Got Pine Mouth?

by Michael Y. Park

Pine nuts. Almost everyone loves them, and it's hard not to add just a little extra when you're sprinkling them on salads, adding them to pesto sauce, topping off main meals with them, turning them into desserts, or what have you. But ever since last winter, an increasing number of people have fallen prey to a curious problem with them: pine mouth. That's when eating pine nuts leaves you with a metallic taste in your mouth that can last for weeks afterward, and make eating or drinking anything an unpleasant experience. The problems seemed to begin with Chinese pine nuts imported into the U.S. about a year ago. There is no heavy-metal contamination or pesticide or fungus involved, and it doesn't seem related to allergies. Even more confusing, not everyone is affected. A British botanist who's started a blog dedicated to pine mouth suspects oxidation as a possibility, or that a new species of pine nut is being sold. Changes in taste (called dysgeusia) often occur when people are, and can be symptoms of very serious health issues like nerve damage or brain tumors, can occur during pregnancy or be a side effect of treatments like chemotherapy, or can go completely unexplained. Anyone who's every taken the antibiotic metronidazole knows how much fun it can be to take a dose before a lavish dinner. (Zero.) Steelworkers and people who work with brass sometimes complain of metallic tastes, as do some people who've undergone recent dental work. In many cases, there's nothing to do but wait and hope the change in taste goes away. These pine-nut incidents, however, are clearly related to the food, and not simply caused by individual underlying health issues. Has anyone had pine mouth? Do you remember the circumstances of your incident? What kind of pine nuts did you buy, where did you buy them? How did you use them? How long did your pine mouth last? Was it enough to make you swear off pine nuts forever?

fitfarm

10:58:38 PM on

02/21/15

Well I do have fallen under this Crazy Pine Nut Nightmare ! Bought some at our Local Raley's on Wednesday, Had them in a salad on Thursday and yesterday I wasn't feeling well.. I juiced my veggies.. OH so bitter.. thought well maybe it was the lemon although I have had that juice before.. didn't think anything of it... then had a salad for lunch... tasted the dressing I was going to put on it .. OMG.. no something was wrong with it.. 4 dressings later.... including the one I MADE the day before tasted horrible.. thought ok this is strange.. just threw it all away.. it wasn't until I grabbed carrots and some ranch dressing last night when I knew something was very wrong.. I went online.. used google and typed in why does all my food taste bitter and well there we go.. I was like WHAT... So as I read it said Pine Nuts from china.. No I thought I had pine nuts but I bought mine from Raleys.. and there were from Vacaville Nut Company .. Vacaville just an hour from our house.. not from China until I read the fine print.... I can't eat or drink.. water is ok.. Talk about a weight loss program! Going to try the oil pulling solution below.. I am so desperate if they told me to pour gasoline and gargle with it I probably would... this has got to be the weirdest thing ever !!!!

onlygoodfoodforme

02:37:11 PM on

02/02/15

I search for "bitter taste in my mouth" and got here about pine nuts. Unfortunately I did have some (less than a teaspoon) pine nuts 3 days ago and I have had this bitter taste since. Never had this problem with pine nuts before! So it must be pine nuts from China. Everything I eat tastes bitter. I thought it was my medicine at first. I guess I will throw the nuts out or take it back to Publix and let them know to take that stuff off the shelf. Too bad, I liked pine nuts but now I will avoid them.

McGinleyt

09:37:27 PM on

01/21/15

We ate some pine nuts 5 days ago. They tasted okay initially, but left a "soapy" pine taste in the mouth and strong scent on fingers after a couple handfuls. These were purchased from Kroger. We looked on the plastic container and they were from China.

We threw the rest out to the squirrels! Today the bitter taste in our mouths has been terrible and seems to become exaggerated after eating anything. It

must be the type of pine nut coming from Asia. We're just waiting for the taste to go away!

Leo_H

09:59:56 PM on

01/15/15

As someone else posted down below, I also had a significant GI reaction.

