the brushing and scraping of my tongue has not helped and I guess I will have to grin and bear it for the next couple of days. Interesting is,that people claim, that this common, when eating pine nuts from China, I spent every year about a months in China as my husband is Chinese and never had a problem when eating them there.
That’s so amazing, I made pesto with Chinese pine nuts (cheaper than Lebanese) and have had the bitter taste ever since. Did the google and here I am! So has anyone had the experience with Lebanese pine nuts?
It was a relief to read this site. I had been looking for a reason behind the bitter taste in my mouth that I have had for a couple of days now. I was looking at other sites, the symptoms thay listed and was getting very scared. I am currently living in China and just bought some pine nuts (not labeled) from an imported goods store. What got my atention is that these were smaller in size to those I usually bought but used them in an Italian pasta salad recipe. I put some in the salad but I ate a couple of handfuls by myself. They taste alright by themselves but now everything I eat tastes awful. From what I understand, from other comments, is that this last a week. Terrible. This is the first time this happens to me and I love pine nuts. I have eaten pine nuts in the Americas and Europe and even here in China without any problems. So I guess that I will never buy those small sized pine nuts again.
For anyone in the UK steer clear of Tescos whole foods range of Pine Nuts a product of China and leaves you with a very very nasty taste in your mouth.
I am on my 4th day suffering from pine mouth now and think I am going nuts (pun intended). Due to only being able to drink water and eating a little rice, I am now on an involuntary Detox, which has left me with a headache, feeling very nauseous,I am also anxious and slightly paranoid to think; that this could carry on for another 10 days. All in all I feel terrible and I am really angry now, that nothing was printed on the packet and that these nuts are promoted by celebrity chef’s, telling us that a generous sprinkle of these expensive nuts will do wonders for our health.
I think, all we pine mouth suffers, should start a campaign in order to achieve, that Health Organizations around the Globe recognize that Pine nuts can have this bitter taste effect, which makes one ill and that therefore a warning on the packet is required
I just read,a blog from Mr. Hong and my husband Dr.J.Yu , who is a Molecular Pathogenic Researcher( Strathclyde University, Glasgow),has also been mystified by this phenomenon, but he is of the opinion,that Mr.Hong could be on the right track, it is possible, that pine nuts have more mono-saturated fat’s than other nuts and that eating them raw could cause the problem,as the human body has a problem to discard/digest these fats, that might be the reason, why it takes up to to 2 weeks to get rid of the symptoms,Nevertheless, extensive research would have to be carried out in order to confirm this and if anybody out there willing to give a grant…please get intouch…
For the meantime Mr. Hong and my husband suggest to roast the pine nuts before consumption….roasted or not I will never touch the nuts again. Special thanks to Roger Hyams, and Hong
I am in Australia. This is crazy!!! I also have the exact same bad taste in my mouth especially after eating something. Here i am, worried that i might be diabetic or something and “PINE NUTS”?????? I did have pine nuts 4 days ago. Could it really be the pine nuts??? Very strange…. Should i be worried? Will this bring other serious health complications down the road like “cancer”. This is starting to scare me. You here about all these cancer causing pesticides that the chinese use….I hope the taste goes away. I really need to know if i will be OK!!!!
I also got some pine nuts from trader joes, I ate some a few days ago and this morning I started my day with an apple it tasted like a rusty spoon. I thought maybe I ingested some pesticide residue from the apple skin.
It’s lasted all day, and tonight I felt like maybe I should sleep fully clothed just in case my organs decide to fail from this new strain of bubonic that I contracted from a diseased apple. It’d be traumatic enough for my roommates to find my lifeless self, but even more so if I were fully unclothed. I’d be dead so I wouldn’t care, but it’s still a common courtesy to not show people your bits unless they actually ask, even if you are dead…..so thankfully, I think I’m going to rule out Ebola and just go with metallic pine nuts.
I’m also in the US – maybe the Chinese are starting a pine-nut jihad.
@Tim
LOL, Tim!!! Unfortunately, my pine mouth began last week, about the 21st, and today I still have the bad taste lingering. (not as strong, though.) Sadly, it really does last 7-10 days.
Same story over here in Quebec… I’ve had this nasty soapy metallic taste now for 3 days, starting the morning after I ate them, and I don’t like it one bit. I love to cook, and nothing I make can hide the Pine Nut BS. When I did relief work in Cuba, I worked on a tomato field for a bit, and the workers and I would eat a few while working… After this, I had this nasty pesticide taste, almost the exact same as the present pine nut one, which stuck in my mouth for two weeks. It doesn’t say where mine are from, but I’m almost sure it has to do with some nasty chemical that should not be used. Those who test the food probably just don’t know what chemical it is. Maybe a new Chinese trick for better growth… who knows. Either way, I am very upset. However, I am very relieved to have found this forum with so many familiar cases!
Add me to a probable victim of pine-nut mouth. I almost never eat pine nuts but recently started eating them with my salads and even throwing a handful in my mouth occasionally. Finally, yesterday and today I noticed a sour/bitter taste in my mouth every time I at, unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Off to check the internet fearful that this may be the sign of some deadly disease process. I don’t have proof that mine are from Asia, but I’m almost positive that this must be the cause of my sour taste. I’m happy to find out I don’t have a horrible disease. Unfortunately, I just ate a lot more of them tonight in my salad (sigh).
if it gives a disgusting taste and after taste,
then dont eat it!!
Ditto to all of the above the brand I had was Alessi imported by Vigo from China. I ate a much of pine nuts in some homemade hummus 3 days ago and I’ve had this acrid aftertaste after every meal since. Glad I decided to Google it. Pine nuts are going in the garbage!
Hi all. I started experiencing the problem of food tasting vile last night and found this website. Having been unable to eat any dinner it was a huge relief to read that other people have experienced the same thing and that the likely cause is pine nuts which I ate 48 hours previously for the first time in ages. I’m astonished to discover from the 20 pages of comments, over a period of a year, at a rate of several a day that I’ve never heard of it before. If anyone has suggestions for palatable foods I’d welcome them. A glass of water and 2 charcoal crackers (a fortuitous Christmas present!) isn’t my idea of breakfast. I hope that I, and any other current sufferers, make a swift recovery.
My whole family had the same symptoms, its been a week and its still here. tastes like i polished off a bottle of nail varnish remover:-( not nice!!!
I’ve had a horrible taste in my mouth since yesterday and googling found this page. I ate pine nuts at lunch and dinner on Weds (from Tesco) and I assume that’s the cause of the problem. I was starting to worry. Has anyone found a way of getting rid of the taste? I’m rinsing with Corsodyl mouth wash but so far it’s not helping. I am losing my appetite, everything tastes disgusting.
How bizarre.
I too had pine nuts, for the first time in ages, 2 days ago from ASDA.
Bit into an apple today and my gosh what a foul bitter taste I got – thought the apple was off, but happened with a second one too.
More googling on this one methinks!
I am in Canada. Thanks to the contributors for sharing their horrible experiences. The past two days have been “nuts”. I was ready to check myself into emergency!
My husband and I have been suffering these symptoms for a few days now after eating raw pinenuts from Asda, we really cannot stand anything we eat or drink due to the bitter taste, we tried a hot curry tonight thinking it would over power this taste but alas no… The only thing we can tolerate without any side effect is weak black tea, and a couple of beers that were pretty bitter to start with – hope it passes soon!
I am truly relieved to hear all of these testimonies to “Pine Mouth”. 4 days ago I cooked a fabulous meal which required toasted pine nuts. Also, I made homemade hummus and placed a few of the pine nuts on that. By the next morning I started tasting this soapy taste in my mouth. It tastes like I accidentally ingested lotion or something. By evening time it seems worse to the point that I don’t feel like eating. The taste is so annoying that I’ve felt nauseous to the point of just taking a Tums to absorb what I thought was indigestion or something. My husband mentioned a metallic taste in his mouth for a couple of days but hasn’t noticed anything as persistent as my symptoms. So, for now, staying hydrated seems to be the answer. I’m glad to see that this lasts around 10 days. It may be a good jump start to my diet that I’ve been needing to go on. The pine nuts I used were purchased at our local grocer and the brand is “It’s Delishii” packaged by Universal Merchants in LA, CA. It doesn’t say where the nuts are actually from.
I purchased “raw pignolias” (pine nuts) from trader joes that were a, “product of korea, russia or vietnam.” I had some this past Monday the 25th and the metallic taste started later that evening after I ate some ice cream. The strange taste always subsides between meals but comes back without fail after eating. Today is Saturday and I still have the taste after eating but I think it is less intense.
I’m glad to find this to be so common. I found the smaller, raw pine nuts from Korea/Russia at Trader Joe’s. Two nights ago, I ate some for snacks. This morning, everything tasted bitter. 7-10 day is too long… I will do a nutritional cleanse at cellular level to see if I can get rid of the bitter taste sooner!
Wow, thank heavens for the Web. Just had the same symptom today, a persistent bitter taste I couldn’t shake with drinking water, toothbrushing, or chewing gum. I finally in desperation googled the phrase “my mouth tastes bitter” and came across all the pine nut postings. I did eat pine nuts a few evenings ago, they seemed unusually small and I thought they might be a bit rancid as I had had them in the freezer for awhile. This is the oddest thing ever; how comforting that I am not alone and it isn’t serious.
Hello,
I live in Belgium, and I have the same problem. Everything that I eat has a bitter taste : I ate pinenuts a few days ago… Strangely enough, my husband (who ate the same meal) has no bitter taste in is mouth!
I think we should all write/call/mail the food safety agencies in our countries, in the hope a sollution for this world-wide problem will be found.
For the moment I eat and drink as much as possible things that go well with bitterness (chocolate, coffee, …) and hope it will not last too long.
I ate a passion fruit this morning, wich surprisingly took away the bitterness in my mount for a few minutes, so I could enjoy eating some other fruits, but unfortunately the bitter taste returned…
This is so bizarre. I have pine nuts regularly and had some Asda Wholefoods (product of more than one country) on Wednesday night on top of pesto. Friday lunchtime I had a small glass of red wine and thought it tasted disgusting, although my friend thought it tasted fine. Have also had a bad taste on a off the past few days – I described it like having hairspray on my fingers and putting them in my mouth!!
Had red wine last night again too and it still tasted funny – glad I know what is the cause – was getting worried. Will bin the rest of the nuts and avoid ones from China or which don’t have a origin on the pack.
Thanks for solving my problem everyone!!
@Sue Yu People have been eating pine nuts, roasted and raw for 10,000 years. This problem only developed over the last few years and must be related to processing. I think they are a bit off base.
Penny Frazier
pinenut.com
I too thought i was dying, sadly just before reading this i just ate a handful of pinenuts as it was one of the few things i could face.
On thing that has offered release is a cup of red bush, whether it lasts or not time will tell.
WOW! This is so interesting…..I purchased some pinenuts from Tesco (UK), and had the odd portion over two days. By the end of the second day, a horrible bitter taste like some bad perfume hit the back of my mouth! I turned to my partner and asked what that awful perfume was she had put on (lol). I was a bit surprised the next day to still have this horrible taste in my mouth…being a bit paranoid, i was worried it might be something wrong with my insides, and may be an initial warning signal for some bad health problem I was to develope! having typed ‘bitter taste in the mouth’ in my google search engine, I instantly came to the culprit ‘Pine Nuts’. I’m a bit relieved as it totally fits in with my latest portion of pine nuts, as I haven’t eaten them for ages. Its so good to know this could be the case. I usually buy the nuts from local Indian/Pakistani food stores and never had a problem with them, with the new packet I purchased from Tesco, i noticed these were from China, so it could well be just the source of origin. Won’t be rushing off me feet to purchase anymore soon…..having to wait so many days on average (7 -10) to overcome this bitter taste is awful, and i’m not looking forward to it. These superstores should have some accountbility if they are aware of this problem, its not good.
It took me a while to figure out what was going on. I am glad I fond information here! I was still reluctant to believe that my symptoms could have been caused by pine nuts… I couldn’t remember eating an pine nus recently. Then my wife reminded me that my symptoms started after eating hummus and there it was! That hummus had pine nuts!!! I am glad it is not the hummus, because I love it. I will get some without pine nuts from now on…
Now, I have to agree with “Goods From The Woods”. It has to be something related to processing, because all these reports of bitter/metallic taste are recent and pine nuts have been around for thousands of years.
OMG, my wife told me that I’m imagining the bad taste in my mouth (only after eating) and that it’s probably being caused by anxiety. Needless to say, I’m glad I just found this website. I thought I had some sort of rare disease. On Thursday night, we had pine nuts in a chicken & tomato dish that my wife makes. The sour taste after eating didn’t start until Saturday. Today is day 2. This has never happened to me before after eating this dish.
We live in Australia and also use tank water. At first we thought it was the water (never had the problem before), then the electric jug (sealing resin?), but after reading the blogs, we are convinced it is the Pine Nuts. We regularly use uncooked Pine Nuts in our salads and have never had the problem until we found a cheaper and larger pack at Woolworths or Coles (not sure which store). We will toss out the Pine Nuts we have and go back to the old pack…after the taste has gone. I wentr away on business for 10 days and the taste disappeared after a couple of days (I was eating potent mining camp food though). To Penny Frazier, it could be the Pine Nuts type, the fertilising/soil nutrients or processing???
Like all of you, i too have had a bitter taste in my mouth for days and i ate a good portion of pine nuts 2 days ago purchased form Tesco (made in China) Funny thing is my daughter also ate them and hasnt been complaining but this bitter taste is just awful and seems to get worse after eating, i thought maybe something was wrong with my salivary glands until i found this site.How long will this last? Must admit i love pine nuts but this has really put me off.
So glad to have found this site…..looked on the package and, sure enough, the pine nuts I ate were from China! I would have kept on eating them and wondering what was wrong with me. It sure ruins the taste of everything! Thanks for the info!
On friday I made a pesto sauce with pine nuts and a tomato salad with roasted pine nuts. Since then, almost everything I eat or drink tastes bitter. I’ve eaten pine nuts all my life and this is the first time this happens. The pine nuts came from a supermarket where I don’t usually shop. I never thought some pine nuts could do this.
same thing happend to me..dad was having some pinenuts and gave some to me..and now im having this bitter taste..its bad..hope it goes away soon..not injoying my food at all… happy that i ran across this blog!
After googling found this website. I have also had a bad taste in my mouth since eating a crumble on Sunday night which contained Asda wholefoods pine nuts (produce of more than one country) was relieved to find this was the cause and not something health related.
Mine were from Safeway/Woolworths in Australia – Freshlife brand from China. I’ll be writing to the supermarket and the distributer!
Like everyone else on this post I was quite worried about the symptoms (bitter metallic taste at the back of my mouth every time I eat), at first thinking certain foods I was eating must have been bad. After I realised the taste came with everything I started googling and was quite relieved to find the cause was pine nuts! I’m surprised I’ve never heard of it before – it looks like around 10 people a day are posting to this blog at the moment from around the world…
I’ll be cancelling any dinner plans in the next two weeks and might have to experiment to find some tolerable foods!
I have also had a bitter taste in my mouth the last couple of days and I had pine nuts on Saturday night. It’s so strange as it has never happened before. It’s horrible and it has put me off eating them again. I’m glad I found this site as I had no idea what was going on.
Hi all…im from Melbourne, Australia…firstly let me say how grateful I am to have found this site…i too thought i’d developed some nasty mouth disease. Have also concluded that the pine nuts I consumed four days ago (from china)are responsible for the vile bitterness in my mouth whenever I eat, drink or smoke. I wont ramble too much about symptoms etc. but did want to acknowledge the gratitude I feel for forums such as this. Thank you all so much ….and to think that we’ve been warned never to consult the internet for medical related stuff…good luck to all and I hope your symptoms start to ease
The bitter taste in my mouth was gone since yesterday afternoon (day 3). For testing, I did a nutritional cleanse at cellular level on day 2. It only improved a little. Then on day 3, I used mega dose of top quality antioxidants in the morning (as I remembered someone in the blog mentioned about oxidation). By noon time, it improved a lot, and late afternoon, it was gone. I waited till today (day 4) to report.
This is indeed very interesting. I have exactly the same symptoms as everyone else has described and was also starting to worry that the strong bitter and metallic taste in my mouth over the past 2 days was the result of some internal problem…what a relief to find an explanation that matches, and is not serious.
I have eaten lots of pine nuts in the past, and have never noticed this. The kind I bought recently were smaller, with a slightly different taste (I did not see where they were from, and I threw away the package when I put them in a jar). Re: ‘goods from the woods’ comment above – I agree that we should not villainize ALL pine nuts. I would like to find out if it is the variety of pine nut, or if it is related to the processing as s/he suggests.
I decided to look this up for myself…this is so strange. For two days now I’ve had this awful metallic taste in my mouth anytime I ate something it taste bitter. I live in Texas, the Southside, I don’t know where my mom bought these pine nuts but I know what the problem is now.I had to admit I was worried. I thought I needed some kind of cleansing and I even went so far as to think it was the mercury filling in my teeth. I’ve been skimming through these blogs and I see that this last 7-10 days?!!?
I am so relieved to read other peoples’ comments on this as I thought that I had liver/gall-bladder problems as the taste is very bile-like. I was even considering giving up my occasional glass of wine!
I ate a small amount of pine nuts, bought in Tesco and sourced in China, a couple of days ago and have had this wierd taste at the back of my mouth since. I will still consult the doctor if it has not gone in a weeks time incase it is a coincidence, but am hoping it is the pine nuts.
Hi all i cant believe that so many people have suffered the same symptoms.I came across this site whilst trying to find an answer to this vile metallic taste ive had in my mouth for over a week.I made a pasta dish last week with pine nuts in (bought from Tesco uk) but my husband picked his out saying he had gone off them .My symptoms started the day after and have continued even after eating massive amounts of mints and obsessively brushing teeth to try to get rid of the taste..All this hindered by the fact i finished the pine nuts off yesterday as a snack which i know now wont have helped.I do like pine nuts and looking back have experienced this symptom before which had now got me worried that i had something wrong with me so thank goodness i came across this site.
interesting…I ate some from Prezzo about 3 days ago and for the last few days I have had the bitter mouth…Might stay away from Prezzo for a while now I know they use cheap pine nuts!!!
Wow! This horrible bitter taste just struck last night and was enough to strike fear into my heart. Then I stumbled across the link to pine nuts, which I had been indulging in earlier in the week. Wow, just wow. My pine nuts came from Trader Joes. But I’ve been eating pine nuts for years and this has NEVER happened to me. Now, I’ve lost all interest in eating them again. So sad. Perhaps the FDA needs to be notified?
I too ate pinenuts (product of Spain, or China, or Portugal)(Good Sense brand)two days ago. I only ate a small amount. Everything I eat today seems to have a bitter taste. I plan on throw the pinenuts out! I hope this nasty taste goes away soon.
Hi all…just wanted to give an update …is day 5 now and the bitterness is still there. Am still peeved that this has happened…
I am currently suffering from this condition for the second time. The first time I did not google well enough to find all this pine nut info. I simply blamed the bread that I have been eating from the same bakery for 3 yrs. I was eating the 6 grain bread when the horrible taste struck so I assumed something had gone amiss with baking that batch of loaves and told the bakery who had no idea. It happened again and when I saw pine nuts reports online, I thought impossible. I had been eating them this time around on a salad but not previously – but then I suddenly remembered I had bought Trader Joes Mediterranean Hummous just around the time the previous incident struck. It is their best hummous, delicious but it must have been that (it contains some pine nuts, I think only for decoration not ground in but I am not sure) and I have been eating it again recently.
What I can say for sure is that I ate Pesto 4 or 5 times over the summer09 in Italy and it was all fine as it has been all my life. I used to crack the nuts out of the cones as a child. I can reassure you all that it does go away but 8 days – 10 was my experience first time around and the bitterness gradually recedes to the back of your tongue till it eventually fades. Good luck all – and much empathy felt. I love to cook and thought I had been poisoned for life the first time around.
It will go! It is more likely to last 8 days and then 9 and 10 will be just vague. Horrible I know!
Francesca@Paul
WOW – I am totally shocked to see how common this is! I have been eating pine nutes for a while now and have never experienced a problem with them. I noticed that my local Tesco’s had stopped stocking them over the last month which I thought was strange (maybe they had received a few complaints) however they were back in last week to my delight and I quickly snapped up a bag. Well since opening them the taste in my mouth has been horrendous, i have been blaming it on everything, dodgy milk in my coffee, coming down with flu etc…(funy thing is, i kept eating the pine nuts to get rid of the taste – not realising they were the cause) it’s only the 4th day for me but it’s felt like forever… everything tastes vile. Like others I was starting to think something more serious was wrong, so thought i’d google it before seeing a doctor… Thank you all for writing your comments, this has totally put my mind at ease and I will be avoiding all pine nuts from now on. I just hope the next 5-6 days will go quickly!!
So glad to read this. I started eating a nut mix at work this week as a snack – Brazil nuts, pumkin seeds and pine nuts – and developed this much discussed foul metallic taste when eating and drinking anything. I thought maybe it was too much selenium from the brazil nuts. Looks like its the pine nuts. Dirty little fuckers.
I too thought there was something seriously wrong with me until I googled “bitter taste in my mouth” and found this forum. My wife and I purchase pinenuts from Costco in Utah on 1/30. I usually dont eat them, but ate a significant amount. Nothing unusual until almost exactly 2 days later. I was joking and told my wife I felt pregnant because my taste sensation was all messed up. When I found this article, I checked the bag we purchased…A Product of China. Well, my symptoms started on 2/1 and I am still suffering…everything from popsicles and milkshakes to breakfast cereal, I have the worst, bitter, metallic sensation, especially after eating. If I get interrupted while eating, it is difficult to start again due to the sensation. I am anxiously waiting for this to pass to treat me and the misses to a special dinner out…probably with the kids :). I likely will never eat pinenuts again…so unfortunate I started a love affair that was apparently forbidden. Adieu my short-lived little firends. Funny thing, my wife has had no reaction to the same nuts and has continued finishing the bag.
OMG! I am crazy! I too ate pine nuts (many) in a salad 2 days ago and not I cannot stand the metallic taste I have in my mouth. I looked the brand and it is Melissa’s (they were smaller than normal) and a product of China. I am trying EVERYTHING to get rid of this but nothing has helped. If anything has worked please let me know-I am dying!
Me too, me too. I ate quite a lot of Tesco pine nuts (manager’s special, origin China) raw over the last few days and have been very worried today, why this awful taste has developed in my mouth.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I’ve reached day 5 and the bitter taste is subsiding now. It was the first (and last) time I have ever eaten pine nuts. I have thrown the rest of the nasty little things in the bin. To be honest, it’s shame as I actually liked the flavour of the pine nuts.
I was really surprised and relieved to have found the answer to a bitter taste in my mouth the last few days (which also affected the taste of the food I ate), I too have just started to eat pine nuts!! I love these nuts, but will certainly stop eating them now.
I bought them from Holland and Barratt and they were also made in China. I will be phoning them on Monday to tell them and return the extra packet I bought.
This is amazing! It definitely explains my symptons. I started experiencing the bitter taste in my mouth on Thursday – the day after having pesto sprinkled with a few extra pine nuts (purchased from Tesco). I’m kind of relieved the cause is something so trivial although the horrible taste is becoming annoying now.
Amazing! I am so relieved, I too have been suffering with a horrid bitter taste in my mouth only after eating or drinking. So having convinced myself that there must be some sinister cause I decided to Google it. I first noticed this on Friday morning and then remembered that I had sprinkled the end of a packet of Tescos pine-nuts on my salad on wednesday evening! Strange that the effect is not immediate! Fed up to see that it takes 7-10 days to go but pleased that its not just me!
@greet laureys
I have the same experience. I bought pine nuts last Tuesday in Gent (Belgium) and made a salad. Since than I have a bitter taste in my mouth after I eat. If I wash my teeth it goes away for a while, but if I eat again it comes back. Now after 5 days of eating the pine nuts the bitter taste is less intense, but still there. I hope in few days it will disappear for good. No more pine nuts.
Well what a relief! I too purchased pine nuts for the first time in a long time and have been experiencing this bitter, almost bile-like taste in my mouth. This is day two following consumption and the taste seems to be getting stronger. In fact, its overpowering everything I eat and drink, so much so I thought I was getting a serious digestive or liver disorder and was considering a visit to the doctor because its actually putting me off eating anything. I bought this particular packet in Dunnes Stores here in Ireland but it doesn’t show the area of origin. I will certainly be writing to Dunnes to see what I can find out. Its very strange because I have always enjoyed pine nuts and have never experienced anything like this!
just googled sour taste in mouth after eating and came across this-so pleased i did!
My daughter,partner and i have all got the same complaint-and surprise surprise we all ate pine nuts two days ago!
Cant beleive that they could cause this and would love to know scientific reason so hey any budding profs could you lend a hand?
I can’t believe this, but I have had the same thing happen! I had a small handful of pine nuts a couple of days ago and suddenly I have this constant bitter taste in my mouth. The pine nuts are from Amport Foods/Product of China, slightly smaller than usual.
Now–how do we get rid of the taste?? Chocolate doesn’t even taste good to me. Help!
I too recently thought I was having some type of medical eposide. Thanks to this blog, I can trace the bitter aftertaste in my mouth to the pine nuts I ate several days ago. They taste delicious going down but the aftertaste is very bitter. My pine nuts made in China came in a yellow No Name Brand bag imported by Loblaws and purchased at The Great Canadian Superstore.