Leo_H

09:52:57 PM on

01/15/15

Thanks for the suggestions about salt water gargles, toothbrushing and Listerine soaks. I just had this happen to me today, this morning, as I took ONE slug of apple juice, and it was still there so definite at 3:30p, I googled bitter taste and apple juice and saw the pine nut syndrome blog page.

NEVER heard of such a thing, and I live in Nevada where everyone native talks about eating pinyon pine nuts.

I bought 5 oz. of pine nuts from Vacaville Fruit Co. at a Raley's store a oouple/three days ago, to make pesto, and we tried them, they were very tasty. I had probably 3 tablespoons to snack on then.

It's been 12 hours since this first started, and it isn't too noticeable with no food, but I tried some Wasa crackers, and at first it masks the taste, but as soon as any saliva builds up, the bitter taste starts definitely adding to the cracker as it is in my mouth and as I swallow. All throughout my mouth, but definitely on my upper palate and tongue. I tried some pistachio nuts (something that might absorb the bitter taste, you'd expect), initially fine, but as the nuts roll around my mouth, the bitterness expands and lingers. The same sensation when eating some swiss cheese. Initially it masks the bitterness, but within a few seconds, the bitterness fills your mouth and combines with whatever taste the food has. After reading reports, I expect this is going to be this way for a few days, but I won't forget it. It is an interesting experience, but I can see how a stronger response would be very bad to have.

Crazy4nuts

11:52:27 AM on

11/11/14

I think I may have a solution to this. Yesterday was day 3. The second day was so bad that I got virtually no work done as it made me nauseated and I could neither eat barely a thing, nor sleep well. Yesterday it was still horrible and I decided that come hell or high water, I was going to get rid of this. I read several blogs and did some research and tried several things to eliminate it. Seems that it worked! Day 4 today and I have just a mere hint of it remaining, thank goodness. I spent yesterday getting rid of it and here's what I did: I read on this blog that someone tried listerine and an oil pull so I did try that. Firstly, I was able to get down some V-8, which was something I also tried because I had read a suggestion for tomato juice. It seems that this is caused by a protein in the nut that imbeds itself in the taste buds, so the trick is to get it out (without having to wait for over a week or more for them to shed and replace naturally, you have to speed up the process). After that, I washed out my mouth with warm water and sea salt. Then I tried the listerine, allowing it to remain in your mouth for several minutes (about 3), then brushing the tongue fairly vigorously, then rinsed again with warm water, followed by an oil pull (I used olive oil, didn't have coconut). Still bitter, but just a wee bit better. I repeated this process of rinsing with quite warm water and salt, then brushing tongue with warm water and baking soda, then toothpaste to get rid of the soda, rinse really well. Another oil pull, still bitter. I repeated this process a third time, then another 4th oil pull in the early evening. A pain, but it worked! After the 4th oil pull, I waited about a half hour then tried tasting something again. MUCH better. Virtually no bitterness at all. I tried tasting just about every food group, still good! The only remaining hint of bitterness at all is with things like bread, or sweet potatoes, starchy things. Everything else was just fine, even candy and fruit. I finally was able to consume a meal. This morning I have just the slightest hint of it, barely noticeable, after eating bread, but that's it. I don't know if it was one particular thing that did it or the combination of all, but I really hope this can help someone, it worked for me. My tongue is a little tender from all the brushing, but who cares? It's gone, hallelujah!

Crazy4nuts

09:10:13 PM on

11/09/14

I had never heard of this either, until just yesterday when it happened to me. This is day 2 of this horrendous experience, and I'm wondering how one gets through weeks of this. I adore pine nuts and have eaten them since I was a child. I bought pine nuts at Sam's Club a few days ago and like most of us who love pine nuts, put them in a salad and, of course, I also ate some besides. They're yummy, who wouldn't? It never occurred to me that 24 hours later I would have the nastiest bitter taste in my mouth that I've ever experienced and not be able to eat anything. The nuts were not rancid and I have never had any sort of adverse reaction to them before, and I've been eating them for 40 years. I thought I was either crazy or something seriously wrong with me. I only found about about this problem after searching the internet for 'bitter taste in my mouth'. At least I wasn't crazy. I really hope, especially with the holidays approaching, that it doesn't last for weeks. The nuts were, at least in some percentage, from China according to the package, and from everything I'm reading, that seems to be the culprit. The only thing I can consume without an intolerable bitter-metallic flavor (and a strong one at that), is green tea, with absolutely no sugar or honey or anything else, just the tea. I'm hungry and frustrated, trying everything I can think of to get rid of it faster. Good luck to everyone else who may be experiencing this and if anyone figures out a way to get though this faster than weeks, let us know.

aknannie

11:54:52 AM on

08/09/14

Never even heard of this phenomenon before. I keep my nuts in the freezer, took the pkg out and tasted several to be sure they were still good. But didn't use for our meal. A day later, I got a very bitter taste toward the back of my tongue. Not metallic, but also astringent. A little like drinking OJ after brushing your teeth. I'm on day 3. I have the taste even when not eating anything. But it's definitely worse with some foods, like fruit...YUCK! Last night at an event, I explained to the bartender not to give me anything with fruit in it...lemon, lime, cranberry, etc. She told me that she thought you could tell the difference between Chinese and Italian pine nuts. Chinese are rounder/fatter, while Italian are smaller and thinner? Sure enough, I have the rounder ones. Anyone heard of this before??? I'm guessing this could make avoiding the bad ones easier. I know you can buy imported from Italy in the glass jars in the Italian food section of the market. Don't usually do that, but may not want to experiment after this.

pjc1969

10:37:50 AM on

07/01/14

I am currently experiencing an alarming bitter taste in my mouth when eating. Like others, I googled this, fearing that it could be a symptom of a serious medical condition. I am therefore relieved to find that pine nuts are the very likely problem. Yesterday, I had an avocado and pine nut wrap from Pret a Manger. I have eaten pine nuts for years, and never experienced this before. I will avoid pine nuts for now on, and I look forward to getting a normal sense of taste back!

AnnieVbfp

12:43:22 AM on

05/30/14

How did I avoid this -- or even hearing about it -- for so many years, given the amount of pine nuts I cook with, and my budget? This is my first experience of "pine mouth" and it is startling to put it mildly. So glad there is info online. Any good sources for non-Chinese pignolis? I make vats of pesto during the summer and this just will not do. (But my kids haven't complained so I just might use up the rest of the little Chinese ones from the supermarket...)

oldsarahlou

03:59:48 PM on

05/20/14

I had a bad taste in my mouth that lasted for several weeks - I bought the pine nuts from a local supermarket, and have been trying to find European pine nuts to use instead of those from China.

johnandevansmom

10:04:59 AM on

05/16/14

So glad to have found this information! I'm currently hating the taste of everything - even my morning coffee! The pine nuts I bought were also from Sams, product of China. My little guys love these too and it explains why they thought everything I made after that tasted "Yucky"! LOL. I can say that I'll actively avoid anything I see from China, but I had no idea the nuts would come from there. Wow.

lafcadio

11:05:28 PM on

05/11/14

I've been cooking with pine nuts since high school without issue, until three years ago when I was afflicted with the dreaded pine mouth. I was unfamiliar with the condition, but when I developed the bitterness after consuming roasted pine nuts in a rice salad (so amazing and from here, btw) I was super surprised at what I found upon googling. I had symptoms for several weeks and it was utterly miserable. So much so that I have had nothing with pine nuts for three years. I love them, but I'm just too nervous. Mine came from a Hy-Vee grocery, an importer of all kinds of dried fruit, nuts, etc. Not surprisingly China was listed as a possible source. I called the importer themselves and they were rude and completely useless. The store offered no help, no concern, either. I've researched reputable sources but,man, I just don't know...did I mention it was weeks? Miserable, miserable weeks!