After eating pine nuts from China last year, I swore never to go near them again ! Metallic taste in back of the mouth and couldn’t get rid of the taste for weeks until I realized that it was coming from the pine nuts! I’m a pastry chef and have used Mediteranian pine nuts all my life and never encountered this problem
@Anthony
wow i feel better as i see all the comments now, i was very worried, i got the pine nuts from asda. i just got some jamaica white rum to see if that helps stopping horrid taste.the guarva fruit juice and wray n nephew rum has worked only for a little bit of time, taste is back. i again try again.
I also ate a handful of pine nuts on top of pesto pasta 2 nights ago, and last night I sat down to eat the most delicious looking pizza with my boyfriend, only to have the most disgusting taste in my mouth! At first, I thought maybe the plate hadn’t been wiped after it was washed and it was remnant of the washing detergent. With every bite I kept hoping it would improve (it looked so good!), but alas.. no cigar. I told him, but he said it tasted wonderful. Grr! I found the only things I could properly “taste” were really salted or highly-flavoured foods (I proceeded to eat a whole tray of sticky spare ribs 🙁 )
Just did a quick search on Google Insights for Search and saw this trend: http://www.google.com/insights/search/#geo=GB&q=bitter+mouth+taste&cmpt=qThere could be a number of reasons for the steady increase in complaints, but it does seem a bit odd. It sounds like almost every brand is causing this affect, so is it a pesticide problem or just something innate in pine nuts? Either way, I want my taste buds back!!!
Wow, thank you to everyone for your comments – I thought I was going mad! I ate some pine nuts in my meal on Saturday and have had an awful taste in my mouth ever since (It’s now Tuesday). This happened to me a few months ago, and only last night I was trying to remember what I thought triggered it last time. Pine nuts, who’d have thought it! The bag I bought is from Tesco (UK), well within the sell-by date, and freshly opened. I shall avoid them from now on, nasty little things!!
Oh my goodness – I have had the same experience too. Thought there was something wrong with me until I found this. It is quite frustrating as everything I eat tastes bitter and it is really ruining the fun of eating/drinking for me. We have been living in Chile for the last few years and have not had pinenuts so when I arrived in the US, I bought some pinenuts from Wholefoods and have been eating heaps of them. And yes, the bitter taste started not long after eating them. I ripped off the label so can’t check if they are from China. From what I have read from other posts it should goes away in a few days (as long as I get rid of the pinenuts of course), so here’s hoping…
I had pine nuts for the last 4 days, starting with a few nuts in the beginning to about a handful on the last day. Addicting to eat they are indeed because of their neutral taste and their touted health benefits. Now I have pine mouth too but I am not bothered at all. At least I know the bitterness will not cause one to die and I love to think of the wonderful anti-oxidants my body gets from munching these little seeds. I guess I worry more about not getting the bitterness of emotion caused by stress, hate and injustice, which is really harder to get rid of and live with. Have a good day all!
Same same, cant believe pinenuts cause this. Only things that taste good are the sour strip lollies the kids like. Our brand was a Sunbeam brand. Not happy Jan!!!!!
I have been eating pine nuts for about 2 weeks and noticed a bitter metallic taste after I eat anything now. When I told my wife, she said I must be nuts. HOW TRUE!! I went on Google and found out that it is the nuts! It’s really terrible. How long after you stop eating them does it go away? Need to know.
I made pesto sauce last Sunday with lots of pine nuts. Monday morning I had my usual breakfast of buttered toast and thought the butter was rancid. I was quite surprised that my lunch tasted rancid as well. It is now Wednesday night and everything still taste bitter and off. Wine is especially bad – yuck. I was very relieved to made the pine nut connection. Hopefully it will go away soon.
I ate pine nuts five days ago I also had them a few days before that bought at Morrisons, I have had a metalic taste after eating and drinking for three days now. These nuts were packed in the uk but does not declare which origin they come from. Thank you for the blog it has given me some peace of mind. How long does it last? does anyone have any idea?
I am too just recovering from a second bout of this dreadful metallic & bitter taste throughout my mouth. Last time it lasted 10 days & disappeared as fast as it came. My Doctor had no ideas how to help.On this occassion I had eaten pine nuts 2 days previously (purchased from Morrisons). I buy various nuts for my parrot from propper food shops & had eaten just a few 2 days earlier. All the same problems as the other people have written -it is truely horrible. I have taken the matter up with the Foods standards Agency who have requested that I e-mail their Toxicology Dept. with the details as they are looking into all these cases. I also spoke to our local Environmental Health Officer. Morrisons themselves showed little interest in what I told them & continued to have the pine nuts on sale. Holland & Barrett whom I believe are part of Julian Graves told me they are aware of the problem & have replaced their pine nuts with produce from Parkistan.
Strangly, I have a friend who buys these from Tesco & eats these on pesto but has had no problems as yet. Could it be that it is affecting certain people who have acid problems already?. Just a thought.
I have been eating crystalised ginger in between it helps a bit.
Shock, Horror! I had Asda pine nuts (various countries origin) in my Sunday dinner and on Tuesday I developed a really bitter taste in my mouth, like hairspray! Have it all the time, whether eating or not, and some food/drinks are disgusting to the palate. Now Thursday, 3 days on, still have it, so am trying sucking on pineapple pieces as it is a good cleanser of the palate. How long will this last? But thank you so much Roger Hyam for helping me to identify the cause.
Thanks GOD for the pine nuts, ’cause I was so scared about this horrible bitter taste!!
I live in California and I ate pine nuts two days ago with my husband and son, and is kind of weird ’cause I’m the only one with the problem, I still got a pound of pine nuts but I have decide no more pine nuts at home!!!
I hope this bitter taste goes away for good and good luck to everybody!! 🙂
I googled my symptoms as described but didn’t believe it was pine nuts. One reason is because I didn’t get the taste till 2 days later. Also, my friend didn’t get any symptoms. this is the second day and it’s still there. Thanks for all your comments.
Thank heavens I came across this email. Everything else seemed to point me down the pregancy route which was somewhat horrifying!! I had some Pine Nuts on a salad from Vital Ingredient in London on Monday and then Wednesday morning I had a cappucino and thought the milk was rancid and ever since this taste has developed and will not leave! I think I will be downing the good old Rooi Bos Tea and throw in some Green Tea for good measure. Surely this is quite a diabolical situation though that the food standards committee should know about?
@Lisa
Oh my goodness…I also had the pine nuts from Asda Whole foods range and have exactly the same experience. Like eating hairspray…that’s exactly how I described it to my family! I’ve never had pine nuts before (I’ve just turned vegi this week) and it’s put me off for life!
I’m so greatful to have found this site, like so many others, I was starting to worry something was wrong with me!
I’m suffering for the second time, I wrongly thought that the pesto I bought was the culprit but it was the pine nuts! I am BF my daughter and the first time I had the pine nut problem she had weird-smelling breath which I thought might be a symptom of diabetes. I took her to the GP and she said she thought she may be dehydrated. This time around it’s happened again. I’m sure it’s caused by the pine nuts and is not dehydration or diabetes. Can anyone shed any light on this?
This is incredible!
I have been eating raw pine nuts in my salad almost every day for the past couple of weeks (Tesco pine nuts). Then this morning, after my coffee I had a horrible bitter taste in my mouth. I figured I had made it too strong (instant) I had another coffee later in the morning and the taste got even worse, I could not believe that I had had two bad cups of coffee. Had my usual salad with pine nuts for lunch and taste improved. It came back. Diet Coke, water, green tea, Randoms, none got rid of the taste. So I Googled bitter taste, and just when I thought something was seriously wrong I found Pine Mouth! As relieved as I am, I am really hoping the taste doesn’t take 10 days to go!!
I bought my pine nuts in Dundee (South Road).
Hooray, looks like I’m not dying! Am in New Zealand and eat these often, bought from Pak and Sav. I woke up on Saturday with anything I eat causing nasty bitter taste. When I don’t eat it subsides. Had no other symptoms so puzzled, thank goodness I found your comments. Just checked my dodgy nuts I ate on Thursday night… smaller than usual, but tasted fine. Bought from bulk bin so unsure of country of origin. I guess this might be a great weight loss opportunity, it tastes like the varnish to stop nail biting!
Hi, I am from Australia and would like to echo the same, I also got a cheaper larger pack from Woolworths, and after 2 days of eating a handful the metallic bitterness after eating. Its driving me nuts on day 5 now.
I can’t enjoy tea coffee, good food. is China planning to slowly poison us with everythign they produce and handle?
I too am suffering from eating pine nuts…5 days ago I ate a salad covered in them at a local restaurant in Michigan, I am on my third day of this awful taste disturbance. I keep thinking the taste is fading, but alas, it’s not. The only thing bearable is coffee and salty corn chips, food generally tastes good for a second (while I’m chewing), but once I swallow, the rotten taste returns….I don’t think I’ll make it a week!
Wow, this is unbelievable! After suffering from this horrible bitter taste in my mouth whenever I ate anything, I finally googled and found this place. I originally thought it was the naprosyn I was taking for shoulder pain. I live in Southern California and bought these pine nuts at Ralph’s grocery…they are Mellissa’s brand imported from–yep–China.Too bad I just took my girlfriend to an expensive restaurant…everything tasted horrible to me (although she enjoyed her meal, and she had eaten some of the pesto I had made with the infected pine nuts the night before!). So this is gonna last how long? And would love to know if anyone has the FDA contact info for So. Cal.
OMG!! I thought maybe I had throat cancer. I got my pine nuts from Costco. Have eaten from the same bag for a while with no problem., but took a handful out of the freezer 2 weeks ago and think maybe there are some “mixed” destination nuts in the pack!
This taste WILL NOT go away! It is rancid, and whoever said hairspray is right!! Does anyone know if there are long term effects or problems from this? I have had the taste in the back of my throat for 2 weeks now and no improvement!
Can’t believe I found this out! Been trawling the internet thinking I’d got a rotten tooth or zinc poisoning but been eating pine nuts since last friday 5th feb – since then had bitter taste and five minutes after eating/drinking been saying porridge/coffee/ toast/everything had gone off! Symptoms are same as everyone else – subsides when not eating. Last ate pine nuts about 3 days ago so have ages yet – like others its driving me mad. Bought them in local health food store – will check out country of origin. Also bought a new pack from Tescos will check those out as well. May just give all of them to the wild birds so long as they dont end up the same as us! Wouldn’t wish it on anyone at this stage, having just had a cappucino and felling like I’ve drunk a can of hair spray.
I am so relieved at finding this site – had just diagnosed myself with a malignant brain tumour which was interfering with my taste zone! I’M NOT DYING. Morrison’s pine nuts have a lot to answer for. I too bought a bag of very small ones which were delicious. Ate only a few on Friday night and by Saturday coffee was like poison and now everything tastes horrible. Please go away soon!
Im suffering from this foul taste in my mouth after eating Pine nuts from Tesco three days ago. I had a feeling it was connected with the nuts.. but after having this foul taste for days I was begining to get a little worried.. After googling I initially found a few sites, connecting such tastes issues with liver problems and brain tumours, thankfully I soon found the “pine mouth” topics and felt relieved! My Tesco nuts where from China! Id like to know why this has happened and why it has been occuring for some time with nothing done regarding it! Im not looking forward to all my food tasting vile for more than a week!
This truly is amazing. I have also had a bitter taste in my mouth for days and was wondering what was wrong with me. I had a large salad with lots of pine nuts last week (in a restaurant so no idea where the pine nuts came from – but I guess it’s likely they came from China or at least Asia since I am in Australia). I also have a botanical background so was interested to read about the commonly eaten species, thanks for that. Anyway, no more pine nuts and I hope the bad taste will go away soon!
@Mira
I’m from Australia also and I got some pine nuts from Woolworths -I ate them yesterday, just a teaspoon full and every time I have eaten since I have this bitter taste ( at the back and sides of my tongue – must be where the “bitter” taste buds are!).Had another teaspoon just now before I found this site!!!! Will be throwing them in the BIN!
I’m female, aged 62, and, while searching to see whether the dreadful, bitter taste at the back of my mouth which appeared a week past Saturday might be due to hypertension medication or statin which I’m prescribed, I came across this site. Sure enough, thinking back, I remembered sprinkling a pine nut/seed mix on my salad two days before. Unfortunately I think the mix in question was probably past the use by date and that may be intensifying the problem. On Sunday it disappeared but returned yesterday. Like another contributor I wonder if either my age or medication might also be making the problem last so long.
I served a toasted pine nut topped salad on Saturday night. Had a little leftover for Sunday lunch. Monday morning I had the metallic/bitter taste. Can’t tell you how relieved I am to read these website comments because I thought something was seriously wrong with me. I bought the “Badia” brand packets of pinenuts (couldn’t find the Italian ones at the supermarket). Hope my guests aren’t experiencing this, …maybe I should ask. I’m really hoping this passes soon.
Had pine nuts eight days ago and the next day developed the horrible, bitter taste after eating. It hasn’t faded as of yet and it is driving me NUTS, lol. Even drinking water is awful! We bought the pine nuts in NE Ohio at a Giant Eagle. My husband and two year old also had some of the pine nuts but do not seem to be affected… of course, I ate more of them 🙂 Luckily, my breast fed five month old also has not seemed to experience any problems. Definitely not the first time I’ve eaten these, but the first time I’ve had this reaction. It really is terrible and I’m praying that the taste goes away in the next day or two. Why have I never heard about this before now?!?!
This is very interesting. I have been googling “bitter taste in mouth” for a couple of days now and just discovered your article. I thought maybe it was acid reflux. I have been having a bitter taste in my mouth for a couple of days now and had eaten pine nuts (organic) the other day. I wonder if this is related…so my question is….how do I get rid of it? Does it go away on its own?
Rebecca
Just a little note to continue from earlier. My pine nuts were also from China (Greenwise Organic). hmmmm?
I’m in Omaha, NE & I just started eating Pine Nuts in earnest & guess what; BITTER MOUTH! I’ve eaten pine nut quite often before & never had this happen. Could it possibly be some preservative that they started spraying or washing the nuts with?? I say though, isn’t the internet grand & especially Google!! They deserve a medal or some such. Hope it goes away soon YUK!! & hope their are no permanent side effects!!
this is crazy… i have the exact same symptoms as everyone here… two days after eating pine nuts (bought from bulk in south beach, miami) is this something that has been found to happen recently or what? scary… can’t wait til this taste goes away…
@Theresa
I have just had the same effect after eating two small handfuls of morrison’s pine nuts. thank you so much for your comments. lets hope it goes soon.
Same here!
@louise Hi Louise, saw you had read my comments. If you are interested, the e-mail address to send the details to the food standards agency who are gathering reports on this problem is: toxicology@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk
good luck hope- you are feeling better soon
Theresa
We’re in Toronto, Ontario. Ate organic pine nuts 4 days ago that were packaged locally. Yesterday the symptoms started with a vengeance. I Will contact the company, maybe they should institute a recall. Although I’m never going to eat pine nuts again.
I have found that boiled shrimp and eggs are edible. And anything sweet like apples work for a while, yet after the bitterness remains for me all day. I’m wondering if there is any way to clean this stuff out of our systems faster. I will ask my friend who is trained in herbal remedies and see if she has any ideas. I’ll post them if she does.
@rebecca commons
Cannot believe this, 2 days after eating pine nuts, Bitter taste….
I took a look on the net after 3 days thinking i had a burst ulcer or something and can`t believe this !
Thanks to everyone
lee
Wow!
I was really getting worried that I had some strange disease. The bitter taste is awful especially after eating. I ate the Greenwise brand also bought at Publix. I hope this goes away soon.
I’ve eaten pesto quite a lot recently too. Yesterday everything started tasting really bitter and gross. its been the same all day today, i dont notice it so much until i eat or drink and its just awful. I love pesto and this is the 1st time this has happened to me. it’s kind of put me off the stuff a bit now, stupid pine nuts. this taste had better go away soon or i think im just going to go insane! although it’s a relief to know its probably nothing seriously wrong!
Me too! Now that I think of it, it all started after the bitter pine nuts – never occurred to me that it could be this.
OMG!!!!!
Thankgoodness thought I was going mad. I shall cancel the appointment with the doctors now. I have had the same metallic bitter taste for a week now and have had pine nuts twice bought from Asda. Its never happened before so the suppliers must be spraying them with something new. How horrible hope the taste goes soon and will be avoiding pine nuts from now on.
it tastes like the devil’s dick!
Ican’t believe it but the same has happened to me. I bought baby pinenuts from Julian Graves, usally get just pine nuts from Waitrose.
Since eating the babypinenuts have had this horrendous taste in mouth. Have been eating menthol sweets to get rid of it
Keep on it Jim! Seriously, the same thing happened to me as well. I have always eaten pine nuts without problems and about 4 days ago, ate some on pasta. I have had this terrible horrible taste in the back of my mouth which I thought was reflux.
Thanks for the info. Clearly it is not a concidence that we have all eaten pine nuts prior to this.
Again, anyone know how long this will last?
I normally buy Crazy Jacks Organic Pine Nuts and have them with my salad every day (being doing this for ages now), but suddenly I haven’t been able to buy the Crazy Jacks brand (anyone know why?). I did buy some of Waitrose own and quite suddenly developed the bitter taste that everyone else has described well (I’ve looked at the pack and they come from China). No more Pine Nuts for me – at least for now (shame, salads don’t taste as good without them).
Thank you for sharing this info!!!! Damn those pine nuts!!!!
From Croydon Vic, Australia my husband & I too have this problem from eating Pine Nuts 1 week ago. Horrific metallic/bitter taste, nausea, indegestion that won’t go away. Everything tastes like metal. It started the day after eating them. Unfortunately I had an extra handful of them the next day for a snack. Bought them from a local bulk food store(they are the smaller type of nut). Was at the point of seeing Dr. Can’t drink tea, coffee, milk, wine(bugger), can only taste some sweet foods (not good for my diet!). Thanks everyone for your tips on what to do. Will try them all. Maybe I’m not going mad after all! Will let the store I bought from know about this!
@Lynn
I have the same problem for two days now. And yes I also had pine nuts, bought from Tesco. Horrible horrible!!
My girlfriend had made a pesto sauce for some ravioli this week on Monday – and by Wednesday I had this incredibly awful metallic lingering acrid taste in the back of my throat. Everything I’ve eaten since has this taste mixed in with it, and it is incredibly frustrating.
I tried using baking soda mixed with water (gargled, and swallowed) and it didn’t help at all. (I had read somewhere that this helps remove the bitter after taste). Does anyone have any suggestions or short remedies they can suggest for this “taste disturbance?” This is ridiculous that this is so un-noticed by the general populace!
@rebecca commons
How long does this awful taste last – I need to know worst case scenario! I am only on my second day of suffering.
I will never eat them again.
I bought pine-nuts from New World in Auckland, NZ. The day after I had a handful of them in pesto I developed all the same symptoms discussed here. It’s only the second day for me – here’s hoping it doesn’t last 10 days like some people have experienced!!
Isn’t it funny how the human mind works?! We all thought we were dying! This is by far the nastiest thing I have had medically happen to me. I too have eaten pine nuts before without any problems. So as everyone else has done I went googling. I was just as relieved to find an answer to what was happening to my taste buds. My husband and I tried to play detective too thinking maybe we had some sort of gas leak in the house or something. The nuts we consumed came from a local Giant Eagle and shocker, they too were from China! No wonder they all stay so skinny in China!! Who wants to eat with this awful aftertaste to follow?!!!! Anyway I am relieved and yet nervous to know if there are any long term affects from this “poisoning”. Just wanted to note that along with the bitter taste after eating my tongue also felt a little numb. Weird!!! have we all been poisoned or will we be ok??? We need answers!!!
OMG this has to be it. I ate pine nuts 2 days ago and now everything has this taste. I NEVER eat pine nuts….
A dirnk of bitter before a meal improves the flavour of the meal
OMG! I am so relieved that I am not really sick. I can’t believe this strange phenomenon. I eat a lot of pesto so it is difficult to pin point but it was either when I had pesto at a restaurant on Tues or at our work canteen on Weds. I had the bitter taste on Fri morning when I had my breakfast. Thought that I was going crazy. The hairspray taste is a good description. Especially bad with wine which is a real pain. Thanks for sharing – these comments have made me laugh with relief! Don’t think I will be giving up pesto though.
I had Pesto Tuesday & Wednesday, also ate some pine nuts out of the package. Friday evening (dinner was fine) drank some wine later and said it was horrible. This morning, coffee was bitter and finally, everything I tasted was bad. I liken it to bile or a bitter tree bark. After the google search with all the bad things it could be, I was overjoyed to find the pine nuts the culprit. Interestingly, so far, none of the other 11 people at dinner have had a problem.
@Kathy
Despite a recent colonoscopy and recently good bloodwork and a clean bill health of health in general, I was convinced I had some gastrointestenal disorder from this bitter taste in my mouth that has, so far lasted three days! I cook with pine nuts all the time, but on Wednesday night I made a delicious pasta dish with scallops and pinenuts. On Thursday we ate leftovers. My husband had it to. He had no problems. Friday morning the bitter taste began. (I thought the milk in my cereal was sour). We bought the pine nuts from the grocery store (Also Badja brand cause they’re cheaper!)but from this blog, I don’t think it makes a difference. You have a bad one, and that’s all it takes! Good to know I am physically (and mentally) OK. Everyone else thinks I’m nuts (no pun intended) and I am tired of complaining about the disgusting taste I keep on having! I hope this ends soon. I love food way too much!
@Sue Yu
I actually roasted my pinenuts before I cooked them and still got the bitter taste, so I don’t think it matters whether they are cooked or raw. If you get a bad one, you get a bad one.
My ‘Pine mouth’lasted about four days,i was thinking the bitter taste was due to a cold i was suffering from so when the taste went i was relieved.Only thing was i hadn’t heard of Pine Mouth last week so on Friday i had another handful of my Seed Mix and now i’ve re-infected myself!!! Thanks to google i was able to discover it was the pine nuts and i wasn’t dying after all!I think i’ll be avoiding them after all this though!Just hope it goes as quick.
I have found that eating highly spicy, hot salsa mixed into soup is palatable until after it is gone, at least. Also, strong peppermint Altoids help as long as you are eating it – when gone, bitter comes back.
I wish someone would try to do a study to find out if there are some common ailments, medicines or other foods that might trigger this in some but not all of those who get it. Others in our group didn’t eat it 2 days in a row and I may have been the only one to eat them raw. Also, they were from China.
Txting from UK . Same problem for me – I incorporate pinenuts in the w/meal bread I make myself (machune) and have never had any symptoms before, suddenly did – ghastly !!
On a recommendation, may have been here,I have been eating a big tub of live “bio yoghurt” for the last 5 days, – tesco’s actually, rhubarb, cant remember the maker, but comes in 450g tubs, very nice – and symptoms nowhere near as bad. Looks to be working.
Bit worrying in that this can also be a symptom of diabetes, but had tests and heard nowt, so presume it isnt that that thank goodness.
Thank you for thIS fORUM, AS SAID ELSEWHERE IT IS REASSURING TO KNOW OTHERS HAVE THIS PROBLEM.
tHERE SEEMS A DEFINITE LINK = HOWEVER TENUOUS – TO PINE NUTS.
Oops, sorry bout caps !
Add me to the list. Cento Pine Nuts bought at Giant Foods in Charlottesville, VA. Distributed by Cento Fine Foods of Thorofare, N.J.
Have spent the past 6 days worrying that i had been poisened by my aftershave or perhaps my girlfriend!! he he, couldn’t get rid of the wierd taste in my mouth just thought i’d swallowed some and this was the reason for the taste but 6 days on and I still have it, was getting a bit freaked out. Anyway well please when i found this info as it has put my mind at rest…
This is truly unbelievable! I am so relieved to have an answer to this horrible taste in my mouth – and better yet, an idea of when it will end! I had a pasta salad over the weekend that had the baby pine nuts in it – lots of them…And I love them! Phooey…Never again!
What a relief. Thanks for this advice.. I was convinced I had mercury poisoning or worse. After a pasta with pine nuts on Sunday night, (and leftovers for lunch on Monday) my foul taste started about 24 hours later.. I thought the chicken I was eating was contaminated with disinfectant or something. Two days on and everything is so disgusting, I am barely eating.. perhaps I may shed a few kilos while this bitterness lasts.
Geees! Thank goodness for you and all the comments people left! Thought I was degenerating from the inside somehow! This is terrible! I am starving – eating is hardly possible! When will the misery end…. day 2 and counting 😉
Happened to me too! Made a WONDERFUL salad, added some pine nuts and now can’t get rid of the bitter taste (only starts when I’m eating or drinking. Will start on the pro-biotics
PINE NUTS!! Ugh…I will never eat them again! I polished off a bag the other night mixed with sunflower seed, pecans, walnuts and almonds. I went out the following night with friends and had a small glass of red wine. The next day I heated up a pot roast cooked the day before and when I ate my dinner everything tasted bitter, especially on the back of my tongue! I thought the roast went bad in the fridge so I threw it out to the ground hog and foxes that frequent my back yard for scraps. That was almost a $30.00 meal gone to the wild animals. lol
OMG…it’s been 4 days now and I still have that bitter, almost metalic taste! I feel great, no pains, no indigestion, no headache just that friggin’ bitter taste that makes everything I put in my mouth taste horrible. This has never happened to me, ever, and I have alway put pine nuts on my salads. I hope it goes away soon. Is there any way to get this sh*t out of my system and out of my mouth quickly? It tastes like I somehow got hairspray in my mouth. I will never eat pine nuts again and I love them, but this taste is not worth them! ICK
Another for your files. Had a grilled salmon salad with pesto and a ton of pine nuts at a restaurant in Evanston, IL, on Friday, and finished the leftovers over the next day or two. Monday night everything started tasting horribly bitter, especially towards the back of my tongue. It’s Wednesday now, and no change, so I googled my symptoms and found sites like this one. I called the restaurant to let them know they might have a bad batch of pine nuts, but they person I talked to didn’t know where their pine nuts came from or what type they were. They were raw, not toasted, by the way. So far the only relief is to drink lots of water. Will try the yogurt suggestion though. Couldn’t be any worse!