Silv3rgirl

05:57:52 PM on

03/19/14

I am on day 2 of pine mouth and everything has a nasty bitter aftertaste. I bought the toasted pine nuts from Trader Joes. I ate some on a salad and didn't have any problems then maybe a week later I ate a handful of them by themselves and the next morning the milk in my cereal tasted awful. I thought it was because I had just brushed my teeth but then even my lunch tasted awful. I looked on the back of the packaging and it does say that it may cause a bitterness or metallic taste. It also says product of Vietnam, Korea and Russia. I guess the pine nuts from China aren't the only ones that cause this problem. I've purchased pine nuts from TJ before and I didn't have any problems. My brother also got pine mouth from pine nuts from Whole Foods. I guess you just have to take a risk when eating pine nuts because you really don't know if it's going to have an effect on you or not.

HopeGirl

07:32:37 PM on

03/14/14

I have this now. It's horrible! I ate some raw pine nuts from Trader Joe's and the next day later started noticing that everything started tasting weird and bitter. I only notice the taste while and especially right after eating. It's awful. It starts in the back of my tongue and permeates my whole mouth. It tastes like a battery. Nothing tastes normal. I thought I was crazy till I found "pine mouth". I have eaten from this exact bag before, but only toasted and I realized the bag is 3 weeks expired when I checked. Oops. So I don't know if it's that or in raw form that's worse but it is kind of horrible. Except I'm not eating as much and I guess I'll lose weight?!

jellybean32710

02:57:55 PM on

03/05/14

The FDA has not updated their information on pine nuts since 3/14/11, in fact they find the blame for this syndrome to come from "raw" pine nuts. We all need to contact them and complain, so they require pine nuts be sourced outside China. I purchased some from Sam's Club, Amport Foods brand, (product of China, Portugal & Spain, although, I'm guessing mostly China) and they are very sorry this has happened to me. Husband and I having the same reaction to these, and neither one of us have ever had a problem in the past. http://www.fda.gov/Food/RecallsOutbreaksEmergencies/SafetyAlertsAdvisories/ucm247099.htm

sdreiske

10:40:40 PM on

03/03/14

I'm experiencing this right now. I started to realize everything I ate was bitter and I had a bad taste in my mouth. It's strange to say the least. Like many people I went to Google and searched, "Why do I have a bitter taste in my mouth?" I started seeing all of this stuff about pine nuts. I had just bought some from Publix on Friday for an Israeli Couscous recipe I like. I haven't had pine nuts in the house since last spring, probably. Saturday night I opened the bag and poured a small amount into my hand and ate them. I've done this before with no problem. Today (Monday) everything is so bitter and it's hard to eat. Black grapes are bitter, Greek yogurt is bitter, avocados are bitter, my left over pot roast and potatoes are bitter. After looking it up on Google I went home to look at the bag of pine nuts I'd eaten. They came from Publix and are branded as Ann's House. I flipped the bag over and it has a warning about Pine Mouth and is a product of China. I didn't even know pine mouth existed and didn't bother to flip the bag as I had no reason to look. This is a pretty unpleasant experience as eating is pretty terrible due to the bitterness.

kp3114

01:59:16 PM on

02/24/14

I bought Natures Harvest pine nuts from Wal-Mart. States it is a product of China. Also has a disclaimer that reads: "Caution: in rare instances, people experience a sensitivity reaction from pine nuts, termed "pine mouth" which is characterized by a metallic taste that resolves without treatment." I ate a handful about a week ago. Pine mouth started 3 days ago..hoping it resolves itself quickly.

Chica5

06:17:27 PM on

02/23/14

I had a salad at a local restaurant with pine nuts and it was delicious. So the next day I tried to recreate the salad at home. That evening my mouth tasted so bitter and anything I ate made it worse.. I was cursing the wine I had but it is a wonderful Chardonnay. So I googled bitter taste and saw the information on pine mouth. My dilemma is which nuts were to blame? The salad I made, the nuts came from Costco and were not out of date but are from china.



houstonray

07:51:50 PM on

02/10/14

WOW! How glad am I to have found this website. My partner bought some pine nuts a couple of weeks ago, they have been in the fridge, I've put some on salads, but most of the time, I'll just open the container and grab a handful and eat them. Love the taste. The last two weeks I've been experiencing the bitter, metallic taste in the back of my mouth. It's made eating food miserable because of the odd taste lingering. Of course, then a couple of days later, I'd grab a few more for a snack. And so on. I googled and found a couple of sites that mentioned 'pine mouth'. So i googled that and found this post. WOW, thanks SO much. I can't say that it's stopped because I just had a handful a couple of days ago so I guess I've got another week or two, but we'll see. Everyone is mentioning the same pine nuts too. We got ours at Kroger grocery store, and they are by, wait for it......Amport! And of course, in the fine print, "Product of China". Never again! Now lI just hope it dissipates quicker than a few weeks.



LizH1

02:55:53 PM on

01/10/14

Suffering from pine mouth now for four days! It is the worst!! I love pine nuts and never experienced this problem. I bought pine nuts from Stater Brothers market. Seems China pine nuts are the culprit for this problem. Please let me know if anyone has heard of a cure!

alucich

01:28:46 PM on

01/06/14

Trader Joe's New Years gift to me. Going on 6 days. Not a 3rd world problem but certainly unpleasant.

RocketChief

08:22:50 PM on

01/03/14

Stay away from Trader Joe's pine nuts! I have been eating Costco and Safeway Pine nuts for years no problems. Got Trader Joe's Pine nuts right before New Years and bam- 36 hours later everything tastes like loose change. Thought it was related to the IPA's I drank on new years eve (the night before I got pine mouth) but then I found out about pine mouth.

cymrudenver

08:54:39 PM on

01/02/14

I am on day 5 of this having eaten pine nuts 6 days ago - the pine nuts came pre packaged as a "topper" for hummus. It's as rancid as everyone describes and no food or beverages taste good right now. I'm the only person who ate the pine nuts that has been affected - wondering if there is a link to the fact that I have Celiac Disease.....

MJK2013

05:29:08 PM on

12/23/13

We bought pine nuts from Sam's Club, too. I developed the same symptoms you all are talking about and thought it might indicate some sort of horrible disease, until I remembered reading a search engine headline about "pine mouth" and realized I had become another victim. More googling has caused me to wonder about the China connection - one source says there might be a link to the pine nuts coming from China (check your SC product and you'll see China's a source). So I think we're dealing with something about the trees or processing China's using. Get an investigative journalist on this!

David2507

09:22:57 PM on

12/19/13

I found that a nice, hot cup of Peppermint Herbal Tea relieves the sour,bitter taste in my mouth. btw, got my pine nuts from Sams Club. I hope that is helpful

GirlFromOz

10:59:21 PM on

12/01/13

So, I made beans with pine nuts from Trader Joes for Thanksgiving. And since Friday night I have the bitter taste in my mouth that ruins EVERYTHING I eat. The one thing that was fine was a very spicy cocktail I drank, so perhaps the spicyness takes the bitterness away?? Its sunday night now and it's still really bad, everything tastes HORRIBLE with the bitter aftertaste. I will never eat pine nuts again and hope it won't last for 4 weeks, which I read that's how long it can take ... ahhhh (at least I might lose some weight ... haha)

scpipelinerswife

06:31:14 PM on

10/29/13

I bought pine nuts from sams club distributed by Amport foods Sunday. I nibbled on some the same night. Now 2 days later I still have Pine mouth. I will never eat pine nuts again. However cucumber slices mellows the "taste" temperarely. Still searching for a cure or remedy.