Made a new dish Sunday, broccoli with pine nuts and grated Parmesan cheese. It was a hit, until Tuesday when I started noticing that a muffin I was eating had a bitter aftertaste, which got worse with time. At dinner that night, my red wine tasted unspeakably bad. Bought the nuts at Bulk Barn in Truro, Nova Scotia. By today, Wednesday, everything pretty much tastes like soap. This is pretty unpleasant, but it’s also kind of fascinating. I hope someone figures out what causes this and what, if anything, can be done to reverse it.
Well, add me to the list too! After several days of bitter taste in my mouth i was certain I had a tumor or ALS or toxic fish poisoning. What a huge relief to discover it was just the PineNuts. And, of course, they are from China (despite the name Pignoli on the label, which sounds Italian.) Straight into the trash with the rest of these.
Me too! Ate them out of the Trader Joe’s bag on Saturday,and made pesto. Sunday morning – everything tasted bitter. It’s been 4 days now and it’s subsiding. Thanks to Dr. Google I felt like I wasn’t going crazy. The bag stated that the nuts were from “Russia, Vietnam or Korea” So not the domestic variety. I will now be a choosy shopper.(wasted all that basil!)
I am amazed and relieved my problem could be resolved, i had lamb with pine nuts which i cooked myself on sunday by monday i have had a bad taste in my mouth so i googled it and all these symptoms came up which i was getting worried about, then i came across this site i still have the bad taste and hoping it will go away soon. I wont be eating pine nuts again!!!
I too have this! I thought I was pregnant again as I got the same bitter taste when I was pregnant with my first. Alas I’m not and ate stupid pine nuts! It must have been just one dodgy one as I’ve been eating from the same packet for the last few weeks. Glad I’m not the only one but am really annoyed as I have a bottle of Gerwurtstraminer in the fridge which just tastes disgusting!
I’ve been on a Vegetarian diet for two months now, and the other day I had Pine Nuts (I don’t know what kind or where they are from because I no longer have the packaging). Although I have had them before, (in Italian cookies, ect.) they have not been a real part of my diet until recently. Anyways, today I noticed a distinct bitter taste in my mouth that would not go away no matter what I ate or drank. Good to know the underlying reason for this awful taste and that I’m not going to croak and that my husband is not trying to poison me (joking)! Thanks for the informative article!
I am so relieved that I am not the only one that has this bitter taste in my mouth. I was so worried until I googled “bitter aftertaste” and found this page. I had about 20 pine nuts for lunch two days ago; I purchased the pine nuts from Whole Foods-their brand 365 product of China distributed to Whole Foods in Austin, Texas. I called the store manager, but he said I should call their headquarters, which I will do as soon as morning comes.
Thank goodness for this info from everyone, I too am a victim I guess. Couldn’t figure out what this taste was from, going over everything I ate yesterday because I began to get the taste last night after eating a few chips and some vitamin water. Ignored it, it was late, but today wow like everything I ate or drank was soaked in rubbing alcohol. Now funny this was the first time we had pine nuts in our kitchen, so I through some in a chicken dish for my husband, and only tasted that, but the next day I went out to lunch and had chicken and pasta in a pesto cream sauce! Ah Ha! It must have been that, it is the only logical explanation. Does that mean that I (we all) are allergic to the nut….why does it only affect some? Anyone know…I have had pesto before and never had the problem. Or just a bad nut in the mix!
I would love to know what to do…yogurt…any thing else…and how long could this be? I think I lost weight already…I certainly don’t want to eat, the after each bite taste is horrible. And my husbands the one trying to lose weight go figure!
Well,i left a comment a few days ago and am now pleased to say my taste buds have returned to normal.5 days in total.So rest assured that if you’ve got Pine mouth it will go eventually!There seems to be a lot of you in America,i’m from the uk.I wonder if there has ever been any cover on this subject in the press or on tv?My local pharmacist didn’t have a clue about it and was fascinated.Asda are carrying out testing on the product i ate from so i’ll keep you posted.
@Ali
Hi Ali, You should read my comments on 11th & 17th. Feb. on this site. It is worth reporting every problem to the Food standards agency.
Also I am considering writing to the BBC One show who may well be interested in discussing this.I also have a contact with Simon Rimmer (something for the Weekend) and intend to e-mail him before the Sunday show
Good Luck Theresa
This is so strange. I also noticed a bitter taste in mouth only after eating or drinking on monday 22nd. After 2 days of this I googled it(like everybody else!) and found the info on pine nuts. And yes you guessed it, i had made pesto the day before. plus ate a couple handfulls of the nuts. My nuts came from Trader Joes. Have also found on the blogs that they are aware of this problem but have not found and explanation yet. So this is my 5th day and its still with me. Hope it goes away soon.
Me too me too! I had Sabra hummus with roasted pinenuts and for the last few days everything I eat has a horrible aftertaste particularly, like some of you have mentioned at the back of my tongue. I have a cold too, and I’ve never had this happen from post nasal drip alone. this is the third day. UgHH
Well Like everyone else I started having this taste in my mouth after I eat its been two days now. It could make me quit drinking wine the taste plus wine is like eating dish soap. After reading this I realized I ate a whole small bottle of pine nuts thought they were so good but goodness they must be poison I hope it doesnt last to long
Yuck Pine Nuts!!! I was starting to think something is really wrong
I have the same thing with pine nuts from ASDA, interestingly i cooked a meal with this same bag of pine nuts and had no problems but i found it in the cupboard the other day and ate a few, sure enough the next day i got the bitter taste.Possibly something to do with storage??
Theresa,I had a letter back from Asda yesterday,and i wasn’t surprised to discover that they had just included info from the F.S.A website!To be honest it made me cross,and a little frustrated.Obviously thousands of people are suffering from this,and until you find out what causes the bitter taste you worry that you’ve got something awful! So yes i’m in agreement with you…a bit of coverage on this would be great.Thanks for your interest anyway!
I bought a bag of dry roasted pignolias (bag says that they are a product of Korea or Russia) from Trader Joe’s yesterday and ate several handfuls before I served them on a salad to 9 guests. I have been experiencing an increasing bitter taste in my mouth especially when eating. I am so glad I did a google search and found this website/blog. I am also happy to hear that my taste buds will eventually return to normal and I can stop worrying that I have a brain tumor or some other strange condition. Since this seems to be prevalent, I wonder if I should contact Trader Joe’s to make them aware of the situation.
This sour taste thing happened to me August 09 and I posted comment at the time, takes about 7 days to clear up. I purchased pine nuts in Brisbane Australia(on the container was noted “Packaged in Australia from imported ingredents”)Have not eaten pine nuts since and have never experienced the sour taste in my mouth again….Regards Ray
Had pine nuts Thursday …. Never had anything like this… Wine and food tastes horrific! Can’t enjoy anything and if I try eating I get a horrendous headache after. I thought I had mouth cancer till I saw this website. Thanks for the re assurance but please make it go away!!!! Four days now and counting … Hey though it should ve sold as an appetite suppressant … Lost half a stone but I’m missing my food. :-(((
I ate two handfuls of pine nuts from Whole Foods and sure enough, about a day later (perhaps even sooner), everything leaves a nasty bitter aftertaste. Hard to describe really. I have eaten pine nuts many times in the past with no adverse effects. Of note: these did not have a country of origin listed on them so I can’t tell exactly but I know Whole Foods many times sources items from China – their frozen strawberries in particular. On day three now and just about as bad as day one although slightly better, I think. Nothing tastes right and while it goes away after I stop eating for a while, it is almost like it gives food a lingering -BAD- aftertaste for a good 10 – 20 minutes. Apple juice in particular tastes different going down and then has a horrible aftertaste for a while. I ate them raw, but don’t think it makes a difference.
I too prepared a recipe using pine nuts, and two days later experienced a very bitter taste in my mouth…Thank goodness for Google, I thought I had a serious illness! I purchased the Badia brand at Publix, Tampa, FL. and am calling the Company to inform them…Think it is a bad import!
@Audrey
I too have this bitter, pepper sensitive taste in my mouth. I didn’t connect to my pine nuts from Trader Joes until I came across this site. I wonder if its the nuts themselves or are they sprayed with something. I sure hop this goes away soon.
Very interesting to read all these comments re pine nuts. I am just another sufferer who suddenly wondered if anyone else might have experienced this phenomenon. My wife and I have had this bitter taste for four days now and were about to ring the gas company to see if it could be caused by the boiler giving off Carbon Monoxide.
All I can say is I’m relieved we’re not alone and, yes, we had a large dose of pine nuts on Saturday.
So far it’s cost two bottles of good wine which became ‘undrinkable’, a delicious bean chilli (which we assumed had somehow gone off in the freezer and a couple of bowls of mixed muesli, various bananas, pineapples and even roast potatoes. Very strange but now forewarned.
What a relief! I’m glad I continued to Google my symptoms. I came across one diagnosis which talked about a throat or sinus infection or possibly a lesion on your brain. In a panic, I was about to call my doctor before I came across this site. I recently became unemployed and was making a lot of beautiful dinners for my husband (salads with pine nuts) and most recently made a batch of southwestern cinnamon rolls with pine nuts and chili cinnamon. I’ve had a cinnamon roll every day for 4 days straight. Not looking forward to this awful taste in my mouth lasting much longer. Funny thing how the taste only appears when I eat or drink something. Otherwise it completely disappears for a while.
ME TOO! Phew, ive not got some horrible illness…its Pine mouth 🙂
I think i’ll follow suit and make some complaints. I bought my pine nuts from my local Morrisons, UK, (own brand)and have now had this awful bitter taste for 3 days. Hoping it goes soon as EVERYTHING tastes nasty. All i can say is thank goodness for Google!!
Thank you to all of you. I was just about to go and see a doctor. I thought that there was something wrong with me. I cooked with Pine nuts on saturday and have been eating them raw believing a was being healthy only to have this horrid taste in my mouth!
I have just binned the ones left over. Thank you! Thank you ! Thank you
Thank goodness for the plethora of info. on the internet! I too thought I had contracted some weird sickness and then read about Pine Mouth. We had pine nuts in salad on Sunday, so it makes perfect sense. Whew! Not looking forward to everything tasting like bile for up to 2 weeks, but glad I’m not dying or something. =)
I eat some pasta with pinenuts today for lunch….and the bitter taste start straigh away…hope this end soon….
Same for me.Bought a triple berry seed mix from ASDA -(English supermarket) -have had a bitter taste for the last week.Have eaten pine nuts before and often have Pesto with no ill effects.Pine nuts in berry mix do look small but there is no country of origin on the packaging.
OMG!! What a relief. Everything I’ve been eating this week has tasted terrible!! I was starting to get nervous. Then I read this. I had Pine Nuts in my salad on Tuesday. That was a first for me. Hopefully this doesn’t last much longer!
Thank you so much for finally answering my question. I’ve been moaning about this taste in my mouth since late friday evening (a week ago today)i ate a large handful of pine nuts on friday lunchtime they were from a british supermarket and i think they were from china . the taste is exactly the same as that nail biting solution you can use as a deterent to biting. It is fasinating how a natural product can have such a radical effect on your taste .It comes immidiatley on tasting the minutest piece of food or drink and totally spoiles it !!!!!!!!!!
Mine is still here and its been a week !At least I’m not ill. thanks
I live in London, UK. Always ate pine nuts from Sainsburys supermarket, never had a problem. I bought it from Morrisons supermarket and now I have been struggling to find food tasty. Everything is bitter, even a banana. It’s been going on for a few days now, not improving.
Thank you so much for this blog post. I was super confused before I read it and now it makes perfect sense.
For those also afflicted, I found that pickles and Pepsi still tasted alright while everything else that I’ve eaten tastes awful.
Wow….the wonders of Google!
I, like most of the other people on here, wondered what on earth was wrong? Pregnant….Im 50. peptic ulcer?…no other signs and then ..thank goodness “pine mouth!” It all ties in, new packet from Asda on Monday, mixed with usual seeds & raisins in my breakfast for the last 5 days! Hope it goes soon …this is torture, hope more research will soon be done
This is soo funny! I was on the phone with a nurse describing my symptoms and she told me to go to the emergency room because she though I may have been exposed to a poison. Just when I was about to go my Dad called me and said he read this, and figured since I am a chef this may apply. Sure enough yesterday morning I made some pine nut brittle with some smaller pine nuts that were not from my regular provider. I have never had this happen before, but it does make perfect sense. I was so worried..feeew! Its to bad though i love pine nuts. I guess i’ll just stay away from the small ones for now on. This the a horrible problem for a chef!
Add me to the list. Batch of Organic 365 from Whole Foods. Product of Good Ol’ China…batch lot code 10011.
By the way, i made pesto with toasted pine nuts and had no problems. Over the next couple of days, I ate raw pine nuts and sure enough, the hair spray flavor arrived today! I thought Starbucks was trying to poison me. The taste only arrives after I eat and then goes away after about 15-30 minutes. Thanks to this website, my wife doesn’t think I am crazy anymore!
@Cindy
Cindy,
I feel for you! It was awful. Mine lasted 12 days. I posted this info on Jan. 13th. If you want to go back to the comments click on the comment pages below to get back to Jan. 13th, 2010 or any previous comments:
January 13th, 2010 at 17:01 | #30 Reply | Quote Jane, and all the others – I wanted to give you an update. When you’re going through this it is awful!! It took 12 days for my bitter taste to go away.. I did not notice a bad smell from my urine but I am sure that is possible. I did get an awful headache and upset stomach almost every day. I did have some diarrhea but may have been caused by all the detoxing I was trying to do. It was not fun and I’m not sure I can eat pine nuts again. Angie, I live in Southerna California but it you read all the posts it’s happening all over the world. I reported to the FDA in Ca. but they did not make it a big deal and because it’s not happening to everyone they said they would not take it off the market!! If you have the pine nuts with the original package they want them. The guy at FDA scared me when he said it could last up to 6 months. I think the average is about 2 weeks.. My pine nuts were roasted so the theory that they are raw goes out the window. It’s happening with both raw and roasted.
Ok I know most of you want to know what helped to I will get to that:
I consulted with my health care practitioner and this is what she had me do – I don’t know if this was the cure or if it went away on it’s own:
1. Liquid Chlorophyll (twice a day)
2. I took Thorne Bio-Gest probiotics – 2 tablets on emty stomach in the morning, and one with every meal and then one before bed
3. I also took my Green drink – Green Vibrance – I just did this because I thought it would help to detox.
4. I did not do the Charcol like some people did but my health food person said that that would be good but can sometimes cause constipation.
5. I did drink Green Tea – but it’s was difficult because most tea’s tasted awful to me.
Ok things that I could not stomach:
1. Sugar
2. Bread
3. Fruit
4. Orange juice
(Well mostly everything made me sick.. as long as I was not eating I felt fine but we all have to eat.. so that’s not an option)
This helped me a lot after I ate someting:
1. Wrigley’s Extra Long lasting Flavor Spearmint Gum
2. Did ok with some protein (lunch meat not so good) regular chicken not too bad
Let me know if it helps any of you.
Well I hope this helps you all out there.. I feel for you because it’s awful when you’re going through it.
Please for all of you that are going through this and then it ends please update the blog so that others know what to do, what helps and when it ends.
All my best to you!
Wow–in reading all of these posts, it looks like this problem has maybe increased in the last few weeks?? I googled it today after eating a dish I made with pine nuts yesterday. Got them at Whole Foods Saturday in the bulk bin and am pretty sure they were from China. Would love to know if there is a pesticide issue or if it is truly just a ‘bad’ nut in the bunch. Yuck. I am not physically sick, but everything I eat tastes bad.
Hi there, THANK GOODNESS for your post. My brother and I have been wondering for a couple of days what was wrong with us – no matter how we tried we couldn’t get rid of the bile-taste. Now I know not to worry.
Thanks for all the postings, they were a source of relief for me. I was wondering what happened to my taster. Like most I had eaten pine nuts, mine came from Trader Joes, they were roasted, packaged in the U.S. but imported from either Russia or Korea. (Who knows where they were grown). Like other reports I seem to be the only one effected, my wife ate the same pine nuts without a reaction. Fortunately my symptoms do not seem as severe as others have reported. I just have a bitter, metallic like taste in the back of my mouth but I can still eat without problems.
I can’t believe I found this out about pine nuts! I am Lebanese and we eat pine nuts in so many of our recipes. I had a sandwhich with pesto a few days ago then ate a handful of pine nuts from my freezer last night. I had the crazy metallic taste in my mouth since I woke up today. I was freaking out until I found this website. I don’t think I’m going to eat pine nuts anymore no matter how much I love them. This is unpleasant and gross.
Oh My Goodness! Thank you so much. I thought I had more problems than just my celiac and was going to have to cut out more food! I had a whole bunch of baby pine nuts on Friday and have had this sulfury pepto bismal taste in my mouth after I eat. And I had a ton of sugary food, wine and fruit yesterday and my stomach hurts and I can’t get rid of that taste! Thanks for the post! I hope this is all it is. Seems incredibly resonable.
I am going through this now. It is not the first time. The first time was about 2yrs ago. Had a big bag of Trader Joe’s pinenuts that I kept snacking off of. It didn’t happen at once.. took awhile. Almost seemed to be “dose dependent”. When I looked it up online, and found the relationship to pinenuts from China, there were VERY few hits. Now, there are TONS! Even newspaper articles. I have avoided them all this time until Sat. I bought “melissa’s” brand, and *assumed* it was USA pinenuts (actually was china, and they were tiny). Made broccoli pesto to freeze, but snacked on ONLY perhaps 1-2 TBS. THIS time, within hours, my taste was off. Was tasting a fine wine I’d had before, and it just tasted “off”. My husband disagreed. I thought the wine was tainted. The next day things got worse. By today, things are pretty bad. Eating/drinking triggers the bitterness (like chewing on a grapefruit seed). Wine, which I love, tastes like acetone. Almost any food tastes bad and triggers this. It is only when I have gone without eating for several hours, that my mouth tastes normal.
It seems for me that the “sensitivity” has gotten worse this second go around. I will just avoid them from now on.
OMG!!! I just started my raw food diet three weeks ago. I went and paid a whole load of money to make this ONE lasagna dish so it would last all week and now I find that the pine nuts in the pesto layer are what is giving me this horrible metallic flavor in my mouth??? And Trader Joe’s has known about it since 2009? I thought this diet was going to clear all the toxins out of my body, not put more in. Grrrrrrr.
I am so so grateful for this information…wonder if the connection to those that are affected the greatest is those of us with amalgum Mercury fillings? who else has them? who has been suffering the effects. also does anybody know where i can send the rest of the Pine Nuts I am on the Gold Coast in Qld Australia. somebody has to know why this happens…WHO
Hi, I’m so glad I googled about the bad taste in my mouth and now I know it was from the pine nuts I had on Sunday. I watched the food network and followed a recipe that called for pine nuts and ever since I had the meal I have had this terrible taste in my mouth and still have it. I hope it goes away soon because everything tastes bad to me. At least now I won’t worry so much. Thanks for all your blogs.
Hello Again,
I found this and wanted to share it with those of you that have this bad taste in their mouth like me.
Risks of eating pine nuts
A small minority of pine nuts can cause taste disturbances, developing 1–3 days after consumption and lasting for days or weeks. A bitter, metallic taste is described. Though very unpleasant, there are no lasting effects. This phenomenon was first described in a scientific paper in 2001.[9] Some publications have made reference to this phenomenon as “pine mouth”.[10] This is a relatively new phenomenon and appears to be most common in nuts coming from China. It has been theorized that the nut trees are absorbing something and passing it on to the nuts, or the nuts themselves are being treated with something before packaging. It is also possible that the nuts have spoiled and are rancid, however the foul flavor is metallic and not rancid. Also, it has been hypothesized that this bitter side affect is caused by an allergy that some people may have to pine nuts, but this does not explain the recent appearance of this syndrome. Metallic taste disturbance known as metallogeusia, are reported 1-3 days after ingestion, being worse on day 2 and lasting for up to 2 weeks. Cases were self-limited and resolve without treatment. [11]
I ate pine nuts from Morissons and noticed how small they looked at the time. I’ve now had this awful bitter taste in my mouth for two days or so – I’m glad I know what it probably is caused by.
I would like to share my experience i ate a salad with pine nuts in a restaurant on friday. saturday evening after supper this awful bitter taste was oozing from the roof of my mouth today is wednesday i still have a bitter taste after eating.I had no idea that pine nuts could be the cause until googling bitter taste lots of items came up about pine nuts causing bitter taste.After this experiance i will never touch a pine nut.Awful awful experiance cant wait till it goes.
I am totally suffering from the ‘pine nut aftertaste’. I just called my daughter (who is 11) to see if she is ‘tasting’ anything different and she is too!!!! We bought pine nuts at Top Foods on the West side of Olympia, Washington to make pesto this last Sunday, March 7th and apparently, she also has this weird taste in her mouth. I googled this ‘phenomenon’ to see if I was just crazy or going to die after three days of this bizarre occurrence. I am relived to see that I am no the only one suffering from this. After reading all these posts, this may be a ‘benign after taste incident’, but I am inclined to think someone doesn’t give a rip about the food they are selling and are making money off of unsafe/unsavory food.. whatever!!! we have to work and go to stores. we trust you?? we pay you.. Feed us (my daughter/family/me) safe food! I’m not surprised the fda isn’t going to do anything. Let’s make this a big deal so they do!!!!!! (p.s. still have some of the pine nuts left for you chemists out there. )
I also have terrible aftertaste starting 2 days after eating pine nuts, now on 4th day. Was very surprised to see this correlation and had to think back on my meals. Melissa’s pine nuts. Distributed by World Variety Produce inc. Product of China, Packed on 12/5/09.
This is insane! My sister and I have been thinking we must both be pregnant or something for the last 5 days!! Thanks for sharing – looks like the culprit is The Food Doctor’s Essential Seed Omega Mix then. And there was us thinking we were eating healthily!
I picked up a packet of pine nuts from Tesco at the weekend to add to a salad. Both my wife and I had a few and it was fine. The next night we had some pizza and after a few slices; we both had this metallic bitter taste in our mouths. I thought the pizza has been tainted with a cleaning agent or something. I was very worried so I called my Food and Safety Authority. I explained the taste and I was asked did I have pine nuts in the last day. I had a look at there website and found the following
http://www.fsai.ie/news_centre/news/pine_nuts.html?terms=pine+nuts
I can see the pack of pine nuts are from China.
Its 3 days later now; both my wife and I still have this taste and it does seem to get stronger when I eat.
I have read a few more articles online and I am shocked at how many people this has happened to. The one thing I have found in most cases was the pine nuts are usually for China.
I know that this is not happening for every eater of the nuts but this should be investigated more and companies should not stock these products till there is a lot more knowledge about why these Chinese pine nuts have this reaction with people.
ME TOO! I have been googling to find out what the hell is going on. I’m fine, until I eat. THen my toungue just tastes awful. I couldn’t put my finger on the bitter taste, but having read through other people’s descriptions I think its EXACTLY like hairspray! I have even been to the doctor, who told me to drink Actimel pro-viotic type drinks as I probably have thrush in my mouth. Since then I have been drinking them like a woman posessed, but nothing. I can get some relief by gargling with Cordosyl mouthwash for a long time, but still the taste is there…. The only pine nuts I can think I have eaten were part of a seed mix that I bought from Asda. Give me 12 days and I’ll let you know! I am very grateful to have a time frame to work towards – I will wait and see what transpires, and in the meantime try not to worry any more that I have mouth cancer or some horrible brain disease that is altering my taste buds!
My wife bought pine nuts from Morrisons in London and used them for cooking about 12 days ago. We both developed this bitter/mettalic taste in our mouths a day or two later and she googled this website which thankfully put our minds at rest. I will not touch another pine nut again. Our taste buds are almost back to normal and my wife made a complaint to Morrisons last week regarding the pine nuts believed to have come from China. I will keep you posted.
Yesterday I made springrolls and the wrappers tasted like poison. I called the store where I bought them to see if they had a recall…I had pinenuts in a salad 2 days prior. The pines nuts I ate were from Costco I’m at work so I’m not sure where they are from, but I have had them a while and sprinkle them here and there on different foods. I never had this problem and it’s the same bag I’ve been using…I am shocked to read all these tesitmonials and can’t wait for this horrible metal taste to go away!
Update: I called home and the pine nuts are from China. Had my son toss them.
Ok … so I am one of many who are dealing with this pine mouth syndrome …. glad to see it’s not gonna kill me … Thank you all for your posts. Two things I’ve done; one for the digestion and one for the bad taste. 1)A tsp. of Apple Cider Vinegar in a small amount of water for the digestion seems to help (I put a little organic sugar in it). 2) Raw organic Almonds (just a few) actually seem to help the bad taste after a meal. I’m new to all of this but must say I’m glad to have found this site.
@erik
Hi Erik, did you actually complain to Morrisons? I went in last Saturday, to let them know that both my husband and I were suffering with this bitter taste after we had eaten the pine nuts from them. I asked them where the nuts were from. The duty manager said that they thought that they were from Greece but not sure. I was asked to fill in a complaints form. I insisted that they should be taken off the shelves until it was looked into. The manager said that that was not up to them. They gave me my money back, even though I did not want it. I just wanted my taste buds back!!!!! Hope to hear from them soon! Pleased to say it has worn off now…
can’t believe got the same exact problem got pine nuts from trader joe , used some
and then ate all the package as a munch
having a bad taste for 2 weeks
Yeaaaa I am not going to die
Just want to add my voice to this list, me and my husband are still suffering now after eating a sprinkling of pine nuts on our salads 4 days ago. A friend ate them too, she isn’t suffering however, though me and my husband ate a handful each straight out of the packet and the ones I put on our salads were toasted in a dry frying pan.
I don’t have the source, they WERE incredibly cheap, looked a little smaller than usual and were softer than usual. They were purchased from a local convenience store who’s owners would laugh at me complaining, so I daren’t! If there are any packets left in the shop I shall find out and see where they originate from…
So on to relieving the problem, my husband is sucking tic-tac mints every waking minute. I’m finding the only relief is pure filtered water and I am mainly eating rice cakes spread with butter. We enjoyed drinking ginger beer last night! Anything spicy, sweet or fruity is definitely worse. Red wine unbearable.
I found coffee awful until I stopped putting milk and sugar in it, without this it is palatable, and I’m such a caffeine lover that this is great news for me…
We saw this website last night so have rushed to buy some charcoal tablets this morning and taking 2 every 2 hours as recommended, if you are in the UK they’re only about £3.50 in health food shops so reckon its worth it. Fingers crossed they will help.
Just want to add, thank you to Roger Hyam, I’m glad someone investigated this phenomenon and I will keep my eyes open in the future for any developments. I’ve always enjoyed pine nuts but will be put off UNTIL a clear idea of what has made these recent ones react in our bodies this way. This may not be fatal but it is worrying none-the-less, I am interested in the theories that it could be to do with rancid oils and liver function, but hey who knows!? If only I were a bio-chemist…
I’ve had the same problems as all of you and I’ve decided to treat it like an allergy and have taken an Antihistamine for it …. It seems to be working.
I bought some pine nuts in bulk from Safeway to use in an eggplant parmesan recipe, I was fine that day. The next day before going to bed I ate a handful of them and thought that they tasted horrible, but I felt it was only some of them not all. It tasted similar to when you eat the thin layer that surrounds a peanut. They weren’t especially small like some of you have noticed. The next morning I awoke and that same taste was in my mouth, and I couldn’t make it go away no matter what I ate.. finally I brushed my teeth and the back of my mouth and that seems to make it completely go away. Until I consume anything but tea or water! I’m on my 4th day of this torture..
Like the bunch of you I”m grateful to David M here to find this out. I’ve eaten pine nuts for years so would never had thought it would result in this but this undeniable bitter taste came on suddenly – I had a bunch of them last night (raw) also from Morrisons, so whatever the sourcing is should be looked into. It’s vile, really strong bitterness that finally goes away after awhile and comes back as soon as you have something else to taste. Will just ride it out but I’m glad to have these answers, it was baffling me as I never get ill, or have anything particularly wrong with me.
@Sealion
Now that I take a closer look, there seems to be large nuts mixed in with smaller ones. It could be the smaller ones that taste bad, though I really don’t care to find out!
Brain tumour was DEFINITELY top of my list of possibles. Had Pine nuts which I toasted myself on Tuesday last and the problem began on Thursday evening. I chewed a lot of sugar-free gum yesterday in an attempt to kill the taste and actually thought that I may have overdosed on xylitol or some other sugar substitute. I am sooo relieved to have found this blog and can now relax tomorrow and enjoy my MOTHER’S-DAY-MEAL-IN-A-REALLY-BEAUTIFUL-AND-EXPENSIVE-RESTAURANT……..or not.
I had a salad with really small pinenuts in it on Wednesday and started to get the metallic taste in my mouth on Friday. The metallic bitter taste gets much worse after eating. Tea tastes foul – initially thought I had developed an allergy to milk. I am relieved to find out that I’m not the only one with the problem. The salad came from a Chinese takeaway which probably means that the nuts used were from China. I am please to have found this website and now know that there is a time frame for this horrible taste in my mouth 🙂
I’ve had the same problem. I ate some Asda ‘Sea Salt and Black Pepper Almonds and Seeds’ on Friday lunchtime and noticed the bitter taste in my mouth Saturday evening. I eat loads of pine nuts and this is the fist time it’s happened. How weird!
Update on taking the charcoal tablets all day yesterday, 2 every 2 hours. There seems to be a definite change, much milder bitter taste and can stand a few more tastes. We are however on day 4 since symptoms appeared (day 6 from consuming the pine nuts) so not sure if the symptoms would have subsided slightly by now anyway???! Also, we’re taking milk thistle, artichoke and dandelion extract in a bid to cleanse our systems somewhat and I have drunk around 2 litres of water a day to try to flush it out!
Interesting about the antihistamine Katy, never thought of that one, please let me know if it carries on working…
Thank god for the internet,
I was on verge of going to my GP!! Im a nurse so you can inmagine some of the aweful life threatening diseases I was speculating about. Decided to google bitter taste in mouth. For three days now I have not been able to eat anything sweet, sour, Milk based or bread based with out a chemically bitter taste happening at the back of my tongue. Im a woman who loves her grub so this was really freaking me out! My partner made a lovely salad early last week choca block with pine nuts….this stands out cos we have not had any for a long time. Fingers crossed it all resolves quickly ;-)….
Thank you all for commenting. I will contact the restaurant I went to also in Holland Michigan. I am hoping this goes away soon – I am only on day two – but it seems to be getting worse.
Hi from hot Singapore. Had bought some pine nuts from a recent trip to Adelaide, Central Market, ate it and voila it happen. That horrible bitter,metallic taste was so strong. Thanks for all the info, would be great if someone could give some home remedies to quicken the recovery process. 8-12 days somehow seems so long!! By the way, the pine nuts I had was small and light brown in colour.
@june forster
Hello, I too have bought pine nuts from Morrisons and am suffering the same symptoms and also nodules on the back of my tongue all rather unpleasant as most food tastes horrid. I will also be taking them back and complaining!!
@Gary
I just started searching this. I had Pine Nuts last week from Trader Joes. The package says that it is a product of “korea, russia or vietnam”
Oh my goodness!! I have been reading these posts saying me too!! out loud every time!! I made somek pasta with pine nuts LAST WEEK and have had them most annoying bitter taste in the back of my throat. I have been so scared it was something bad and now to find out it is probably the nuts!! They were from Trader Joe’s and they were the raw ones. On the package it says “Product of Korea, Russia or Vietnam”. So relieved I am not alone! Going to the doctor today, will post with follw up, thanks for the info!!!!
Okay, so I may owe my wife an apology for my psychotic behavior, accusations of attempted poisoning, and worst of all wine tainting. I consumed a small handful of these nuts about 5 days ago, Wednesday of last week. Since Saturday I have had a truly awful time with this horribly bitter taste on the back of my tongue. It does subside between meals but returns after the first bite or sip of anything! Saturday night I went as far as accused my spouse of tainting my favorite Syrah! (Sorry, Honey!) It is somewhat relieving to know that others have been experiencing the same malady. I can not say where the nuts were from but can say that this taste is completely rude unwelcome! Can anyone comment on whether or not ginger root or antihistamines are effective remedies?
mine only lasted about 24 hours and went it went away…YEAH!
To follow up from my March 11th 2010 entry: The awful pine mouth has gone away after 7 days from when I ate the nuts. So there is hope for you Pine Mouth suffers! Who knows what other non-detectable ailments we may have contracted from eating these nuts…?
Started a gluten free diet about 11 days ago as I am monitored by Barts for a presumed diagnosis of Coeliac disease and this was the Prof’s latest advice. Have also been generally unwell with various ailments for a while. Have been eating pine nuts and green pesto a fair bit over this past week or so. I am 47 and missed a period for the first time since pregnancy 24 years ago – my period is now about 10 days late. Putting this with the foul metallic taste in my mouth, I have deduced I could be pregnant – However, have been given some hope that it is the pine nuts causing the taste possibly coupled with the start of menopause after reading several related websites. Am doing a pregnancy test tomorrow and just pray it is negative. If it is, then the pine nuts and menopause could be the culprits. Am going to keep off the pesto and pine nuts and see what happens. I feel as though I have really bad breath all the time and it really impairs the taste of food and drink, especially my cups of tea. Not nice.
PS – The pine nuts and Pesto are Tesco own label.
This is me!!! I made a pine nut pesto on friday with Morrison’s pine nuts. Was given a glass of sparking wine on Sunday to celebrate Mother’s Day and it tasted awful. It’s not ruining all my food but anything more acidic such as wine, apple juice, fruit, is unpleasant. Funnily enough, sweet food, like chocolate is OK. Chewing gum seems to be best temporary cure until it hopefully goes away. My partner, who had the pesto, hasn’t suffered at all, so happily drunk the rest of the wine. What a waste!!!!
This is unbelievable! On to the third day of, bitter, bitter, bitter. I thought I’d better look it up in case I should be going to the doctor. But sure enough I made pesto with pinenuts three days ago. It’s walnuts from now on!
Nuts were from the bulk section at my local grocer, so I can’t tell if they have changed suppliers. It’s where I usually buy them and this is the first time I’ve ever experinced this. Twelve days, someones said, Oh I hope not.
After having a copper / metal taste in the back of my throat for the last few days I thought I would give it the Google treatment. The first few sites said I might be pregnant. As I’m a dude I’m not entertaining this idea. The next sugestion was that I might be diabetic and to reduce my sugar intake. I have next to no sugar in my diet as it is!
Then I found this page – and no word of a lie I had pasta with pesto and pine nuts for the first time ever 3 days ago!
My mind is now at ease.
Like others, I deeply appreciate finding this site because I was wondering what the hell was going on. My symptoms, like others, had a delayed onset, though today it has been a matter of few hours. Home roasted pine nuts in humus. But here’s the interesting thing: I’ve had this bag of generic pine nuts a long time (a couple of months), and the bitter taste has only arisen the last two times I’ve consumed them. I suspect there is a substance produced as a result of rancidity; it is consumed, and then after it is broken down in the liver, the resulting metabolic byproduct somehow causes a malfunction in the cells of the taste buds–perhaps a hyperreactivity to inherently bitter compounds that exist in most foods to one degree or another. The fact that some people don’t get this reaction may be due to a slightly different metabolic pathway or to structural differences in taste bud cells. This is nasty but also fascinating. Wish I were I biochemist. Any one out there capable of tackling this?
Also, I do wonder whether the Asian “pine nuts” are subspecies different in some important way from the North American Pinus edulis and the Mediterranean stone pine. Or there may be soil or cultivation differences. Or, since pine nuts do go rancid pretty quickly, just a lot of bad pine nuts around–stored too long after being harvested.
I had morrisons pine nuts on sun/mon/tues and this horrid bitter taste which I can only describe as being like penicillin is ruining every meal… does anyone know how long it lingers ?
Organic pine nuts didn’t seem to cause a problem. I have recently bought non-organic pine nuts from Morrissons and Marks and Spencers (marked on the packet as a product of China) and started to experience an awful bitter taste after eating and drinking, especially red grape juice. My tongue has a white coating on as well. I did go to my dentist as I thought my teeth might be the problem, but they weren’t. I do have a slight reflux problem which was diagnosed in my teens but it is well under control as long as I don’t eat acidic foods. Could this have been affected by the pine nuts I wonder?
OMG! I sprinkled chopped pine nuts on a greek salad I made three days ago! Holy crap, I might be pregnant?
This explains a lot. I thought I had a dental infection or something! It’s getting quite irritating now, I had red pesto with pine nuts (can’t have the ordinary green shop-bought pesto as my girlfriend is allergic to nuts). She has had no reaction but I have this god-awful bitter yuck taste. It’s been 6 days, how much longer will I have it?!!
OMG that might have just answered my question. Since Monday I have been taste bitter after eating almost everything. But then I saw this post and I just recalled that I had pine nuts in a salad on Sunday… could that be coincident? But it seems that I am not alone!
When will it go away?
Thank goodness, had pine nuts two days ago and feel like I have sucked a lemon after tea, food and anything that is normally ok. They were baby pine nuts.
Finally I learned what has been causing me to have a bad after-taste no matter what I eat. I’m thankful for this site. I had pine nuts on Monday, and for the past 3 days the symptoms have not let up, no matter what I eat or drink. At least now I know the culprit, and I won’t be eating from that bag anymore. It does say “Product of China.”
Ditto!! Had home-made pesto yesterday with you guessed it-pine nuts! Everything tastes foul at the moment, like a chemical taste – thought I must have ingested poison of some sort?? I sure hope it’s pine nuts!!
Same thing happened to me w/ pesto i made!! I have this weird taste in my mouth!!!
Thank goodness for the internet – without it my wife and I would still be in the dark about our pine mouth condition. As a warning to South African readers – these nuts were purchased in a Spar supermarket under the brand name “Mediterranean Delicacies”. Comes in a plastic tub of 100g.There is no indication of where the nuts were grown, just the inscription “produced and packed by: mediterranean deicacies po box 36799 chempet 7442” and a telephone number. From their shape and size (avg. 9 mm long and 4 by 5 mm diameter) as well as the exceptionally low price I think it’s fair to infer that these nuts are from China.
Madness. I have got that same bitter taste, googled it and like you guys, have eaten pine nuts in the last week. Does it take long to go away, this really is awful!
Very glad to have found this post. I have had a rancid taste in
my mouth for the past 2 days that only appears after eating, though persists for a while longer. And guess what, I have been eating Pesto and pinenuts this week (bought from Tesco in Twickenham).
Hello,
Thank you for this valuable info, I have been suffering for about 4 days now and feel a bit relieved that pine nuts may be the culprit. I usually use walnuts in my pesto but recently decided to try pine nuts (from China). I have some Kombucha tea in my cupboard so perhaps that may help. Thanks Mr. Hyam,
but is there any quick cure or is it just a matter of time?
Never heard of ‘pine mouth’ before my current ‘attack’, but will never forget it!! Nothing seems to relieve it – from mint to curry!! Hope it clears soon (day 2) as had enough now!!
As usual I thought I was dying! Goggled my symptoms and found pine nuts as the culprit. I had never eaten a pine nut until this past weekend, but I bought a package (from China) and ate about half of them over the past three days. I’m SO SO glad I found this website. I just hope this doesn’t last for weeks!
Whew! What a relief to have found this site! I thought something must be terribly wrong with me! Everything I eat or drink leaves this horrible, bitter aftertaste! Last week I tried pine nuts for the first time while visiting my son. They were delicious. I brought the whole jar home with me and over the next few days; ate them all! I guess time will get everything back to “normal”. I’ve now decided to stay away from pine nuts. 🙂
Here’s me thinking I had an old metallic filling that was ‘leaking’…..if that is possible. The cause I now see is pine nuts from a pot of Asda’s HoiSin almond and seed mix. I’ve been dippling into this for a few days now when feeling a little packish….on a diet you see! At least I know there is light at the end of the tunnel. The taste is terrible and always there. I even asked my daughter to taste a glass of merlot to make sure it wasn’t ‘off’. To me it tasted disgusting. To her it was just merlot. She looked at me as if i was mad.
Try eating rocha pears. The taste is foul.
Returning for a followup (I originally posted 3/16). The bitter taste lasted maybe 5 days, gradually diminishing each day. Some things seemed to trigger it more than others (bread, for instance). I think each person’s response is going to vary with the amount of nuts they consumed and their individual metabolic pathways. I still wonder if rancidity is factor: you can still open a “fresh” container of nuts and the lipids in the nuts have already become oxidized. Or not. Regional climatic conditions in the areas of China where these nuts are grown may have affected the concentration of certain plant compounds, and some people may be more reactive to these. For those of you who haven’t yet gone to the Wikipedia site, I strongly recommend that you do: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_nut#Risks_of_eating_pine_nuts. Be sure to use the links to notes 9–12 at the bottom of the page to access more detailed information and for some reassurance. Best of luck to all and thank you to Roger Hyam for providing this venue and its resources.
I’ve got this bitter taste too – last saturday I bought a packet of pine nuts from Holland and Barrett (country of origin: Pakistan) – the ones I have bought before have been from Turkey, and I have had no problems with them – I love them in muesli, but won’t try them again!
Oh wow, I am so relieved now. I had pine nuts from Morrisons on Monday which made me feel sick in my stomach (you know what I mean lol) and the next day I had the bitter taste. Today is Wednesday so hopefully wont be there for too long. Had to throw my apple away yesterday as it was so disgusting. Thanks for the info
Update on my pine mouth: It lasted 6 days, I took green tea pills and drank lots of water. The pine nuts were from Safeway and came from China also.
Day 4 now… the taste is slowly diminishing!! ( Glad because ate about 50g!) emailed Morrisons who promptly replied… ‘the Food Standards Agency…explain that the bitter or metallic taste associated with the Pine Nuts is currently being looked into but is not considered a food safety issue’. Here’s hoping my affair with pine nuts is coming to an end!!
Thank god i found this page, i suffered from a bitter taste after eating a few weeks ago, and i put it down to a chinese i had eaten, then this week the taste came back, a horrible bitter taste that gets worse once you have eaten something. Thanks to the wonders of the internet i now realise the culprit is pine nuts!!!!, i have eaten 2 salads this week with a generous portion of pine nuts in both, so i guess from now on i will avoid the pine nuts, and to get rid of the taste i will eat more chocolate as recommened by someone with the same symptons!!! Thank You……………
I can not believe this, I have the most rancid acid, bile taste in my mouth when I eat or drink anything. I have been to the docs today and I think she thought I was being stupid…..but I have bought Morrisons Pine nuts on Monday and eaten a few handfulls over the last couple of days. I also had the same a few weeks ago, but also I had bought the mixed seeds from Asda like another post. Hope it stops soon, as awful but good for the diet!!!
Rachel do you have an email address for Morrisons?
Thank goodness for this site! I have had this horrible taste come on after eating for the last two days and I thought I must have some awful disease. The night before last night I nibbled on some pine nuts that had a very “off” taste and really were not good so I tossed them. I have eaten many pine nuts in the past but had never tasted a bad bunch like these before. I know they were old as they had been in my pantry for a long time so perhaps it is because they were rancid. Thanks to all for your posts!
I’m experiencing this too! I’ve had the most disgusting taste in my mouth today – but I have been eating an unusually large amount of seeds and nuts this week, because of a change in diet. I’m off to the kitchroom to check all the labels! Thank you!
I am experiencing the same symptoms. My pine nuts were the small dry roasted variety. The bag says it is a “Product of Russia or Korea.” I have been eating this pesto off and on for nearly a week now, and the bitterness started around day 3. We finished the pesto lastnight, the night before I discover the pine nuts were the culprit, whoops! 🙂 Also, my husband is not experiencing any bitterness, just me. I am glad I didn’t spend the money to go to the doctor.
I was looking for something healthy to snack on in my local Morrisons, and unfortunately bought Pine Nuts. I ate 2/3rd of a 100g on Tuesday evening and the remainder last night. Before going to bed I had a horrid taste in my mouth and this morning the metallic taste is awful, my food tastes dreadful and I
just want to keep brushing my teeth. Thank God for the w.w.w. and Google.
This is an eye opener, didn’t know “pine mouth” existed.
Hopefully over the coming days it will die down, not a nice thing to have and certainly won’t enjoy a drink over the weekend.
Common sense tells me maybe drinking lots of water (which also tastes of metal) may flush it out my system. Anyone any ideas.
Certainly won’t be trying anything new again and intend calling Morrisons to alert them to this.
Incidentally the package doesn’t say where the nuts came from only that they were packaged in UK.
Had eaten Morrisons pine nuts for first time a couple of days ago mettalic taste whenever I eat anything I keep eating sweets and things to try and get rid of the taste If it doesent go away soon I will look like the back end of a bus
Just googled to see why I have a bitter/sick taste after eating and found this and yes I too have eating pine nuts in the last week, it’s been about 4-5 days and still not going
Thank goodness was starting to wonder what was going on! Also used a Morrisons pack. Twice after eating with pasta/pesto experienced a horrid taste. First time was one day and really metallic, this time it is now day 2 and tastes really bitter. YUK. Very strange but intrigued to know the reason now.
Thanks for the post. I ate pine nuts in a salad four days ago. I even had a blood test because the doctor had no idea what was causing the terrible taste.
Two days ago I ate a handful of pine nuts. They were purchased here in Virginia at a Safeway store, the brand name was “Lucinda’s” and were distributed by Cooseman’s, Miami, Florida. For two days I have had a horribly bitter taste that begins on the back of my tongue, then fills my entire mouth each time I try to eat or drink anything. I thought someone had tried to poison me and had succeeded because I felt rotten physically as well. Pine nuts taste great, but I won’t be eating them anymore. I thought early today that the bitter taste was ebbing….not so. My mouth and tongue feel as if the bitterness is brand new each time I try to eat or drink something….the personification of bitter quinine. Also, the person(s) who commented on the coated tongue was/were right on the money….that, too. Maybe even our food products are turning on us….hmmmmm.
Day 5 and bad taste is still there and doesn’t seem to be getting any better, I bought my pine nuts from Morrisons. From the posts above it doesn’t seem to matter where the nuts originate for this reaction to happen. A few hours after I ate the pine nuts I had a pain in my stomach a bit like indegestion and didn’t eat my evening meal, the next day the bitter taste appeared. Pine nuts are off my menu from now on. So glad I found this site.
I’m a pine nut enthusiast myself and I’ve been having this awful taste for the last couple of days after I eat almost anything. Yesterday I tried to eat some pesto I’d bought from my local deli and I almost threw up. I’d eaten the same a couple of days before and it tasted fine. In fact, I’ve been pine nuts in all sorts of shapes and sizes for the last month now. Better give it a break…
I had sever bitterness a few hours after eating Treader Joes’ roasted pine nuts. I though the problem was with the bread I was eating when I sensed the bitterness. The symptom, however, continued next day every time I chewed on anything that contained a starchy or sugary substance. I was really alarmed when I checked and found out that I was the only one sensing bitterness. Thanks for this blog. I was starting to get worried.
I decided to google why I may have a rancid metallic taste in my mouth as i was becoming quite concerned that something was seriously wrong with me. Unbelievable to have found this site as oddly enough I had Pine nuts in my salad on Tuesday this week purchased from Morrisons…. By Thursday I was complaining about the bitter taste & tingling feeling on my tongue. Food tastes awful & hoping that this will pass very quickly. Had pine nuts last year & have never ever had this problem before now. Best to stay clear of them in the future.
Day 4 for me and it is getting better, complained to morrisons and they directed me to the food standards agency, they would like people to email them if they are suffering to toxicology@foodstandards.qsi.gov.uk. I can not believe how morrisons and adds are able to get away with this, it has made my life a misery for 4 days, I am a fit and heathy person with 3 small children and never had any allergies or reactions before, thankfoodness for this website!
Sorry the email address is actually toxicology@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk
I didn’t eat pine nuts but almonds and hazelnuts a couple of evenings ago. The almonds were bitter and disgusting so I didn’t have many. (hazelnuts no problem) The bitter, horrid taste did not persist. However, since the following afternoon I have had a bitter, metallic taste in my mouth that nothing will disguise. Like others, I have tried mouthwash, mints, chocolate, wine……to no avail. The taste is at the back and on the sides of the tongue and all food tastes unpleasant.
Have discovered sweet tea seems to help for “the moment.” At least it is something you can sip on that does not turn into quinine-on-acid in the mouth. I am sitting here with a cup of decaf this morning, with splenda and half-n-half….and, it doesn’t seem to trigger the bitterness much. I believe the iced sweet tea seems to soothe the savage bitterness best. I awoke this morning with “pine mouth” raging….and, from what I see, I still have more of it ahead. Alas….woe is me. The really surprising thing is that it is in saliva and stays in the body so long….unbelievable. Today is day 3 or 4 for me.
Having eaten pine nuts on pasta on 22nd and had the first symptoms on 24th I would have gone to my GP on Monday- thankfully I found this site and I will not be so worried now. Please let me get back to normal soon. It seems to be worse with sweet things.
I have eaten pine nuts for years, but a pack bought from Morrisons (to keep cropping up!) last week has made the last few days quite unpleasant. All the symptoms described by you all, really minging. So contacted Mosns who were clearly aware of the problem and directed me to the FSA. I asked wether they were going to take them offb sale and the answer was no, its not a food safety issue! Tell that to my tastebuds! Si I have contacted trading standards and will speak to the FSa on Monday. This product should not be on the shelves. The pack I bought does not have the country of origin which trading standards seemed unhappy about but says “packed in the UK”. We will see what happens!!
This is really interesting! I had some homemade bread this morning and it tasted really bitter – I thought it was overdosing in poppy seeds, but I’ve had some crackers tonight and they also taste bitter. Then I read this and think carefully. And recall I had a filled roll with chicken avocado and pinenuts late last week.
This is a worry. Chinese anything is a worry. I am an horticulturalist with the Dept of Agriculture here in Australia and though I note you’ve tested for things did you test for heavy metals?
Soo glad I found this site, I was getting really worried. What an acidic bilous disgusting taste. I have eaten a selectio of salad nuts mostly sunflower and pumpkin seed. Oh my poor taste bude will they ever come back to normal. This is really strong aftertaste and nauseating, NOTHING helps. I tried youghurt, tea apple banana, its still there, poison acid taste is it pesticide??
I am so relieved to find out that I’m not suffering from some weird disease. I too went on to the web and found all the diseases I could have, but I have no symptoms other than that horrible bitter/metallic taste in my mouth any time I eat anything and yes worse with acidic or sweet foods. I made a batch of pesto the other night using pine nuts from Whole Foods and they did come from China, but had been in my cabinet for who knows how long. I look forward to this taste going away. My husband who ate the same thing is not affected. Who knew???
when I first googled “bitter taste in mouth”, I thought this was a joke/krank reason – but after reading all of your comments, I am now convinced of the genuineness (is that a word?) of “pine mouth”. I ate a small handful of Morrisons pinenuts whilst in the cupboard looking for glace cherries! it was a brand new unopened pack and the sell by date isn’t until 31st Oct 2010 – so they can’t have gone rancid, can they? Anyway, as I can’t bear this horrible taste to ever happen again, I, reluctantly’ have decided to never eat them again. I reckon that if this happens to anyone once, it will happen again.
Gosh……..what a relief, I too bought pine nuts in Morrisons ( Malton, North Yorks) Decided it was time for healthy eating, sprinkled on my salad.. 16 hrs later the taste started, triggered by food and drink… Im back on stodge, its safer!!! Milk and other dairy related food makes my reaction worse! The packet does not give source of origin, these bad bos are going back to Morrisons!
I’ve had pine-mouth for a couple of days now but the severity of it is certainly less than on the first day that I noticed it.
It started up two days after consuming a handful of roasted pine nuts at a friend’s wedding. I didn’t think anything of it – I regularly ingest pine nuts in a variety of meals and have never experienced this unpleasant metallic after-taste.
I was relieved to hear the diagnosis from a friend who went through the experience several months ago and nearly lost her sanity trying to find out what it was.
I guess the only thing to do is wait it out (brushing your teeth or gurgling copious amounts of mouth wash don’t help) and be very careful about the origin of pine nuts I have in future.
I have been experiencing a bitter taste in my mouth for a few days and thought I would have to go to the doctors,because at the back of my mind I thought I remembered it could be serious.
Although apart from a slight headache I had no other symptoms, but was not enjoying my meals.
Then I looked on Google for’ bitter taste in mouth’ and there was the answer.I have a mixture of seeds on my Weetabix most mornings and have had for some years.I do buy from different shops but the ones I am using are from Tesco and China.
Like Aileen I also first noticed it after eating sandwiches made with home made bread, but no one else could taste ,it only me.But my husband has since said he thought the nuts are smaller and not as nice as usual.
I shall be careful where I buy in future,and shall look for organic.
Wow – so glad I found this site. I had this happen a few months ago and went to the dr. He thought I may have had a sinus infection or something and that this was also a symptom of that. I took antibotics and in a few days it went away. When this statred again a couple of days ago, I thought oh no, and worried because I have no other symptoms and I know I don’t have a sinus infection. I thought about it and remember eatting pine nuts a day or two before each episode. I feel relief in reading this because it is annoying and making me worry. Thanks for all the info. I am throwing my pine nuts out!
I too have an bitter/acidic not normal taste in my mouth and have been eating pine nuts. I used them at the weekend in a salad and left the packet open in the kitchen and have been snacking on them, until this morning, so am not thinking this must be the problem. I have a mild cough as well so thought it was that, but am now convinced it must be the pine nuts, wonder if I should take them back to Morrisons.?
O.M.G I too have had a horrible taste in my mouth all morning and decided to google this. I have had salad for lunch the past two days and I had included pine nuts in it.
I also bought from Morrisons (in Paisley) and do not believe that this is a coincidence!
I will be giving them a miss from now on and will bin the remainder of the bag too!!!
three days ago i ate these mini pine nuts (no idea where they are from). and today everything tastes horrible! has anyone found a cure for pine mouth? i tried a shot of vodka, thinking it might kill the bitter taste. but no such luck. had a bite of bread and its back! peppermint tea makes it go away temporarily but how much peppermint tea can u drink?!?!
Two days ago I bought some “baby pine nuts” (not sure of their origin). They had a good flavour compared with some unusually long, thin pine nuts I had recently bought. Approximately 36 hours later I started to get a nasty, bitter flavour in my mouth, basically affecting the taste buds right at the back of my tongue. The taste is persisting 24 hours later. Not much choice but to chuck the pine nuts away, because this is a somewhat unpleasant side effect. Thanks for the info.
No way, this is wierd. I have this bitter taste at the moment. I couldn’t enjoy anything last night, espescially my red wine (most disappointing). I thought it might be a cold or something similar coming on. Anyway, this morning my breakfast was just as bad so i thought i’d have a look on the net and found this and was amazed as I have been buying pine nuts recently so I checked where they were from, CHINA. I actually thought they appeared different when I bought them. Although I feel that this is the cause, it has been quite delayed in coming on. Thanks for the post…
I got Pine Mouth from eating a sandwich containing pesto in a cafe. Reading through these comments has been really useful. I decided to follow one person’s advice and yesterday tried eating hot spicy food, which blitzed my taste buds, this seems to have worked for me. Today, on my third day of pine mouth, the bitterness is a lot more mild after the Thai curry, but unfortunately still there.
I am glad to have found your site. I have been munching away on a bag of pine nuts (origin China) for the past few days. This morning hubb made me cheese on wholemeal bread and I got a bitter taste. I thought the bread was off. I just had a bowl of cereal and warm milk andgot that same bitter taste. I still have it in my mouth. Now I am getting it from my coffee. Will it stop?
This has happened to me now twice in a row. I went to a fancy restaurant a few weeks ago and everything tasted bitter afterwards and I thought the chef was awful. Then I googled and found this website. I had had pinenuts only a few days before that restaurant.
Recently I bought some organic pine nuts and and ate them a 2-3 days ago and now I have this bitter aftertaste yet again. So, I don’t know if they were organic pine nuts or maybe organic nuts do this (or maybe they are organic from China).
All I know is that the aftertaste is awful and I am never eating pine nuts again!
I made pesto with some new small pine nuts from China 3 days ago. Then I had some more of the pesto for lunch yesterday. I had been noticing the bad taste and it has gotten so strong tonight and it is definitely worse after eating. Finally found this. I too have eaten pine nuts other times but never had this happen before. Glad to know it is not something more serious.Does anyone know how long this will last.
Now 4 days after eating pine nuts from Morrisons (Edinburgh) – I still can’t get rid of a vile metallic taste in the back of my mouth. Thankfully I have found similar stories here, especially about the Morrisons nuts, so I know that I’m not going crazy! How long will this go on for???
amazing ! exactly this has happened to me, and what a relief its the pine nuts
I never usually buy
how long before normal taste comes back? I have been like this for 4 days, stopped
pine nuts 1 days ago…
I came home the other night and my wife told me that she had either jaundice or some other possibly serious liver disease … doing the google thing this page answered my question. Thinking for a while pine nuts ermm pine nuts, then it clicked when I remembered she had bought a jar of seed mix from the food doctor, which contained pine nuts. After reading this I cant think what else it might be, eventhough I have eaten from the same jar …..
When, several weeks ago, I started having a mild but noticeable bitter taste from all sorts of foods that are not bitter (carrots, apples, crackers), I wondered whether I had suffered a microstroke that had affected a very small part of my brain. But I wasn’t tasting bitterness when I wasn’t eating. This made no sense.
Having just googled bitter taste and related queries, I am seeing that lots of people seem to be experiencing this after having eaten pine nuts. I bought the pine nuts I’ve recently eaten from Trader Joe’s in Bellevue WA, and had never had this happen previously with pine nuts from there or anyplace else. These aren’t the elongate (and, to me, less tasty) nuts from Europe but the shorter and rounder ones that I think come from Korea and China.
I am still puzzled by this unpleasant taste (it has stopped in recent days, although I have not stopped eating these pine nuts), but at least I know it isn’t unique to me. Perhaps it was just one bad nut. But the bad taste lasted several weeks.
At least now I know….
bingo. first search result matches my situation perfectly. I had also diagnosed my catastrophic slow death. Everything sweet, sour, plain… all tasted bitter, metallic, acid and the word “bile” was foremost in my mind on each occasion. I thought my gastric juices were rising like a flood. What did I have on thursday lunch? Roasted pumpkin roll with rocket and pine nuts. A fair few pine nuts too. It’s now monday and the aftertaste is as strong now as it was since saturday. waiting for it to dissipate now. Cheerio all, I hope you are all healthy and it’s just the nuts!
ahhhh! so happy i found this website. i made pesto a few days ago with whole foods pine nuts and now, for the past few days, every time i eat i get a weird, bad taste in my mouth (towards the back)…hopefully this goes away…
Thank goodness I found this website! Like so many others, I have been wondering what on earth was wrong with me. I always say that home-made pesto is far superior to ready-made, so bought a packet of pine-nuts from Morrisons (Boroughbridge) on Saturday and had a lovely lunch of pasta and pesto. By the afternoon a handful of sweet grapes tasted quite disgusting! Here it it is Tuesday and I still have the bitter taste – especially after sweet things. How much longer will it last, I wonder?
(The rest of the Pesto and the pine nuts will be going in the bin when I get home tonight!)
Richard
BIG Thanks to who ever started this thread. It was the first link in my search, and makes perfect sense for what’s been going on in my mouth. The only answer I’ve been waiting to see is, how long does it last? I just read on Wikipedia that it can last for days or WEEKS!
Wow! I bought some small pine nuts at Trader Joe’s the other day and ate them despite a strange aftertaste- And now I too have a metallic/bad aftertaste triggered by food and drink- The package says “from china or russia” This has been going on for four days. I wonder what I can do to get rid of it! I have saved the rest of the nuts and am seriously thinking of doing a lab test on them…
I also have this bitter taste in my mouth after ingesting pines two days ago. Everything I taste, the bitter taste is accented. My whole family is affected. I am eating the pines nuts from Amport Foods from Sam’s club. They are from China. Is there really a difference between the country of origin or this is a general reaction to pine nuts of a certain species?
The food standards agency have emailed me for more information today so it does look like they are taking it seriously now.
A quick search on google for ‘bitter aftertaste’ and with a couple of clicks, I found this blog: thank you! – I couldn’t work out what was wrong with me. I’m now on day four… *still waiting to get rid….
It would appear I have the same symptoms as mentioned above. I did the same searching on the Web and I’m glad I don’t have some kind of liver problem or need my teeth removed or have to spend a fortune getting my sinuses sorted.
The best description for the taste at the back of my mouth so far is pesticide “weed killer” it’s foul.
Why am I not surprised they are Chinese pine nuts (standards ?? what standards??), I will be informing supermarket where I purchased them know that there is a problem.
Only ate them yesterday hope this doesn’t last for 2 weeks !!!
What a relief to find this article! I have been suffering with this incredibly strong bitter taste after food or drink for the past few days. I went out for lunch today and the moment food went to the back of my mouth it was back. I was getting really worried as I am recovering from shingles and thought it must be related to the anti viral tablets I was taking. I bought some pine nuts (one of my favourite foods) from Waitrose a few days ago and they are from China. Should I take them back and let them know? And can anyone tell me when I will be able to drink a glass of wine again without it tasting like liquid metal?
I googled the words “bad bitter taste in throat” and found these posts! I couldn’t believe it! I ate pine nuts three times last week! What people describe here fits my symptoms to a tee!
Thanks…!
Hi all….
Yeah. I am suffering the same fate it would seem. I hope someone can get to the bottom of this. I ate pine nuts in a pasta salad on Monday 5th April and since then have had this bitter taste in my mouth. It’s a sort of taste like you get when you have a drink of beer – kind of bitter, hoppy taste. It seems to be getting worse and I am really noticing it when I eat (it’s there in the background spoiling the taste of the food!).
Does anyone know how long this should last? – This has been around for 2 days now and is seriously getting on my nerves!
Great Site! I rarely eat pine nuts and had some in a salad for lunch two days ago – at a restaurant in Michigan. The metallic taste is relentless. I’ve cancelled my dinner reservations for Friday : )
How frustrating to take a sip of good wine and have it taste terrible! Thanks to all for bringing this mystery out. I bought very expensive pine nuts from a local food cooperative in Sacramento, Calif, cooked them and put them on a salad. They tasted fine, but I have been suffering ever since. Oddly, the metallic taste tends to go away when I am not eating, but comes roaring back with a nibble of any food. No one else has complained about the problem. Besides Cointreau, does anyone have any ideas to get rid of it?
I have also experienced this over the last couple of days. Was getting concerned and wondering whether to go to docs so looked up online and found this. I bought pine nuts from waitrose 3 days ago and just checked pack and they are from china!! Will return pack so at least they are aware of the problem but fr reading, it seems that not everybody will be affected this way. I’ve eaten pine nuts before ages ago but not small ones! How long does it take for the horrible
bitter taste to go?
Yay for Google. I knew I wasn’t pregnant and I’m not on any meds. I did make pesto last night with tiny pine nuts from Whole Foods.
Thank you so much for this. This has happened to me on several occasions and could never find the source. I’m so relieved that it’s not some horrible disease or medical condition that I’d have to live with. I know the bad taste will go away in a few days as it has in the past. Note to self… throw out the pine nuts in the cupboard.
You guys have really put my mind at rest. I cooked with pine nuts (for the first time I think) last Thursday, but then went on to have a fair amount to drink over the weekend so maybe didn’t notice so much then, but I had left overs on Monday, then all day Tuesday had this bizarre taste, which only started after a cup of tea. It stayed all day, then was not so bad on Wednesday, but still there. I then had the left over pack of nuts last night as they were on the shelf, and today arrrgh. I got bought lunch and had to pretend it was lovely.Brushing teeth, tongue, using mouthwash – nothing really seemed to do anything. The best temporary solution seemed to be swilling whisky round my mouth. Not to be recommended before work!!! At least I have found a possible solution. I think my pine nuts were from sainsbury’s, but can’t really remember. I’m not a receipt keeper and the bins went out with the packet in this morning. Thanks for the thread.
ok.. they have appeared in Toronto too. i bought tiny pine nuts at my local ‘health food store’ and noticed they were significantly smaller and even mentioned that to the staff at the store. I used them on a salad on Saturday night and the bitter taste started on Tuesday evening… it’s Friday and it’s still there. UGH.
I also believe I have this ‘pine mouth’ you speak of. I purchased organic pine nuts, Natura brand, the pine nuts looked much smaller than usual. I was starting to get the flu, stomach virus or some sort, but I ate them on my salad. I was sick for the past 2 days, I don’t think it was the pine nuts, I was sick before this point, but I did eat them on the weekend also in rice. Anyways, now I have had this metallic bitter taste with everything, I really noticed it yesterday, especially today. I thought it was my dishwasher soap, but I just attempted an experiment with a sealed can of Sprite and its still there!!! How long does this take to go away?!
Oh well I’m relieved, yes I too bought pine nuts from Morrisons (Wakefield). What I now really need to know it how long will it last, I’m on day 1 and fed up already!!!!
Can my tub of mixed snacking nuts from Asda (West Yorkshire), which includes pine nuts, be the reason for this terrible taste when eating. Thank goodness I found this information. The dentist, then the doctor were on my list for next week after the internet, though I have no other symptoms than the taste that is ruining everything I eat and drink. The information says, ‘Produce of more than one country. Packed in the UK’. All I know is, ‘Bought on Tuesday. Small handful eaten same evening. Horrible taste started with breakfast Thursday. Bin on Saturday!’.
I have been enjoying pine nuts for many years and had never come across pine-mouth. I have never eaten the nuts in salads, only in cooked dishes and if I use them to dress a dish I always toast them first. I first experienced a horrible bitter taste in my mouth whilst breakfasting on a bacon sandwich over Easter and thought that my husband had charred the bacon. The taste got worse as the day wore on to the extent that I woke up with such a horrible taste in the night that I went and gargled – but to no avail. The next day I googled bitter taste and discovered that many other peiople have suffered the same problem. I then connected my own occurrence to eating a Tesco’s Finest chees and pepper pasta tart – dressed with small untoasted pine nuts about 36 hours before (I cooked the tart in the oven as instructed) Five days on and the bitterness is starting to subside – but most things still taste unpleasant. Should I stick to those large organic Italian pine nuts in future?
I have it too I think. I have a bitter almost soapy taste in my mouth after eating a nut and seed mix from Waitrose. I’m “trying” to be healthy and I get this! Never got it with crisps or cola!! DAMMIT! lol
I hope it doesn’t last long – it’s almost reduced me to tears because everything I eat has this horrible after-taste! x
hi everyone. this has happened to me twice now,both after earing pine nuts. – THE most foul bitter aftertaste,from food or drink.so far this time it has lasted for four days,the time before that it was a week.
i am a chef,and noticed this year that pine nuts have gone up in price by a massive amount,and they seem smaller,not sure if theyb are from china, i shall check tonight when i go to work.
On day one of pine mouth stint number two. The first time this happened to me was last May and it lasted about two weeks. This time I have the package, purchased at Safeway about a week and half ago. It said “Freshest if used by 04/13/11 Y” and “Pinenuts a product of Spain or China or Portugal”.
I am trying the sour drop remedy and hope it works. About to go on vacation and don’t want all my food to taste bad.
I got my pine nuts at Morrissons in Reigate, its 3 days later and I still have this nasty taste in my mouth
I have just bought some pine nuts from morrisons, my whole family had the bitter mouth thing for a week now i thought it was the milk but eventually narrowed it down to these semi poison nuts! glad to find this site!
Apparently there are a lot of us! Thank heavens for Google! Without this site I may have wondered if something were suddenly very wrong with me. I rarely have pine nuts, but this one recipe was irresistable. This must have been an imported packaged variety I picked up from a Walmart Superstore Within 2 days I had this nagging bitter taste… Not horrible, just annoying. Glad I found this out.
Thank you for posting this. I have been going crazy and almost made a dr. apt. I have been on vacation and just got home. For the last three days I have had the worst bad taste in my mouth, taste like chemicals and gets worse when I eat or drink. I have eaten pine nuts in a salad at a restaurant, I think, and some things from Trader Joes, with pine nuts.
I just hope it goes away soon! I couldn’t even drink my coffee this morning.
Misery loves company! I thank you all for your stories. What a relief to be able to diagnose myself in a few short minutes! I had pine nuts in my entree at an Alabama restaurant on Sat night. My horrible symptoms started after lunch today – on Monday. I first noticed it when a piece of innocent chocolate tasted very bad to me today. I tried to wash it down with dried fruit. That didn’t help. My symptoms were worse than ever after a small glass of milk tonight. I’ve read that others have bad experiences mainly after sweets and dairy, too. I am SHOCKED at how many people have experienced this problem & blogged about it – in just 2 short weeks! Good luck to all.
I have it too, also ate the new smaller pine nuts from Sainsbury’s. Horrible. Will keep an eye on this blog and consider contacting the food standards agency again. Surely these should be taken off the shelves?
Me too. I bought some small pine nuts from Sainsburys which I toasted and also ate raw over the weekend. I have horrible metallic taste that seems to be getting worse after first noticing it yesterday.
Interesting………..
Thanks to the internet and of course Google – My husband and I have now joined this merry band of folk experienced ‘pine mouth’.
We have been away on holiday and wanting to be healthy had pine nuts, sunflower seeds etc in our salads for lunch.
This is the most unusual and gastly tasting experience we have ever had and are very much hoping it will go away soon – a homeopath colleagues says she has a cure, which related to other similar symptons to do with saliva.
I will keep you posted if they work – difficulty is it could well go naturally at the same time??
I have had this horrible taste for two days now, also after eating Morrisons Pine Nuts. My parents don’t seem to have been affected? Started to think maybe they were poisoning me… ;-D
Everything tastes vile, drinking tea tastes like I’m drinking chemicals. Lemon squash is the only thing that I can drink at the moment.
Can’t wait to be back to normal.
This is sooo strange. I tucked into a tub of chilli spiced seeds and almonds (Asda brand) over the weekend (think Friday and Saturday) and since Monday have had an awful chemical taste at the back of my throat…..have been wondering what on earth has caused this. I woke today with swollen lips too….looked like botox gone wrong…..maybe a coincidence, but I am now connecting this new snack with these symptons…even though quite a while since indesting them. Who knows. I eat alot of nuts, but this has put me off this variety. The tub stated 8% pine nuts in the ingredients.Let’s hope these symptons subside.
This is the 3rd time in as many years that I have had the same problem: metallic taste in my mouth after eating. It always goes away. But after reading your posts I realized I had bought some pine nuts about 3 weeks ago and that’s about when this started again. I don’t remember what brand of pine nuts I had so I’ll have to check and add back on this blog.
Thank you for helping me feel I am not going crazy.
… cont’d.. was furious that the wine tasted so bad after I’d spent more thant £5 on it! Everyone else seemed to enjoy it so I realised it must be me. I tried to eat some cheese and piccallili to get rid of the taste but it just got worse….. I have spent the whole of today, Tuesday, moaning to my husband that I have some sort of fatal affliction, I have also consumed copious amounts of chewing gum and mouth wash. Drinking tea is unbearable, coffee not as bad, I have just eaten a cream cake which was lovely but the after taste is foul, and chocolate – don’t bother! I hope this is temporary and I’m surprised at the impact a few innocent looking pine nuts have had. I also hope that they are the cause of this discomfort and nothing more sinister…. I won’t be eating them again, although I do love them with a bit of rocket and a pesto dressing.
I have had the bitter taste for the past few days. The latest TJ’s pine nuts in my pantry are significantly smaller than I’ve ever seen. I may have had this problem once before, but it has been rare. I thought I had GERD for a while, but this must be it, the pine nuts. Is there no way to hasten the passing of this malady?
Amazing!! had pine nuts in a salad form Dean an dDeLucas on Saturday and they gave me a lot anf then Sunday I thoguht it was a reaction to nasal spray but it has stayee with me fo rthree days. any thoughts as to when it goes away? Metallic taste in mouth right after I eat–same symptons and it takes away the taste fo the food. Thanks for your posting here.
Well it’s in Australia too! I had a home made Chinese salad containing pine nuts on Saturday just gone. Will have to check where they came from. The taste is horrible!
For the last 24 hours I have thought that I have had a gastroenterologicial disesase or something serious. I consulted my husband the dentist and he rolled his eyes and ruled out dental conditions. I consulted my father the physician who said I should wait three weeks before I even worry. The taste has been awful after eating and drinking (esp hot) so I decided to look online and found out about ‘pine mouth’. I am in Queensland Australia and on Sunday a few days ago I made caponata a Sicilian classic dish containing toasted pine nuts. I wasn’t happy with the pine nuts because they were prepacked at the store, normally I buy the vacum packed ones. After the boozy Sunday lunch I scoffed a few handfuls of the raw nuts. Tuesday I started to get the bitter taste, it tasted toxic and was sometimes associated with nausea. It is Wednesday and my husband (the dentist) just came to me saying thaht he too has a bitter taste and was eating the pine nuts raw last night. I am leaning towards the pine nuts being the cause but will remain cautious in case I am having too many boozy lunches! Will keep ypu posted
p.s the taste sensation caused me to feel that something was very wrong enough for me to rush out at lunch time to get a pregnacy test, as a mother of five I know this is a symptom of early pregnancy. The test was negative but can I say this was far worse than the ‘matelic’ taste of pregnancy.
Me too! It took me a few weeks to work out what was going on. I’d been eating pine nuts in New Zealand for years with no problem; then moved to Ireland and also had no problem until about a month ago. I did notice that the nuts I got around that time were much smaller than the ones I had used previously. But on nuts from local supermarkets (I got mine from Dunnes and Tescos), there’s no country of origin, so it would be impossible to try to find pine nuts that work and pine nuts that don’t. And I’m not sure I could tolerate the experimentation that would be required, given how horrible this ‘pine mouth’ is. (I still have it, but hope it will be gone in a few days.) All of which means I’m avoiding these altogether from now on.
I have it too, and am not sure what size or kind of pine nuts on had on Sunday night (3 days ago) but since Monday I can’t eat anything without almost vomitting! I had quite a few pine nuts after they were roasted for our salad. I am quite disconcerted after reading all the very recent blogs! I will keep in touch and will query this issue with friends and family.
Further to my comment on 6th April, I am pleased to say that the bitter taste HAS now gone. It lasted six days in total – so for all of you out there wondering, it WILL pass.
Wow! After 2 trips to my family doctor with blood work, and a trip to the dentist to inspect a filling, this might actually be the problem! I was actually eating a homemade nut mix that has pine nuts in it while I was reading this!
Has anyone had weird, spacey feelings as well? Cloudy, foggy mind, etc.? I’ve even felt a bit light-headed or nearly dizzy. Never so bad I can’t walk, but a couple of times I thought I might better not drive the car for awhile. I’d probably find the answer if I read all your responses, but I’m in a hurry!
I had pine nut mouth last year for four weeks. Three doctors looked at me as if I were crazy. After reading an article about this in our local newspaper, I was glad to know it wasn’t my imagination.
The worst symptom I had was eating icecream and tasting butter. No more pine nuts for me!
Both me and my girlfriend had had this after eating pine nuts on the afternoon of Sat 10th April.
On Monday morning I noticed a horrid bitter taste in my mouth. It got worse, and hit its worst on Monday evening/Tuesday morning. Thankfully a Google search found lots of people with the same problem. It’s now Wednesday afternoon and it seems to be subsiding.
I bought my pine nuts from Morrisons. It doesn’t say where they’re sourced from on the packaging. Neither of us have ever had this before.
It looks like for me it was symptoms starting from 36 hours, and getting better from four days after after eating them.
I will NEVER eat pine nuts again! Most disturbing is the fact that my glass of wine tastes like petroleum. I can’t wait for the symptoms to subside as eating and drinking are a BIG part of the pleasures of my life! If anyone knows of a treatment to cure this “pine mouth” please let us know.
Are you serious? I never would have guessed this. I had a handful of the delightful little nuts the day before yesterday and today I have a bitter taste in my mouth. It happened a couple of weeks ago when I had just bought the bag to use in a recipe and had a few then by themselves and in the recipe. The taste went a way in a few days and I didn’t think about it again and today it is back. I was thinking sinus infection (allergy season here), being in ketosis (as I am on a low carb diet), or the diet medication I’m on. Very intersting and I appreciate you passing on the information. Anybody know how to get it to go away quicker. It helps my diet anyway becase now I don’t want to eat anything because everything has the same bitter taste.
Ditto! Everything I’ve eaten in the past three days has been bitter. I sense it on the rear of my tongue – mostly the left side. I even mentioned to my wife last night at dinner. I opened a nice Ridge Zinfandel last night and it tasted horrible! What a waste. Guess what – I made an arugula salad with Trader Joe’s toasted pine nuts with Sunday dinner. Bitterness started Monday AM, and continues. The pine nut theory seems very plausible! Thanks to all for the input
Than-you all, thought i was for the graveyard. I had pine nuts (in Australia) 2 days ago – product of China
and not the sort I usually buy. This brand “yummy”. I have had the most revolting bitter taste in ,my mouth for the past two days and can’t get rid of it. Everything I eat makes it worse. Thanks for all the tips about not eating carbs etc. Sure hope this goes away soon. The nuts are in the bin !!!!!!!!!!!
I have been getting a bad bitter taste in my mouth. Yes, I had some pine nuts which I purchased at the weekend, to go in a pasta dish with prawns. Purchased from Morrisons. best before date 30th June 2010.
Code on pack: 0510JF – 5010251 229629 ( bar code). I have never had a problem before.
The day after I had eaten raw pine nuts as a snack, I threw out an entire carton of eggs because I thought they had gone bad! Everything I tasted for the following 10 days or so (including more pine nuts) tasted BITTER! I was so worried I was suffering from GERD (a really bad form of acid reflux) that I began to take Prilosec, which didn’t work. I stopped drinking my usual glass of red wine at night because I thought maybe I had damaged my taste buds with alcohol (and because it tasted so bad). I even took a pregnancy test to rule out what every other woman I spoke to hypothesized this terrible symptom could be!
Yesterday, my mom and dad contacted me, and described the same bitter taste with everything they consumed. My mom Googled it so we wouldn’t have to waste a trip to the Dr’s office, and low and behold, we had all been eating the same pine nuts from Trader Joe’s!
If you are suffering from the same thing, and have eaten pine nuts recently, don’t worry! You’re not dying! And I promise, it does go away…I must say, I appreciate the taste of everything so much more now!
I have had a constant bitter taste in my mouth for 2 days, which gets worse after eating sugary things. I had pine nuts on Monday – in dinner and snacking whilst cooking. I don’t have them very often. They weren’t small ones, just the regular ones from the dried fruit and nut shelf of Morrisons. I wonder if they are the cause?! Hope it passes soon, it horrible!
I am not a regular eater of Pine Nuts but have always enjoyed them. I didn’t make the connection until this morning. The last few times I ate Pine Nuts I experienced some nausea and the bad taste in my mouth. But, this morning I ate some Pine Nuts, and became very sick about two hours after ingesting them. I began to cramp and throw up to the point of dry heaves and had diarreha so bad that I had to leave work. It has been about 7 – 8 hours since eating the Pine Nuts and my digestive system is still a wreck. What would cause the nuts to affect me like that? Has anyone else ever experienced this? I don’t believe I will ever eat Pine Nuts again.
I bought a package of pine nuts for a recipe for stuffed lamb breast, intending to use it on Easter Sunday. As it turned out, I never used them as intended. So a week later, my husband opened the package and began muching on them. I soon joined him. We ate those damn nuts for two days. It is now 8 days later and we are still tasting that bitter, metallic taste. Thank god, after 6 days of searching for causes, we finally hit the right search words and came across pine nuts. Neither of us ever ate pine nuts in our lives, except in the Italian pignola cookies, years ago. What a relief to find the cause. My husband was convinced our internal organs were days away from shutting down.
Oops, typo, I meant to say it’s 6 days later, not 8.
I’m thankful that I found this information on the internet……both my husband and I have had this bitter after-taste in our mouths for several days……..the culprit…..PINE NUTS! We haven’t purchased pinenuts in the past, but just bought some about a week ago. After reading this blog, we looked on the package and the pinenuts came from CHINA! Don’t know if other brands from other parts of the world have the same effect, but it’s really annoying! You can be sure we’ll stick to other kinds of nuts in the future and will never purchase pinenuts again!
I have also experienced this — although no one else that ate the dish I fixed (Sunday night — toasted pine nuts, broccoli, sundried tomatoes and goat cheese, YUM!) has complained of the issue (my husband pointed out that I’m the only one that has eaten the nuts raw).
Woodfield Farms, product of China, is what I had. I had a handful, raw, (also a veggie) Monday — the bad taste, which gets worse after eating, began Tuesday evening and has gotten increasingly worse. I’m hoping we will be able to stick with the 6 day rule. Hope this helps in the research of the problem!
Lately I have been hooked on Pumpkin Seeds…The shells are salted, so you just suck on the shells, then open and enjoy the seed. I dont eat the shells….but I too have a “metallic” taste in my mouth….the last time this happened a few weeks ago it lasted for several days, and it’s funny….I ran out of seeds and it went away in about three days. They are hard to find in the stores but just came across some and now I have that taste back…Could this be because of the Pumpkin seeds? Are they in the same “food family” as pine nuts??? Need help…
Hi all,
One week on and I think I’m back to normal – hurrah. Not trusted milk again yet, but now that I can drink black tea and coffee I may stay off it for a bit anyway.
Cheers for being the other people who have it. You are not alone.
Spread the word — Don’t touch pine nuts kids, the’re bad for your mind.
I reaaallly thought I was going crazy. I purchased a scoop from winco (bulk food bin) a few weeks ago. I have been sprinkling them on salads or grabbing a small handful here or there. You can only imagine how long I have been having that odd taste while eating. It was a total bummer when I finally sat down for my morning cuppa joe today. It lingered all day thus the google search tonight. How weird! But how comforting to know that it’s not a big deal. I am pretty sure that I do not get this with some other pine nuts or pesto, just this batch. I will be calling the store tomorrow.
Thanks everyone! I was driving myself crazy these last two days wondering what the heck I could have eating that would leave this AWEFUL taste in my mouth for days…pine nuts. Love ’em. Will still. Eat them…abet the aftertaste!
I too have eaten pine nuts from China (bought from the Co-op) in the last few days and now have this awful taste in my mouth when I eat. Previous ones from Tesco were fine. I will bin these and hope the taste goes soon. Thank you for this post.
Same bitter taste has lasted for four days after eating Melissas pine nuts from China and purchased from Trader Joes. I have read at least one report that indicated that pine nuts have been tested for toxins with no negative result. However given the fact that our children and pets have been exposed to toxins in baby formula, toys and pet food, we may be getting contaminated food. I will do my best to avoid any food from China given their past history. I have contacted Trader Joes with my comments and concerns. It seems to me that while this blog is useful for sharing symptoms and potential causes, it certainly does not do much to address the concern about safety. If food companies like Trader Joes and Costco start getting consumer complaints they may stop purchasing Chinese pine nuts and or other food products. I also have a Pesto that I used the same night from Whole Foods. The company is Basiltops in Cardiff by the Sea, CA. They raise the basil, but no mention of the source of the pine nuts? Hard to know where anything you are eating might come from anymore. I suggest that everyone contact the company from which they purchased the pine nuts. At the very least it is awful food. At its worst it may be harmful.
I’m suffering it too. I’ve found that hot chili sauce (I’m using the sriracha with the rooster that’s very popular here in the states) applied directly to the back of my tongue and throat is a huge help. It seems to numb the bad taste buds in the back and (at least for me) it’s only that area of my mouth that causes the bitterness — the good ones in the front still work and let me taste food. I managed to enjoy dinner last night despite the condition. I’d love to get the word out because I haven’t found any remedies on the Internet that work.
I am from Australia and been experiencing this foul taste for the last few days. I was telling my wife that I might have a brain tumour. I am amazed by the number of people that experienced this problem after eating some pine nuts. I always ate pine nuts without any problem but this last batch I bought few days ago I noticed the nuts were much smaller than the usual ones I buy. Think the bigger variety might be alright but look out for those smaller ones which may be old as well.
Wow, thanks all, I just started researching what I could possibly have after 3 days straight of a very nasty taste in my mouth every time I ate or drank anything and this website was at the top of the list, all I did was google “bad taste in mouth when eating”. I purchase Melissa’s Pine Nuts a few days ago and have been having them on my salads, the taste in my mouth has been awful, I threw them away as soon as I read these posts, I don’t like pine nuts that much!! Does anyone know how long it lasts?
OMG!!… I’ve had the same bitter revolting taste everytime I eat or drink too. I was wondering what on earth could cause it. Two days ago I finished eating a pack of pine nuts also. The aweful taste started yesterday. On top of that I too suffered for two days with chronic diahorea and stomach pains. Does anyone have a general concensus on roughly how long the taste problems take to go away?
My word..I’m so relieved to read all the feedback about eating pine nuts. If we all feel similar symptons from eating a ‘type’ of pine nut, don’t you think its worthwhile informing the traders who are selling them? (Morrisons in my case.) God knows what they did to them before exportation. Feeling like this is horrible…I don’t want anyone else to undergo this reaction…especially those who have no recourse to further enlightenment.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! For weeks ive been eating a mix of PINE NUTS, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, raisins and almonds with bran flakes for bekkie, they are supposed to be good for menopausal women (im waiting to have the menopause confirmed, im only 40 – that’s another story) and i bought a new packet of pine nuts a brand called gima, this bitter, metallic taste has been in my mouth for 3 days. after reading all the comments i checked the pack, it sayes, ‘not to be eaten raw’! how bonkers is that! Anyway, that’s me off all of them for a while and i’ll never eat pine nuts again!
p.s Surely this is a news story, worthy of printing to warn others? come on media people write an article about this -it will make a change from the election or all the airports closed due to volcanic ash cloud!
I’ve had the same bad metallic aftertaste that others describe, and yes, recently ate some pine nuts, supposedly organic. The taste is worst after eating or drinking sugary or acid foods such as fruit, or fruit
drinks. Bland, or more alkaline foods leave only slight negative aftertaste. This condition seems to last–
I’m in my third day with little improvement. It’s pretty scary, because you think there’s something really
wrong like heavy metal poisoning, possibly from a supplement, or toxic dust, and then you imagine all
kinds of expensive tests with difficult diagnoses, etc.. It came on suddenly in the morning, and as I said
I thought it might have been a new supplement, which I’d just taken 15 minutes before. Amazing to Google and find this website with fellow sufferers. Pine nuts seem to be the common thread here, and the
symptoms are the same. Tried to detoxify with Bentonite, lots of Vit. C, and lots of water, but to no avail.
Any ideas as to a remedy for this strange nastiness?!?
I started eating pine nuts last week with my yoghurt and developed a bitter taste after eating other foods the next day. My apple had a bitter taste, also any other food I ate was affected. Just before I found this site I had another handful. Looks like I might be in for it for another 6 days!! My pine nuts are Coles brand and are packed from imported ingredients.
I have eaten pine nuts too.I bought them from winco. I have a bitter tast in my mouth when I eat.I had this awful tast for five days sofar and I hope it goes away.I like to thanks all the people who posted this problem with pine nuts and I also want to thanks the intenet and google to make this posible.
I toasted pine nuts for a salad last Friday. Had too many and snacked on them on Saturday. Since then it feels like I’ve been sucking rusty steel bars. Like everybody else here I thought the worst ! Thought it was time to update the will ! Thanks God for the internet.
Hi,
On Friday I bought a bag of mixed nuts and seeds from Waitrose, and ate half of them.
By Saturday night, my mouth felt as though I had been sucking on a penny after everything I ate.
Googled ‘bitter tastes in mouth’ today and this came up…so glad, yet confused as to find out that this could be from the pine nuts as I have never had a problem before.
The only thing that doesn’t affect the taste is water and chewing gum!
Wish I had’ve googled this though before I ate the second half of the bag :S
Have just found this site after searching NHS direct to find out what could be causing this horrible bitter taste in my mouth ! I had pine nuts in my pasta last night and am really relieved to know thats what caused it – mine were also bought from Morrisons a few weeks ago, looks like a few on here have also bought them from there! No more pine notes for me!
Me too, bought a nut mix from Asda that had cranberries and other nuts in. Same bitter taste, especially when eating and drinking… agree with others, wine tastes awful…worst part of it! It has generally ruined my taste buds, hopefully temporarily. Actually I do feel like it’s subsiding a little, has been around a week now since I ate them. Thanks for the post (I too thought i might be pregnant… relief!).
I hope this is the reason why I have had this problem too. I have eaten pine nuts recently in the seeds and nuts mix available in Waitrose.
My husband has been complaining for 3 days of a bitter, medicinal taste after eating or drinking anything. Last week, on 2 successive evenings, we made dinners containing pine nuts from Trader Joe’s. They were smaller than the pine nuts we usually buy. I don’t know why I wasn’t affected – guess I have taste buds of steel! I was so happy to find the “Pine Nut” answer when I googled his symptom, as the on set was so sudden and the taste so awful that I was afraid it was a symptom of some awful disease.
Yes…same thing. Made pesto using pine nuts from Trader Joe’s on evening Wed 4/14..leftovers the next day….then awful bitterness started evening of Sat 4/16 whenever I ate something.
How long does it take for normal taste to come back???
My boyfriend and I both have had a bad taste in our mouths. We thought we had some sort of infection and had passed it to each other. I googled bad taste in mouth and found this article. We have both had several small pine nuts at dinner three nights ago. We didn’t start having symptoms till two nights ago. Thank you for this post. This is somewhat a relief. Just hope it goes away soon!
Thank you for this post! I hadn’t even started considering serious medical problems yet, but I’ve been switching to a near vegan-diet over the past couple of weeks, and I was afraid there was some link between the nasty taste and the soy products I was trying out. However, I have always eaten a lot of pine nuts, and as part of the vegan experiment I’ve been eating a handful of mixed seeds from a packet which includes very small pine nuts every day – though I’ve also eaten pine nuts from other sources over the same period, I suspect this seed mix is the culprit as I’d never bought it before and haven’t previously had problems with other pine nuts. I’ve stopped eating from that particular pack now, so hopefully tastes will return to normal.
I also now remember a period a couple of years ago my boyfriend and I both had that horrible taste in our mouths for a few days, and we couldn’t figure out why, but assumed it was diet-related since both of us were experiencing it simultaneously.
I really hope someone finds out what it is soon though, I LOVE pine nuts!
Well this is bizarre! I came across this by chance when searching google for causes of bitter taste that I’ve had for the last 2 days. I too have a bag of Morrison’s pine nuts. They’re not out of date and look/taste fine. I thought it might be a coincidence but I remembered I gave my mate a handful to try and I just asked him if he’d been experiencing the same problem since eating the pine nuts. He rang back straight away saying he’d been trying to find out what it was too.
How long did it take for everyone else for this to subside?
I love the internet. I also thought I had something very wrong inside. I ate pine nuts on the weekend and have had a really bad (bitter) taste in my mouth when I eat or drink since. I brought my Pine nut Kernels from Tesco and are throwing them away as I type. I also found chewing gum is the only thing that stops the bad taste. Does anyone know how long this lasts?
I thought mine was caused by taking apple cider vinegar elixirs, but now to think of it, I did eat a day old pesto pasta that I fried.. This was made with a batch of non-organic pine nuts that I had never purchased in the past.. The oxidized pine nut theory sure sounds right. I’m on day 4. hope it goes away soon.
This must be the answer…finally! Yes, I´ve been eating pine nuts lately, but first on Sat 4/17 I bought these small ones and then ever since Monday 4/19 I´ve had this horrible bitter taste in the back of the mouth, if I eat or drink.
I can’t believe this. I too had pine nuts from Trader Joes on Sunday afternoon, and for the past 48 hours I’ve had a bitter tase whenever I eat anything. I couldn’t figure it out. I thought it was hormonal. How long does it last. I see several of you have asked, but no one is answering that question. So I guess we all still have it. Who can we go to for the answer? I pray this isn’t permanent!
Thank GOD I found this!!! I too thought I was dying and even had anxiety about it each time I ate today. I have had pine nuts twice this week…the first time nothing happned except I felt yukky, second time I got this awful taste in my mouth the next day anytime I ate or drank anything…still havVing this problem…will it go away? I am thanking my stars for this post! THANK YOU!!!
I work with pine nuts. I had a meal for the first time made by my brother who purchased them from my work.. On Saturday April 17 2010.. I have had a bitter taste in my mouth since Sunday April 18 2010.. Even bubble gum taste bitter after chewing a minute.. Food also has no taste.. I know these Pine nuts are from china we sell them to people all over the US.. I also hope this feeling ends soon .. keep u informed..jeff h.
I also ate pine nuts (Sainsburys) with a stir fry tow nights ago and have had a horrible bitter taste which I was convinced was mettallic with all the associated scare stories so thank you so much for your post – I hope it goes away soon!
WOW! Thanks for this threat – I lost my patience when tonight I couldn’t eat my husband’s lovely italian lamb shanks with a glass of wine! I have a metallicy, bitter taste immediately after eating and particularly with sweet items. . . . this also happened about 4 weeks ago also and lasted a month! What a weight loss solution!
PS. I’ve got a whole batch of homemade pesto (28 serves) going cheap!
I too have a bitter taste two days after eating baby pine nuts from Julian Graves Ltd. This is the second time I’ve done this to myself…..doh! The first time was last year after trying the small pine nut variety, and like you I thought I wasn’t well! It does go away eventually, but I think I will be avoiding the baby variety from now on. Both husband and son are unaffected (lucky them). I’ve eaten pesto made with normal sized pine nuts in the intervening period and been fine.
Boy am I glad I found this website. I too started with an awful bitter taste in my mouth both during and after eating, and I now realise that this was after eating pine nuts as part of a seed and nut mix purchased from Waitrose. Like Michelle, I hope it clears up soon, as it is a real pain having your favourite food spoiled on every occasion!
YEP. Agree with all above. i had a mad binge on pine nuts last week in salad. bad taste for a week. thought i was gonna die then seen this site. Phew. Wife had it also. we ended up eating a whole pack straight out the bag. MMmmmm tasty pine nuts. like being in the pine trees when you are a kid and getting gum stuck all over your hands for days from climbing trees.
Never eat em normally. no idea how we didnt put 2 and 2 together. Easy to let yer imagination wander straight to the big “C” in google. or medical websites.
Breathe easy all…….and relax. x
Happy to find this article, for two days now, after having pesto made with Trader Joe’s pine nuts I have been cursed with bitter mouth when ever I eat. I am happy to hear it eventually goes away!
Okay, I’m thinking I’m either pregnant or something else is wrong with me. I, like some other people bought pine nuts from Trader Joe’s and made and ate pesto Sunday April 18Th. Started noticing a medicinal taste in my mouth yesterday after I eat anything. the pine nuts from TJ’s are smaller than usual…very interesting.
I ate pasta salad from M&S and next day had this awful bitter taste in my mouth. At first I thought it was a fresh orange juice that I had for breakfast, but it didn’t go away then I thought it was some kind of symptom from my pregnancy. I’m relieved to find out that this was caused by pine nuts. how long does its lasts??
Me too, just sat having a chocolate muffin to see if that tastes bitter and it does!! I have been snacking on the small pine nuts bought from Sainsbury. Thought I was lacking in some vital mineral or something!! Has anyones taste gone back to normal yet and how long does it take?? Thanks
Thank you so much for posting this! Three people in my family have been complaining of this bitter taste after eating (myself being one). After reading this it occured to me that we have recently been eating mixed seeds from ‘The food doctor’ brand which contains 10% pine nuts. We have thrown the rest away and I am so pleased to have found what has been causing the problem.
I was also relieved to find this. I ate Pine Nuts from Trader Joe’s Tuesday night, and Wednesday this taste began. Interesting note, I had Pine Nuts from the same batch last Friday with no problem, but those I had toasted and I did not toast them Tuesday night.
Have had this really awful taste in my mouth for a couple of days. It tends to get worse if I eat or drink something. Thought it might have had something to do with the fact that I hadn’t had a drink for over 3 weeks, a period of time that I haven’t sustained since I started drinking many years ago! Could this be a coincidence? But I did eat some pine nuts at work a few days ago. Have eaten a couple of times before and never had this kind of reaction. Would be a shame if I couldn’t eat them any more as they were really nice! Does this mean that I’ve had some sort of allergic reaction? Would like to find out more.
Hi I am aslo relieved to hopefully find the answer…I am still suffering and thought it was a change of toothpaste!! I have recently been eating loads of pine nuts, because on a “healthy diet”, thought they were good for me!! Purchased two small packets from Morrisons and currently have this VILE taste and can’t enjoy any food or drink at all….its as if I am eating pure metal. How long does it take to go?????
argh!!!!!!
i can hardly believe it, I ate the pine nuts on tuesday and have tasted everything bitter ever since. any idea when it will go away?
Glad I found this site, both my wife and myself shared a bag of fruit and seed mix from Asda last Saturday, and have both had this bitter taste at the back of our mouth’s everytime we eat or drink. This is a relief, and now I know it is the pine nuts that is the taste, a bit like turpintine, not that I am a regular drinker of Turp’s. but I am sure you all know what I mean.
I had homemade pesto on tuesday night and have been struggling with a bitter taste in my mouth since…absolutely overwhelming. My partner also had the pesto..but no reaction. However, I am relieved to discover that this seems to be happening to others as I was getting really concerned!
Started a raw food cleanse, and purchased pine nuts from a local Whole Foods for several recipes. They aren’t cheap eather- it was nearly 20 dollars from the bulk bin to get a quentity for all the recipes we were making for the 14 day cleanse.
I was the only one that started complaining of bitterness everywhere. My girlfriend thought it was funny. Our friends who ate many of the same recipes we had didn’t complain of it. It’s been 3 weeks since I started the cleanse, and here I thought it was all the nutrients I was getting out of the food that changed my tastebuds! I’m very tired of the flavor of everything being tinged bitter. I am going to attempt to wash out the taste with loads of citrus and vinegar foods. I don’t know what else to do.
Same problem. I made a salad with pine nuts that I purchased in bulk at Henry’s 4/20/10. Feeling better knowing that this strange taste is from bad pine nuts and not something else. Can’t wait until it is gone!
I had the bitter taste too. I fixed it by drinking a lot of beer. I guess alcohol helps a bit.
i’ve got same symptoms – horrid bitter taste, but from tesco omega mix.
Gack! I’m glad I found this. I’ve had this nasty bitter taste in my mouth for the last two days and I’ve been furiously trying to figure out what is causing it. A day or so before it started I had a few teaspoons of the small yellowish pine nuts from Trader Joe’s. How long does this last??
im just not eating pine nuts anymore. This is the second time and its disgusting, and you would think that someone would have heard about this before.
Thanks for the input! I have been eating pinenuts purchased at Trader Joe’s, product of Russia or Korea. Have had that terrible bad taste in my mouth for a couple of weeks. Now I know the answer! Great news!
Well I’ve just hit day 14 and AT LAST the taste has gone…. I will NEVER eat pine nuts again after this. 🙁
I had a mixed bag of nuts from Waitrose on Friday, started noticing the taste on Sunday, it is now Monday and the bitter taste has intensified! Glad I’ve tracked down this article as it was driving me, well, nuts!
I have has this bitter taste for 5 days now and its been driving me crazy trying to work out what it could be, I have eaten pine nuts twice in the last 5 days but from a packet which I have eaten from before with no problems. Could it still be the pine nuts. I last had some 2 days ago, how long has this lasted for everyone??
I have just received the following email from the UK Food Standards Agency:
Thank you for your recent communication on pine nuts. For those of you who haven’t seen it, the link below will take you to our web-story on pine nuts that was published in July last year.
http://www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2009/jul/pinenut
No long term health effects are anticipated following the resolution of this bitter taste – despite the fact that the exact causative agent or mechanism is at present, unclear. We have received reports that “bitter pine nuts” (a discreet species of pine nut) are commonly consumed in some regions of China with no widespread effects noted. If any further effects are noted relating to the consumption of pine nuts other than those reported already, please contact us again, and speak to your GP or another healthcare professional.
Colleagues in France have recently undertaken a sampling and analysis exercise to see if they are able to shed some light on this phenomenon. Neither they, nor the Belgian Authorities who investigated this in 2001 have found a prospective causative agent. We currently do not intend to carry out a similar analysis exercise, although we have not ruled out other types of investigation, finances permitting.
As it is currently impossible to identify those nuts that cause the effect from those that don’t, it is not possible for us or the food industry to differentiate between the nuts and therefore it would be disproportionate to stop the sale of pine nuts at this time. Please feel free to return the pine nuts you have purchased to your retailer, they may offer you a refund. It may also be the case that people who experience this adverse effect are especially sensitive to the pine nuts and others consuming the same nuts may not be affected at all.
We are setting up a detailed database of reports to allow us to spot trends and monitor reports and would be grateful if you could respond with details of the pine nuts that you purchased if still available. We understand that it is likely that you no longer have the packaging or many of the details but would be grateful if you could provide us with as many details as you are able to recall. We have a record of any information you supplied previously, but would be grateful if there is anything further you could add.
We are especially interested in the following:
• When and where purchased,
• Brand, batch no and pack size,
• When opened and how long before consumption and details of storage
• Country of origin
• How long you experienced the aftertaste for after ceasing consumption of pine nuts
• Whether the pine nuts were within their best before date or not
• Which, if any, foods made the taste much worse
We’d be grateful for anything you can provide, thank you very much.
Those living in the UK who wish to make a report should email Frances.Hill@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk
I had Trader Joe’s raw pinenuts and have a bitter taste 2 days later.
To clarify: the Chilgoza pinenut (P. gerardiana) is long, slender and has a very delicate flavor. The tree is quite threatened in its native habitat. Chilgoza is not the short/small pine nut found commercially in the US.
I had the same reaction to snap pea snacks from Trader Joes. Could the processing be the same?
I am so pleased that I have found out about “pine mouth.” I have recently decided to increase the fruits, vegetables, nuts and raw food generally in my diet as a bit of a health drive. A few days in, having munched on a few handfulls of the Food Doctors Essential seed Omega mix, (which contains 10% pine nuts) I got this terrible bitter taste at the back of my tongue. It was spoiling the taste of everything I ate and drank (including red wine, unfortunately). My family thought it was a bit of a joke but I am so pleased that I persisted with my internet search about this. Now I know what this awful taste is and that I am not alone or going slightly nuts (excuse the poor pun). Thanks for your site and contine the research please.
I also bought some pine nuts from Morrisons last week. Had a salad Friday night containing the nuts and of course, as you do, had a small handful of them while I was preparing the meal. The bitter taste started Sunday as far as I am aware. I noticed it more Monday night when I was eating a stir fry but no one else thought it tasted bitter. Today, Tuesday I’ve noticed the bitter taste at the back of my mouth with everything I’ve eaten or drank. Have just looked at the bag the nuts are in and compared them to a few left in an older bag. These new ones are smaller. Both bags are from Morrisons and neither show country of origin. No more pine nuts for me either. Whatever did we do before Google.
Also really relieved, I have eaten pine nuts in many recipes and not been affected. The nuts i ate the other night were from Morrisons. IAnyone know how long it is likely to last?
What a relief to hear about the Trader Joes’s connection. I, too, made a brocolli rab pesto that had pine nuts from trader joes in it. I am a starting a restaurant and am testing tons of recipes. I thought I was losing my mind. The bad taste did not start right after the pine nut ingestion, but a couple days later. EVerything I was testing tasted terrible. I can’t wiat for this to go away. It seems like it takes about two weeks, right?
I did not think it would be so easy to figure out why my mouth tastes so funny after I eat. Lo and behold, I had pine nuts from TJ’s two days ago. Thank so much for posting this!
Pheww, am I glad I found this site. I have had the bitter taste for almost two weeks now and it cost me an expensive visit to the dentists to rule that part out! He didn’t offer any explanation as to the cause or reason for it. A community nurse friend suggested I could have a ‘fungal’ type infection on my tongue (What*!?) so I started using a special mouthwash, but when I thought it had gone, back came the bitter taste especially worse in the morning on rising. So I did what I should have done first – good ole Google! I now remember purchasing a salad mix from Marks & Spencer the previous weekend which had a pack of pine nuts which I sprinked liberally over my salad and I now am almost certain that this is when the trouble started. Thank you Roger for starting this and putting my mind at ease – now, just how long before I get my normal taste back !!
OMG, thank you for the information because I am going crazy, I have terrible bitter taste in my mouth and it getting worse after eating any kind of food even sweet one. I almost made an appointment with gastroenterologist to check my intestinal tract for any abnormality. I decided to Google my symptoms first and there it is I am not alone. I’ve purchased pine nuts in Trader Joe’s on 04/22 made salad and have about 1/2 bag left, they taste very good and I ate all of them can stop, forget about salad. I have bitter taste still even now 6 days later. Any idea how long it will last? Is antibody knows what to do to get rid of that taste?
After enjoying freshly-made pesto this past weekend, with pine-nuts from Vons, I’ve been suffering through “pine mouth” too. I never had a problem with pine nuts, but I will never eat them again. I called the FDA to try to make a complaint, and had a nice chat with the person there who knew all about “pine mouth”. He reassured me that I probably wasn’t in any immediate danger, but said there wasn’t anything the FDA could do about it. Does anybody understand this? So, what exactly does the FDA do, anyway? They must be taking notes from the SEC.
I never had so much pine nuts before until last week. I realized the bitter taste in my mouth about 4 days ago. I purchased the nuts from Superstore (Vancouver). It is good to know about this problem from the web. At first I thought I had sinus infection due to allegies.
SAME THING!! I bought a big bag of pine nuts at Trader Joe’s last week, mixed them with other small nuts and seeds (sunflower, pistachio, etc.), and have been putting a spoonful on my cereal every morning. The disgusting, bitter taste on the back of my tongue began at about the same time, and has become constant! Glad I found your comments! Has anybody found an antidote to gargle with?
I too have a bad taste and been wondering what it was, i did wonder whether it was olives as i’ve been eating tons of them lately! Then i googled ‘bad taste’ and found this about pinenuts.. i’ve been adding them to my lunch everyday! and they are from Morrisons!! They’re in the bin now, need to get rid of this taste, it’s putting me off everything i eat!
I too thought that I was dying until I came upon your post! Any official word on how long it typically lasts? I last ate pinenuts two nights ago… It does go away eventually ‘tho, right?
Thanks for your post and comments; feels better to know that I’m not alone!
Has anyone else felt sick too? I had pine nuts from Trader Joes, on 4/25, 27 and 28– today, 4/29, worst taste ever after drinking water, eating bread and having cereal. Also a very bad stomach ache as well.
OMG! – I have been going on about horried matalic taste in my mouth all week – to the point I was worried I may be pregnant or something worse! I brought some pine nuts from Tesco’s last week, as I was starting my healthy plan diet (holiday = bikinin soon), I created lots of nice salads for my lunches – all topped with pine nuts!! Anyway I was so worried about the taste issue I googled it …. and what a relief to find out that it is nothing too sinister or child number 3 on the way! However what is the point of sellling these if they cause this? I am now eagarly waiting for taste to be normal again . . . . however great results for the diet – I dont really fancy eating much at the moment 🙁
So glad I found this post!!!!!, Over the past few days i’ve been experiencing a bad taste in my mouth, which concerned me enough, to look it up on the internet. I’ve been using a lot of pine nuts bought from tesco in my pasta which could be causing this horrible taste in my mouth. The origin of the pinenuts are from china, in future i will avoid
I got the same thing after eating store brand Pine Nuts from Giant Eagle in Pittsburgh, PA. I bought them on Sunday, toasted and ate them Monday morning (sort of noticed the weird taste starting at morning coffee Tuesday morning) and googled last night (Wednesday) because I was sure I had some terrible weird ailment–good to know what it is! Is there somewhere that wants to test them? I’ll send them wherever….I looked at the packaging, and it says Product of China, best before 7/13/10. Are you collecting email addresses?
I too had pine nuts in a chicken lasgna dish… exactly two days later the curse of “metal mouth” and other disturbing side effects occured… annoying slight headache and throat pain. Thank goodness for others stories! Purchased a small amount at a local health food store!! Lemonade… believe it or not helps reduce the metal taste somewhat and only time and NO MORE PINE NUTS will help the rest!
Don’t be fooled roasting doesn’t help. I made two different meals same batch of pine nuts stored in freezer roasted before adding to dish. I didn’t make the connection until the crazy taste came back after the second meal. Beware bulk foods.
I started feeling a strange taste in mouth after eating Costco pine nuts. The positive side of it is the changed taste of Wine. So I drink much less and that’s a good thing. Of course other tastes for other foods are distorted as well. I willnot eat raw nuts again.
This is really quite strange that within a week or so we have had similar experiences – I too had pasta last night with quite a lot of pine nuts (smaller ones than normal, from Sainsbo’s) and have had the same horrid taste all day today…maybe we should tell Ann Robinson or something 🙂 Hope it goes soon, two weeks would be a disaster @von, poor thing!
You don’t know how happy and relieved I was to see this article! I couldn’t understand why I was getting this bitter taste in my mouth. I ate some small pine nuts three days ago and since then I have this bitter taste in my mouth, even if I eat something really sweet. I even tried tasting salt and that was still bitter. I hope this is the problem and it will go away sooner rather than later, because I am not enjoying my food and I am not wasting my wine if I cannot enjoy it. I normally buy Salad Sprinkle from Holland & Barrets and the pine nuts in there are much bigger, so I think I would stick with those ones!!
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Been dealing with this for a couple of days now and I was really starting to worry! My pine nuts were part of a salad — the “little” ones and I think my wife got them from Trader Joe’s or possibly Henry’s Market.
As a side note, I’ve always considered myself to have an overdeveloped bitter sense. I simply can’t stand things like grapefruit juice etc. I wonder if this is the same for anyone else here.
Well well well! I too have been suffering from a really strong bitter taste ,especially when eating. I bought pinenuts from Morrisons (unusually small) to make pesto. Hopefully it will soon pass.
Thank God for the computers!
While I was on chemotherapy, I probably ate pine nuts with out paying any attention, so I blamed the bitterness in my mouth on chemo…
Yesterday again I had that bitter feeling in the part of the tong that it is closer to the throat, specially after food intake. The food it self was bitter as soon I swallowed it, and after taste was bitter. Today I went on google and googled about this problem, and first that it came out is pine nuts… Of course couple days ago I had pine nuts in my salad and also as a snack.. so I put two and two together. Now, I will not have them any more, and my thoughts will not run wild that I have some liver or gold stones problem…
Thank you for the information who ever shared with us.
Oh no I hope I don’t follow in Von’s footsteps! I don’t think I will last 14 days of this! We are living in Munich, Germany and bought these organic ‘baby’-sized pine nuts from a reputable health food store. They say they are from China-probably the Pinus Koreiensis variety. I had them on my salad on Friday and this awful medicine-like taste is still going strong now-Sunday night!
Wow… been searching the web to try to figure out why I had this bitter taste on the back part of my tongue that seems to get worse when I eat anything. I did have pine nuts on Thurs and Fri and on Sunday is when the bitter taste started. I hope this is the answer and the taste will disappear soon. I have never eaten pine nuts before. I also have low counts of vitamin B-12, D, and iron and was blaming the deficencies until I read the above posts. Thanks, maybe it is just the pinenuts!
I had pine nuts on Firday night and Sunday evening i started getting this awful taste after i eat or drink-worst after coffee I had it once before and don’t remember how long before it went away. Now i know to stay away from pine nuts.
This weekend I experienced a metallic and detergent like taste in my mouth when eating. I also felt nauseous. I googled it and found a list of possible causes and had decided to see my doctor or dentist. However while on line I stumbled upon the “Pine Nut metallic taste” posts –I straight away knew this was the cause, I had eaten pine nuts 6 times over 2 days, (purchased from Dunne’s Stores and within date). One of the sites suggested root ginger tea and I have found this helps, also I have sourced comments that suggest a liver detox for a few days, so will try this also. I too will never eat pine nuts again.
Me and my fiancee have both eaten pine nuts this past week, also bought from Morrisons. Has been about three days now that have noticed the bitter taste. And does seem to be subsiding a little. Am brushing my teeth, tongue scraping and gargling with mouthwash three times a day. This seems to help a little. Does anyone else notice that some food and drinks seem to trigger the bitter taste more than others? My fiancee thinks that tea tastes awlful now.
My husband ate a handful of pine nuts as a snack a few days ago, and awoke with a bitter taste in his mouth that wouldn’t quit. He Twittered about it, and a friend came back with the “Pine Mouth” answer.
This seems absolutely like it’s the case. We checked the pine nuts, which we purchased from Whole Foods, and they are indeed a product of China.
While this is a new phenomenon, and it’s unclear what the cause is, I wanted to mention the nuts’ origin in the interest of being thorough.
He’s on day 3 and still experiencing the bitterness. Judging by other responses, I am guessing he has another week and a half to go.
Thanks for the article and comments. It’s very reassuring to know this irritation will pass soon for him.
Just putting my name up with the rest of the poor souls here who have had this awful, awful taste. I had raw pine nuts from Trader Joe’s last night. (Still have the bag if you want ’em for research!) Seriously, I hope you move ahead on your research. It’s quite an interesting botanical mystery!
I have recently bought chilli spiced seeds and almond from Asda. I started having a bitter taste post eating and was actually thinking that something was medically going wrong with me until I discovered to this site. thanks for alleviating my anxiety. Pine nuts are in the contents and I will now stay clear from it.
yes ! it’s pine nuts i had some two weeks ago and i still have bitter taste after eating, thanks
I thought i was dying due to this bizarre metallic taste i’ve had in my mouth for the last couple of days… so i got on google and Bingo! was surprised to see “pine nuts” of all things. i have eaten a whole bag of them in the last couple of days due to this candida diet i’m on which means i basically eat veges and nuts all day. thanks for the info, feel better already!
I had pine nuts three days ago and started to feel that bitter taste when I eat from two days ago. At beginning I thought my food had become bad, and I probably had poisoned myself, but the food tasted ok to others. I had pine nuts before and this is the first time that I had bitter taste after eating it. So your article explained it – it’s a different type of pine nuts.
I can’t tell you how relieved I am!
I was googling what the cause could be – friend at work is an ex-dental nurse and suggested it could be infected salivary glands or problem with lymph glands or infected gums or bad teeth hygiene etc etc etc.
I had pine nuts on Sunday and started tasting this weird bitter taste on Tuesday. Even bought myself some chocolate as a treat and it was completely wasted on me! It tasted lovely first and then the bitter taste arrived. Wine in the fridge – tastes vile.
I look forward to the taste going away again, judging by the posts above, only another 10 or so days to go.
Thank goodness for this article! I ate pine nuts in a pasta salad 4 nights ago and since then have had a horrible taste in my mouth. Nobody else who ate the same food has my symptons, so didn’t think it could be a harmless little pine nut! It will be a LONG time till I eat them again!
Thank goodness I am not about to die of some strange cancer or something. I, also, have been snacking on some pine nuts my daughter bought to put on homemade pizza this past Saturday night. I thought it was odd the box said the nuts came from China when I looked at it a few days ago (we live in Colorado and she lives in Arizona where she even gets fresh roasted pine nuts ‘on site’ in the Navajo nation ..but heck these were cheap and she was here, not there.) Then two days ago I had a drink and it tasted so odd, and then dinner that night, same thing. Last night I narrowed it down to a bitter taste in the back of my mouth/tongue, roof of my mouth. I too thought maybe a filling had come loose and I was having toxic stuff leaking in my mouth. Then I googled bitter taste back of mouth..and voila. Strange. But helpful to know, even if not why.
I have had a bitter/bad taste in my mouth for the past couple days and it ruins anything I eat or drink. I made pesto with pine nuts from china last week and continued to eat the leftovers with more pine nuts. Am wishing I didn’t eat the last handful of nuts right now. I was worried I’ve never had this happen before from eating pine nuts? I wonder if there is something seriously wrong with these pine nuts from China, you know like the tainted toothpaste and paint for kids toys from China??? Does anyone know more…
Just ate some raw pine nuts on Sunday and discovered this and other info about their bad side effects. I have eaten them before and never had this problem. Am very dismayed to hear that this is going to last so long. And yes, wine tastes the worst. Very sweet and very salty foods are bearable. The packaging said “Product of Turkey” but that could mean that the nuts were just packaged there. The company is Terra Firma Foods.
What a relief!!! Glad I found this ‘cos I thought I was going mad !!! Have been eating pine nuts for a long time with no noticable affect. Had some the last two days and had a really weird taste in my mouth, everything I eat seems to be bitter, including the pak choi in my stir fry !!
I have eaten pine nuts with no problems for a long time. But have developed a metallic taste in mouth having eaten an essential seed mix, containing pine nuts, bought from Sainsburys a few days ago. I hope you may have provided an answer.
Waitrose fruit nut & seed mix, bitter taste mainly at the top/back of my mouth. Exactly the same as pretty much all the comments here..! Clearly doesn’t effect everyone as my wife had them as well with no side effect.
Thank you so much for this article. I had pine nuts in pesto 2 days ago and have had this bitter/medicinal taste after eating and drinking ever since. I was nervous for a second, but this is surely what it is. Thanks again.
Going through this now myself. Over 2 days I ate 3 – 4oz of pine nuts imported from China and packaged by Green Land in Oakland Garden, New York. My local supermarket says they were made aware of the issue and received a fresh shipment which they are selling for $8 for 5oz as opposed to the $7.50 I paid 5 days ago. I can only hope they returned the old batch in time to spare a few people this nasty inconvenience.
I have finally worked out why I have this dreadful taste in my mouth…… I will never eat pine nuts again either….it. is so horrible….. I have been so worried about what was wrong with me – pine nuts are going in the bin!
This happened to me too. I ate just a small hand full of Pine Nuts from the Trader Joe’s grocery store. The bag says they are a “. . . product of India or Korea.” About 2 days later I had an awful bitter taste in my mouth. It’s still lingering a bit, but seems to have lessened over time. It’s been about 10 days since I ate the nuts. I used to eat pine nuts all the time, but only from local native conifers (southern California) and I don’t think I’ve ever eaten them from any other source.
I’ve had a similar experience when taking certain antibiotics, and I thought it was related to some vitamins I was using, but a friend at work mentioned Pine Nuts because he too had experienced the same thing. After searching around some, it looks like this is the most likely cause. What could have caused this sudden phenomenon?!
I taste disgusting! For the last 4 days I have had an awful taste when eating. It’s even worse than morning breath! Having read various different forums, I looked in the bin for my recently eaten pot of Asda chilli-spiced seeds and almonds and lo and behold PINE NUTS!
I’m so glad I’m not going mad!
Same here! I made a pasta pesto on Tuesday and on Wednesday my hubby started complaining of a bad taste in his mouth, On Thursday, it suddenly hit me too! We thought it was a result of the Volcanic Ash drop out from Iceland. Now I realise that the bag of pine nuts were newly opened and this is a relief to know the source of the problem. Hate the thought of this bad taste lasting 2 weeks though!
Thank God. I just googled “bad taste in mouth after eating” and found this site. I bought pine nuts at Winco last week and enjoyed them on a salad. I will NEVER eat them again. I just wonder if there is a long-term problem that these may have caused. It’s been over a week and even water tastes bad.
So something should be done about this – there are so many of us here so I’m certain there are thousands more. Does anyone have an idea how we get something done? And is there a cure or is it just to be waited out. It’s revolting! I bought my bag of mixed nuts in Aldi or Lidl stores in the UK before returning to Bulgaria. I thought someone was ‘nuts’ suggesting pine nuts as a cause of the bad taste…then I remembered I opened those bag of nuts the other day…the same time as the bad taste started which is getting worse, it’s about 5 days now.
I also had a reaction after consuming pine nuts from China. I am Italian and have eaten pine nuts often for most of my life, but two years ago I picked up a bag from a local farmer’s market and suffered the most awful bitter/metallic taste in my mouth that lasted for two weeks. Needless to say, I chewed A LOT of gum. The symptoms occurred 3 days after I ingested the pine nuts and at the time I had no idea what had caused the reaction. After narrowing down what I had eaten during that time period, I suspected pine nuts. So, after a week or so, I ate a small handful of those pine nuts and unfortunately had the same reaction and had to suffer through another week and a half of that awful taste. It was during that time I did my internet research and found that pine nuts from China may be the cause. I contacted the folks at the farmer’s market, and sure enough, the nuts they sell are imported from China.
It all startet in school today. I ate an apple and thought it tastet awful. When I came home the banana tastet the same and when I had my dinner – fish whit lemon – I stopped eating. Ofcause I tried the internet to find an answer. And yes I bought a cheap bag of pine-nuts (small ones) and ate a lot on my salad Saturday.
But I would very much like an answer. What is it? Are they toxic or what?
I cannot express how pleased I am to find this site, I have also developed the vile taste and sick feeling and wracked and wracked my brains for anything I had done/ taken at all differently to no avail..I decided to seek my friends medical opinion who helpfully suggested I was most likely in the family way..imagine my panic!! Never again for the lowly pine nut!
this is so strange. My wife and I went for lunch on Monday morining and we shared our food, late that night I started to have this bitter tast in my mouth. I thought it was the steak or beans but my wife didnt suffer from any tast problems and she shared my food. I now know that on Sunday night I ate pin nutes from Korea. I have eaten them before but this was a new bottle. its Tuesday and everything I eat tasts horrible. No more pine Nuts for me.
Wow! I also thought I must be pregnant or sick– or “detoxing” from the raspberry tea i had been drinking (detoxing is said to cause a bitter taste). My husband kept laughing at me: “This cucumber peel is NOT bitter! Stop peeling that!” “This cheese is not bitter– you’re crazy!” Etc. I have just told him that we can throw away the Trader Joe’s humus (with pine nut garnish on top!) as well as the bag of pine nuts we bought for salads. Yes, the taste is truly vile– and I usually LIKE bitter tastes like grapefruit. This is crazy. I have to go complain to Trader Joe’s (the website people at http://www.traderjoes.com are worthless, usually telling you to mention it to the staff people there, who tell you they can’t change anything, and to go to the site… Haha!). Anyway, I DID notice the pine nuts looked weird and were very small the last time I bought them at TJ’s, but that was it. Again, this NEVER used to happen after I ate pine nuts; hence, a terrible development. I suspect that since this is an expensive product, the Chinese (and/or others) are tempted to “push along” growth with more “modern” methods– such as our factory farms have done for over 20 years now. To no one’s benefit except to produce Cheaper Food.
It was a relief to come across this article and also the comments from the other “sufferers”. I was wondering why I was having this bitter taste in the mouth. I had made Polenta bread with pine-nuts 3 days ago. One day after after consuming the bread I have this horrible bitter taste at the back of my tongue. Anyway I know what caused it so I will stop worrying. I only wish the horrible taste will go away soon.
I’ve had this bitter taste now twice. It’s really annoying as it makes everything taste bitter after a few seconds in your mouth. I get it when I consume “Hoisin almonds and seed mix” from ASDA, so to warn other Brits that it may taste amazing but it will lead to “pine mouth”. I tried gargling salt water and then mouth wash. This isn’t a permanent solution, but it will give you a temporary relief. The best thing to do is to stop eating the offending food altogether for a week, then only consume it in very small amounts in the future.
One more case here. Bought from Sam’s club in Michigan. Product of China. I often buy pine nuts, and noticed that these were significantly smaller than usual. Bitter taste ensues….
Just brushed my teeth and scraped my tongue and gargles and thought I’d google ‘bad taste in mouth’. Wow! I had a load of pesto yesterday, thought it was my regular Starbucks on the way to work that caused it! Yes, some foods definitely worse & coffee is awful. I wonder if it’s just pine nuts that are old, I had a jar of pesto sitting in the fridge for maybe a month (I know!!), sniffed it and it seemed OK… Maybe the oil congeals and leaves a bitter taste, and maybe the Chinese nuts aren’t fresh to start with? NEVER had this awful taste before and don’t want it no more! :^\
omg. I ate pine nuts two days ago and suddenly started having “pine mouth.” I was scared for my life!! I googled some symptoms and came up with GERD or acid reflux disease, which includes symptoms of bitter taste. I was positive that it was the cause until I googled again and saw “pine mouth.” I am more relieved than ever now because I did eat almost a handful of those the other night, which I have never done so…I’m okay. I am so thankful for all the bloggers out there who post their symptoms to help other people realize theirs. I was about to waste 6 hours in the emergency room only to find out that everything was normal. Thanks to everyone, precious time was spared. Thank you!!!!
Wow! Very relieved also to stumble onto this article–have been worrying . Ate a bunch of pine nuts from Trader Joe’s five days ago. Since then, whenever I eat or drink anything, I get a terrible bitter taste immediately afterwards on the back of my tongue– kind of like grapefruit seed extract. I only notice it when I eat. Hope it stops being a problem soon!
Yes, me too, me too! this was from Sainsbury’s, again Pine Nuts from China. I have also had a headache and slight sore throat… so strange!!!
I found two open packets of pine nuts in the cupboard the other day and transferred them to a jar. The packets went in the bin which has since been collected. This is annoying as I now want to read the packs to see if they match other’s experience. They may have been from Co-op and I remember thinking the one lot looked smaller and also had a dark brown “eye” where they would have connected to the cone. I ate a slack handful raw, as you do, and enjoyed them at the time but yes indeed I have had the same nasty, bitter, metallic taste at the back of my tongue as others describe. My girlfriend must have opened the packet originally when making pesto but we didn’t notice it after eating that meal perhaps because it was just a few of the offending species making up the weight for the recipe. I will probably still eat pinenuts as I love them, but I will obviously be looking out for this reaction and will not buy these smaller ones. I wish I had the packet as pressure should be put on shops to not stock a foodstuff that ruins all food for the next week or so! The number of different retailers mentioned in the above anecdotes indicates these evil pinenuts are everywhere and we must be on our guard! Incidentally, I am still enjoying a cup of tea as I write (maybe I’m a mild case) and I am a grapefruit lover!
I had Pine Nuts about 3 days ago 1st day after I noticed a bitter taste when I ate anything, being as I am a diabetic I was concerend about nerve damage / thrush. After stumbling on this post I believe I too am effected by Pine mouth…
I do find it odd that this seems to be a growing issue from what I am reading on a few posts and blogs. I purchased mine from a Hyvee food store.
Wow! I called my dentist today and thought about going to the Doc in the Box the taste has been so annoying. Yes! I made pesto w/pine nuts I purchased at Whole Foods. I made the pesto on Mon. and by Wed. I was really getting a full dose and of course, had pesto again last night on our pasta. No one else in the family seems to be experiening it, but I did eat a few handfuls raw while I was making the pesto. I’m definitely not going to make this mistake again and check the source of the nuts. Whole Foods is very apologetic and the girl who answered didn’t know of any other complaints, but their “bulk foods buyer” was going to call me back. So I don’t know if they’re from China, but I have a strange suspicion that will come back.
I hope this taste doesn’t last 10 days because it just makes me not want to eat or drink anything. Anymore tips on what to do. THe CVS Natural Citrus Mouthwash seemed to give some relief this AM and I’m going to try some baking soda toothpaste. Now that I know this it does resemble a “turpentinish” flavor- not that I go around drinking that either!
Well it looks like we’re all victims to the pine nut issue, but i was wondering if this is a newer problem that has come about by a change of production practice or what? Has anyone here been eating Asian pine nuts for a long time and only now experiencing metallic taste issues? Or has anyone had it in the past?
I’m so happy to see I’m not losing my mind. I had pine nuts on my salad on Monday and Tuesday. I have been suffering with this horrible bitter taste in the back of my mouth since. My husband who had a similar salad has not had any ill effects what so ever. I can’t even enjoy my Friday night glass of wine because it tastes like cleaning fluid. I hope this goes away soon. Tomorrow morning those pine nuts will find their way to the garbage can and I will have to find something else to top off my salad. It would be nice if someone knew of a quick fix because this is becoming quite unbearable.
HOW LONG DOES THIS LAST?????
It’s been a week now. What are your experiences? thanks!
I am so thankful to have found this site. My father and I have both been experiencing this yukky taste after eating, and it’s after EVERY thing. I have suffered for about a week and was beginning to think I had some kind of illness! So glad to put the pieces together and figure out what the cause is..and needless to say; No more NUTS !! x
My husband and I have both had a terribly bad metallic taste in our mouths which has been getting stronger and not going away. We have been doing a liver detox diet and have been eating alot of pine nuts. I just found this site after trying to find a possible cause on the internet. Well good to know I may have found the cause of the problem. Its terrible. Everything we eat tastes terrible!
It’s day 10 and I can see a light at the end of the tunnel. 2 or 3 days ago the awful nastiness had subsided enough that not everything was unpalatable, and only when I had finished eating did the horrible bitterness rear its ugly head. Today I still experience the taste, but it’s tolerable and no longer makes me recoil at the thought of eating or drinking.
Oddly enough I was suffering from a bad wisdom tooth and thought the nerve was some how the issue. Strangely though I do recall I ate a freakin salad with pine nuts in it and the following day-BAM! Everything had that terrible extremely harsh bitter taste. I was so freaked I made an appointment to see my Physician to diagnose the issue with my taste buds, he was no help. It was two weeks before I got my taste buds back to normal.
Well , that is so strange.I also have a terrible bitter taste that lasts 20 mins or so after drinking or eating anything, and have just googled it expecting the worst.
The mention of pine nuts was a relief as this started after i had bought some that had a lovely packet with nice graphics. I would never have expected the nuts to have caused this as ive eaten them in the past and never had this problem .I will try to find the packet and let you know where they came from
Do you still have this horrid taste
This is a wonderfully comprehensive post about this weird and novel experience. I have been eating pine nuts for decades, but for the first time this week a packet bought from Woolworths in Australia has left me with a bitter taste after all types of food. 4 days and counting! Woolworths must have found a cheaper source of nuts and now the public have to pay.
It must be noted, my boyfriend ate the nuts also, and hasn’t experienced the bitter taste. Perhaps it depends on how your body processes foods? I will see if the packet identifies the species or origin, but I doubt it.
I have had a horrible taste in my mouth for the last couple of days and yes I have been eating Pine nuts as a healthy snack. So that explains it no need to rush to the doctors in a panic, just need to wait it out and throw those damn nuts in the bin!
Thank you all!!! I was beginning to think I was going mad, am so happy to have stumbled across these posts! I used to eat pine nuts with no problems at all but due to the high cost had stopped buying them. However, I saw some in MORRISONS the other day and they were on offer so I thought ‘why not?’ Had them on a salad last week and ever since have had all the symptoms you have all described! Unfortunately, I just had some more on the salad I ate BEFORE finding this page, so it looks like I have another few days of ‘METAL MOUTH’ to come!!
I got that bitter taste in my mouth about six weeks ago and was relieved to find out that it was something that had an explanation. I decided to risk eating pine nuts again last week (cos I love them!) when a fish dish that I’d ordered arrived with some on. And two days later, once again, it kicked back in. I have absolutely no doubt now that the two are linked. I was told by the guy in the deli where I bought the pesto which gave me pine mouth the first time that no one else had complained and he sells a huge amount of it (made by the suppliers of Carluccio’s apparently), but also that the Euroepean pine nut crop had almost completely failed this year, making them incredibly expensive, so that’s why pine nuts from China were being used at the moment. It’s very strange – it would be fascinating to know why it is some people get it and others dont – looks like there must be a pine mouth gene thing going on.
So Glad I found this post…..I ate a mix of seeds on Friday evening and had a cuppa tea later which i threw away as it tasted rank….I then realised that I had this horrible taste right at the back of my tongue and every time i ate it was really making things taste bad….hot drinks are now out of the question….when i checked the seeds I had eaten I realised there were loads of pine nuts….at least i know what it is now..no more pine seeds for me, Its now Monday and its still quite bad but getting better I think.
Hi, like many others I have a very bitter taste in my mouth whilst eating…as usual I turned to google for an answer and luckily found this site. I ate pine nuts 1-2 days prior to developing this bitter taste and it’s put my mind at ease. I managed to find the packet and as expected they were produced in China, the bag was 90g’s and was bought from Sainsburys in the UK, just a heads up!
Thank you so much for this. I am recovering from surgery and was concerened by this odd taste in my mouth, perhaps was a sign of things more sinsiter happening with my body. I became concerned that perhaps the surgery side effects were going to include this taste. I settled down in front of the telly the other night with a whopping bag of pine nuts (purchased to sprinkle on salads but in a cupboard empty of snackfood they were an easy option). I ate the lot at one sitting and since then I have suffered from washing up liquid mouth. At one point I suspected my husband of poisoning me!
So thank you, you have saved my sanity and probably my marriage! I shall spread the word.
I’m so glad I came across this website. I used to eat pinenuts a lot, but I haven’t had any for months until last week. Now I’ve got this constant bitter taste in my mouth and its’ worse when I eat anything. I’m only on day four, so it could be awhile until it subsides. I’ve also had indigestion, felt sick and upset stomach. Has anyone else had these symptoms? Well, I definately won’t be eating them anymore.
I’m back to report that my particular ‘episode’ lasted about a week, but strangely I’m still getting the odd bout of bitterness several weeks later. Nothing like the first time, but mildly annoying nonetheless.
Interesting! I too am experiencing a bitter taste after eating or drinking and I did eat some pine nuts about a week ago. The bitter taste dissipates a few minutes after eating. Nuts could be from Korea, Russia or VIetnam. Very nasty. Hope it goes away soon!!!
I had pinenuts on a salad in a restuarant in Blakeney, Suffolk on Sunday and started to notice a bitter taste in my mouth yesterday (Tuesday) and I now notice it everytime I eat or drink – its revolting! It worried me to the extent that I ran a search on google and found this and other articles. I don’t often eat pinenuts but I have eaten them before and this hasn’t happened. Its a concern to find that so many people appear to be affected and its certainly put me off eating them again. I’ll be warning others to beware. Its good to know what is causing this awful taste I just hope it isn’t too long before it disappears!
I am so grateful for these posts! I’ve had a bitter taste for a few days and didn’t have any other symptoms listed on some medical web sites, I did however make a big batch of pesto and had roasted a bag of pine nuts (of course I ate a few handfuls). I would have never put the two together–I’m so relieved.
Oh my goodness! It is such a relief to hear that others have suffered from the bitterness after eating. I did indeed put lots of pine nuts in a ramen salad. When I tasted the nuts, they seemed less “tasty” than others I’ve eaten over the years. I brought the salad to a potluck 5 days ago and I am still experiencing pretty strong bitterness after eating. Hope it will subside soon. Beth
Hi! I also had same symptoms of bitter taste in back of my mouth.It was really annoying. Anyway after doing little research on this subject, I found out that ,this symptom is because of excess bile production.
I tried Pepto bismol ( 1-2 capful) .It did reduce the bitter taste 70 %. It probably works by bindig & neutralising excess bile in GI tract. Hope you all find this info helpful.
I love the internet…
I’m experiencing this bitter taste after eating. I ate pine nuts in a dish at a friends on Saturday.It’s Wednesday and the nasty taste is over powering.
I remember thinking the nuts were smaller than usual. Does this happen to everyone?
I am just joining the ‘I am experiencing the bad taste at the back of my mouth due to pine nuts’ club.
It is vile
Mine came from some ready made pasta with pesto….presumably made with pine nuts
Never again
Me too ..
I had a oriental salad thing from Marks and Spencer on saturday night which had pine nuts in it. I ate my sons portion so had more than my husband, Tuesday – everything tasted nasty and it still hasnt gone so that is now 3 days later.
I wish i knew what product it was from them as i want to complain but sadly the packaging went in the bin that night!
I have found that diet coke seems to tempereraly mask the taste if you swill it around abit i am enduring my first experience im on day 3 so is my girlfriend the seeds came from an Aldi supermarket in a mix of seeds and nuts. has any one had Diarrhea as a result on day 1 ihas got less as time has progressed but i still seem to have a sore belly from time to time as well.
Bless you and thank you all! What a relief, I’m not going “nuts”!
I live in Sydney, Australia, so this issue is wide spread. Like many comments before mine, it is extraordinary how the bitter taste occurs days after you have eaten the pine nuts. Very disconcerting! I thought I had made up a nice combination of dried cranberries, dates and pinenuts for an afternoon snack – scratch the pine nuts now. Unfortunately I have no way of checking where my current batch of nuts originated but know the brand and will check. I wonder how long it will take for the taste to go – seems like it gets stronger as time passes. Very yuck!
Looks like we need to stay away from pine nuts. I used pine nuts in a salad last weekend I had kept in my freezer—never experienced this bitter taste before when eating these. Tired of the nasty after-taste each time I eat or drink. It’s been a week and the taste has not subsided. Will try the Pepto Bismol. Any other solutions?
Well I never! I have had a terrible bitter taste on the back of my tongue last two days! I was really worried as thought it might be due to tablets but I have had pine nuts on salad last few days and eaten pesto this week too! Unfortunately I have only just eaten some more tonight! I have brushed my teeth and gargled so many times but every time I eat or drink it’s back again-horrid! I will be throwing these pine nuts away and hope it goes away soon, I poured these pine nuts into a container so don’t know their origin but will be careful to check in future! Glad I googles it though as I thought it might be something worse! I love pine nuts and have never noticed this reaction to them before, they came from Sainsbury’s first time I bought them from there too.
Well I never! I have had a terrible bitter taste on the back of my tongue last two days! I was really worried as thought it might be due to tablets but I have had pine nuts on salad last few days and eaten pesto this week too! Unfortunately I have only just eaten some more tonight! I have brushed my teeth and gargled so many times but every time I eat or drink it’s back again-horrid! I will be throwing these pine nuts away and hope it goes away soon, I poured these pine nuts into a container so don’t know their origin but will be careful to check in future! Glad I googles it though as I thought it might be something worse! I love pine nuts and have never noticed this reaction to them before, they came from Sainsbury’s first time I bought them from there too.
I just got off the phone with my doctor because I have not been able to get rid of this taste in my mouth for the past few days! I made an appt. to go in on Tuesday to have a liver function blood test done. Then I read this blog after typing “constant bitter taste in mouth” into Google. On Monday, I made a recipe I cut out of the Sunday paper that called for a half cup of pine nuts. I was also popping them into my mouth as I was sauteing the other ingredients for the dish. I didn’t really notice the taste while eating, figuring an aftertaste from coffee the next morning. Then, my mouth felt a little funky and I stopped to buy a tin of mints on my way to work. I had a couple of Altoids mints throughout the day. Then, I thought maybe they were too strong and that I had a reaction to the peppermint oil in them. That was two days ago. Now its Friday, and the bitter taste is as strong as ever. It doesn’t matter what I eat, what I brush my teeth with…the bitterness persists! I’m relieved now to know that others have experienced this and realized that I too ate a bunch of pine nuts. Mine are from Cora Foods, and the label says: Atlantic International Products, Utica NY I purchased them at Price Chopper. After reading everyone’s posts, I’m now convinced it was the pine nuts and that I’ve had this reaction that apparently not everyone gets. All I know is, when its gone, I don’t ever want it back. I had visions of some fatal disease that had started to rear it’s ugly head. Thanks out there!
My father’s having a strong bitter taste in his mouth for a few days now.
He ate Pesto the other day and I’m pretty sure that’s the reason why he’s suffering now.
Any suggestions on what could you do to relief the taste?
Thank you. =)
OMG! Me too. Was conidering booking in the Drs as it can mean a number of other conditions. But, yes I have an awful bitter, metallic taste after eating which tastes like nail polish remover (I imagine!) I had bought a bag of the small pine nuts from sainsburys a week ago to sprinke on a meal I was making. Anyway as the bag was open I couldn’t resist snacking on them until I ate the whole bag!! I am now having the same reaction all you guys are. Sooo bizarre! Grateful for this post, it certainly makes sense now as it came from nowhere and I think my hubby thought I was going mad 🙂
This is the weirdest thing I’ve ever come across!!! I am on my second day of having an unpleasant, bitter taste in my mouth after eating, and have thought about either booking an appointment with my dentist or my GP. Thought I’d better google my symptoms first, since my imagination has diagnosed me with everything from mouth cancer to sloppy flossing syndrome, and there it was: PINE NUTS! I have eaten a larger than normal amount of the damn things lately, because I have had them available in my cupboard – and now it looks like this is what you get… Shame really, because I quite like pinenuts. Funny thing is I actually grabbed a handful yesterday as well to try to get rid of that linering bitter taste. I have probably added numerous extra days of suffering because of this.
I did wonder about it being caused by pine nuts, but I thought if I said anything friends would think I was crazy !!! It is about 5 days in now be glad when it goes and sadly no more pine nuts which I really love
Well. This morning I generously smothered my toast with the blackberry jam I bought from the farmers market last weekend and started sipping my cafe latte. PLAGH. The jam initially got the blame, then the coffee, lunch pasty etc until I realised everything was foul, except apple juice. This website is spot on. Last weekend I harvested all the basil in the garden and made up a big batch of pesto. Into the blender went quality parmesan, basil, olive oil, and a generous serving of baby chinese pine nuts. In fact I didn’t put the nuts away and I hoed into then again only two days ago. Nasty things are now in the bin. Thanks for all your stories.
Yep, same here.
Had some pine nuts as a garnish on some cheese on a Lufthansa trans-atlantic flight on the 19th. They were yummy with port, so had a second helping. Now the 22nd and the bitter taste is accompanying all food and drink. I also notice an odd “presence” or “feeling” in my mouth when I’m not ingesting anything, most obvious in the morning. It’s not metallic or acidy, but more like a slight “tingly” sensation (at the back and roof of the mouth) that is not unlike one gets from the oil in the pine nuts themselves, or after having consumed a small amount of strong alcohol.
The bile explanation above sounds like a likely candidate, because the feeling in the mouth is oddly reminiscent of that too.
Bring on the Pink!
yes i have had an awful bitter taste on the back of my tongue for a few days, having cleaned my teeth and gargled with mouth wash as soon as i eat or drink the overpowering bitter taste returns. I have been eating pine nuts for ages but never noticed this reaction before, however for the first time last week i bought some from Sainsbury’s and suddenly this has caused the same reaction everyone has commented on this site. i googled bitter taste in mouth as was worried it was the result of some tablets i have been taking so was relieved to read this blog. however it has completely put me off eating them now and i hope the taste passes soon, also suffering headaches daily too. unfortunately i ate the dreaded nuts only last night again on my salad before i read this article!
Purchased bulk pine nuts from Whole Foods this week and ate a handful on Thursday. They were – by the way – exceptionally delicious! Fat, oily and very flavorful. Darker in color than some and also far larger than the ones I have been buying at Trader Joe’s in the past few months. So good raw that I’d almost consider skipping roasting them for some recipes.
This morning, Saturday, I started drinking my coffee and — Oh my God. Pancakes? No way. So I started researching to see what the cause of this horrid, bitter, metallic, rancid taste in the back of my mouth and my throat, and lo and behold I discovered “pine mouth.” Who knew? I did find another blog post elsewhere suggesting trying very spicy food – which I love anyway. I was able to eat my leftover chx enchiladas doused in Sontava sauce (made from habaneros) and a Oaxacan pasilla pepper salsa. So my guess is that strong capsicum is capable of either neutralizing, combatting or at a minimum simply covering up the rancid taste. After my lunch, I brushed with a baking soda and salt combination and have been fine all afternoon since, except when I ventured to put a slice of cucumber into my mouth – yuk! So for those of you who have a high spice tolerance liike me, you might want to try some very spicy Mexican or thai or something else with a large amount of chili.
I took the nuts back to Whole Food today. The manager was not pleased. It seems they have not been stocking pine nuts for months due specifically to problems sourcing nuts that aren’t linked to pine mouth (come to think of it, that’s how I got started buying those puny and not very tasty ones from Trader Joe’s in the first place). So they just started restocking this week, absolutely confident that these ones were fine. The manager was crestfallen: “but these are OK!” she told me. I had to sadly shake my head and tell her that, alas, they are not. So they will pull them.
I guess the takeaway is that this may be more complicated than we think. This may be something developing in a variety of pine species, some kind of variation or mutation or even some kind of toxin. I don’t know. I have a feeling this is going to get more interesting, however.
I made felafel, tabbouleh, yogurt-tahini sauce for dinner, along with lavash and feta. For the family, obviously, since there was no way I was going to be able to eat all that mouth-watering stuff. : ( As I was preparing dinner, I sampled a few different things just to test the effects. All were putrid except plain fresh mint leaves, which did not seem to stimulate any sort of nasty taste.
Very hungry and in desperation, I decided that if hot sauce worked at lunch, why not for dinner too? I had some sambal oelek, a powerful red chili paste in vinegar. So what the heck. I made up a sandwich in lavash and added a tablespoon or two of sambal over the yogurt sauce, rolled it all up and — guess what? — it was lovely. No aftertaste, no nastiness. Only after finishing and drinking water did a very faint nasty taste start to arrive from food remnants no doubt. I hastened up to brush with baking soda and salt, which remove all food and don’t taste nasty (as does regular toothpaste).
Anyway, I posted again because I am onto something with the peppers here. I don’t think the sambal just papered over another taste, either, because I could still taste the feta, the felafel and the other flavors. I swear I really think that the capsicum somehow neutralizes the chemical process that is causing these disgusting tastes.
Is this possible? Does anyone know enough to even put forth a theory about this?
Again, I have to say that I would have never expected to actually find an answer to my persistent bitter taste after eating anything. A couple days ago I mentioned to my wife that I had a bitter taste in my mouth…she said, “Me too”. WOW! Today is Saturday. We has pesto on Tues (then I had it for lunch the following two days). I’m going to have to ask her about the nuts…I suspect they were bought (we’re in Minnesota, USA) for the pesto. So, it seems that Chinese pine nuts are the culprit. I’m glad to place the blame on something other than my cigars…ha!!!
Thanks to all of you so much for these posts! I really thought I was headed back to the oncologist for this one, but ate the nuts last week (checked the bag: product of China), and have been tasting the worst taste for several days now. I take prilosec every day, but will try some Pepto and hope it subsides.
I have eaten pine nuts for years, this never happened before. What a relief to know I am not alone here.
Does anyone know when it stops?
5/20/10- I have been having a bitter taste in my mouth for about 3 days now accompanied by a headache. I have searched the internet but did not find pinenuts listed as a cause. I have tossed and turned all night trying to figure out what it could be- mentioned this to a group of friends and one of my
friends asked if I had any pinenuts. Yes !! She told me about “pine mouth” as someone she worked
with had it. I got the pinenuts at Trader Joe’s and they are the small ones. I have never had this happen before and I have had a lot of pinenuts in my life.
Well, I must say, you have made my day. I know I don’t have diabetes, I had a full check up just two weeks ago and my doc could not fault any of my blood test. And then, last week I go on a business trip to Russia and I noticed that everyone went pest-nuts-mad in Russia. Every restaurant seems to put pesto or pine nuts by the bucket in many dishes (at least those I tried – but i had a pretty random selection). And pine-nuts are generously sprinkled everywhere. Thinking back I did have a bit of indigestion after I had one pesto dish in particular. And now, two days later I am stuck with a bitter taste in my mouth every time I drink or eat anything. A real pain! This happened before to me in the past, but I could never connect it to pesto or pine nuts. So, i think I now have the answer: it must be what you say pine nuts (in pesto sauce) and of course not knowing where the pine nuts come from makes it likely to be the chinese variety that causes the problem as you highlighted. The only thing that seems a bit better when I eat is when go for sour things like a green apple or similar. I hope the bitter goes soon, I am getting fed up with it. But maybe it is a good excuse to go on a diet after all! Thanks for your help!
I have been suffering from pine mouth for the past 6 days and am happy to report that my tastebuds seem to be gradually returning to normal. Its a depressing affliction to say the least because I love my food and a glass of red with it. Red wine has been intolerable.
Anyway I just want to share some tips with fellow sufferers. As I have less bitter taste reaction after eating sugary foods I’ve been choosing foods like Chinese sweet and sour. I’ve also found that smothering food in Thai sweet chilli sauce has made most things tolerable. This has led to some odd food combinations buy, hey, whatever works.
Out for drinks with friends I tried Pernod on the rocks. It seems the strong sweet aniseed flavour overpowered any residual bitterness so, another winner.
I’m looking forward to returning to a normal diet within the next few days but have given up on pine nuts for good. I just don’t want to risk this happening again.
Thanks for the info. I have had a strange taste in my mouth for the last 4 days- everything from water-beer-all foods taste like they have nutrasweet in them. I thought it was the chicken or mint I cooked with on Thursday- it never occurred to me that it could be the pine nuts I toasted with the chicken and mint. The pine nuts were purchased from Trader Joe’s. Thank goodness for this blog. I googled “everything I taste is sour” and it lead me here. Gracias again, I was about to email my doctor.
MB
Tried Pepto and that did help for the most part, mostly with foods. Still a bitter aftertaste with some liquids. Way better then before the Pepto! Wine still has a hint of liquid metal taste to it. Bought pine nuts at TJ last week, made pesto last wednesday.
Thanks for the info. Last week I made a dish I have been making for years with pine nuts. The package was new and I ate a handfull while I was cooking and thought they tasted a little strange. I checked the date and they were good but I put them in the freezer. Two days later the worst metallic taste in my mouth. I thought it was from taking iron so I stopped taking it. Everyday since I have been searching the internet trying to figure out what was going on. Still have the taste but it has gotten better. Sure enough the pine nuts are Amport Foods, product of China. I have been checking products I buy and not buying the products from China, my sister-in-law purchased these for me for my b-day. I just got a fresh batch of basil and was going to make pesto! Guess that is out.
I am fairly certain I’ve just discovered in this post the cause of my mouth bitterness. Thank you all. It has lasted four days so far, and everything–even sweets and especially white wine!–tastes awful. The people who feed Wikipedia note that it could be from an allergy. I immediately wonder if anyone else suffering from the “pine nut bittertaste” is also allergic to gin, another consumable evergreen tree product, as I am?
It took me a couple years of infrequent but periodic and oddly exceptional hangovers to realize that gin in my former favorite gin & tonic cocktail made me ill. Even just one. On many occasions I would have a few so I ususally wrote off my tolerable but acute discomfort to low alcohol tolerance. In the end, nope! Gin makes me sick–my stomach hurt, and my body ill. I also get a skin rash from touching juniper plants (from which come juniper berries that make gin). Much as I like the drink, I’ve had to forego it. May do the same with pine nuts. Anyone sympathize with this theory?
So glad I found these blogs!! I have had a bitter aftertaste in my mouth when eating all my meals today. Only when eating. I kept thinking the food was off, but it was my breakfast granola, to the lunch salad, to a chocolate shake! I googled and sure enough I had a salad with lots of pine nuts in it two days ago! I don’t know where they were from since the salad was pre-made in the shop. I just hope it’s not toxic since I’m pregnant!.
Amazing info – thanks to all – ate pine nuts in a salad yesterday or day before – about 9pm last night experienced horrid taste in mouth with all foods and it’s still there. A few minutes ago I searched Mayo cliniic site for”metallic taste in mouth” : they had 13 causes none of which seemed to apply to me(except maybe undiagnosed glaucoma?) Next I searched on google and found this site which seems to be right on target. I’ve never eaten pine nuts knowingly before (but maybe in a restaurant?).
These particular nuts were purchased from a bin in Superstore here in Winnipeg a couple of days ago.
Am encouraged that at least one of the writers says the taste seems to be diminishing after 6 days.
Omg, thanks so much everyone! I’ve had a bitter taste for the last two days, put it down to my cold. Everythink I eat tastes horrid! Now read this and remmembered I had a take out pizza on Sunday that had mini pine nuts on it. Never thought it might be it, as have been eating pine nuts for years! Now I know! :o)
I hope it wont last too long!
Thanks again!
My wife and I are on Day 5 now – symptoms have decreased to maybe 50% of the peak which occurred on Days 2 and 3. Symptoms at peak included stomach cramps, lethargy and diarrhea as well as the foul taste. Our daughter ate the same pine nuts at the same time but has no symptoms at all. So pleased to find this information – not so pleased to hear we may be in for another week of food misery. We’ve discovered that bread brings out the worst taste reaction and spicy food seems to mask it. We’ve just finished a dinner of Indian takeout which was reasonably palatable. Good luck everyone!!