Jedzia

06:12:37 PM on

10/03/13

I've been eating pine nuts all my life without the symptoms of bitter mouth - until now. My sister brought a couple of TJ's pine nut packages to me from her trip to Oregon. I was delighted and added them to a pine nut hummus I bought at Costco. I've been snacking on this with rice crackers and carrots for lunch for the last few days. I've been noticing that everything I taste seems bitter. I finally looked it up on the web and discovered pine mouth. I'm sticking to the large Spanish pine nuts from now on, unless this experience has made me sensitive to all pine nuts. That would be a real disappointment.

mareshimmel

01:57:00 PM on

10/02/13

My pine nuts were from Sam's club. AmportFoods pine nuts. I am in day three of pine mouth syndrome. My husband and I both ate the nuts and both have the syndrome. I will never eat anything that could possibly have pine nuts in it.

JacqueMarque

04:13:32 PM on

09/20/13

I too have the mysterious metallic taste in my mouth that is ruining the taste of everything I eat or drink. The common factor seems to be Raw Pineuts from Trader Joes. I have eaten them many times before and this is the first time I have developed this symptom. I have no pleasure in food. Trying to wait it out.

ElisaEM

11:55:29 PM on

09/10/13

I may have found a cure!!!! I was on day two (had Trader Joe's pine nuts 3 days ago) and tonight I was determined to get rid of it. I swished Listerine around in my mouth for as long as I could stand it (probably about 3 minutes)then I put more Listerine in my mouth and brushed my tongue very thoroughly twice. After that I did an oil pull with a tablespoon of coconut oil. I am not sure which one did it but the bitterness is gone and I am hoping it doesn't return.

boopster2

04:50:04 PM on

09/10/13

Going on week 1 with this nasty bitter taste in the back of my mouth. I think I just exacerbated it again by eating a banana. No more Trader Joe's pine nuts for me. Too scared to even any kind of pine nuts with this for that matter.

ginaroscioli

07:15:42 AM on

08/19/13

Round two for me. I had pine mouth two years ago, read up on the subject and learned the root of the problem was due to the pine nuts I bought at Stop and Shop. They were from China. Just recently I braved it again, ate pesto twice this week and it's back, though thankfully not as intensely as the first time. It's an awful, gross taste, yet a great diet. My first round lasted two weeks. Hopefully it won't last as long this time, I'm on day 4 now. Hopefully research and the FDA can figure this out. Pine nuts can be so good!

dragonemisis

04:00:50 AM on

08/02/13

I have pine mouth right now and it was from Trader Joes pine nuts which say Vietnam, Korea or Russia as the origin on the label. However just because this is where they were imported from, does not mean they didn't come from China. Italian pine nuts are long and narrow and do not cause this reaction. Chinese pine nuts are much shorter and rounder and come from a non-edible member of the pine family. Because the Chinese know they bring a lot of money and only about 20% of people will react with the pine mouth syndrome, they sell them anyway.

China has a nasty habit of funneling foods that people will not buy (if they now they are from China) through other countries. China produces bogus honey that contains zero real honey and is banned from import into many countries. So China gets around this by shipping it to India first where it is relabeled as of Indian origin.

Moral of the story is pay the extra money and buy the real Italian pine nuts. Go by the shape though NOT just the origin because Italy also imports and packs the Chinese nuts. :(

amoule

01:57:17 PM on

07/11/13

Damn Trader Joe's pine nuts. I had this disgusting problem years ago, finally braved pine nuts again, and now it's back. I used to eat tons of pine nuts without issue. I used to buy them in enormous bags from Costco and snack on them by the handful without problem. After getting pine mouth from Trader Joe's pine nuts back in 2010 I avoided them for 3 years. I ate pesto this week that I made with pine nuts from Trader Joe's (Costco doesn't carry them any longer) and my pine mouth is back. Ugh. Another two weeks of bitterness awaits me. Even my scrambled eggs this morning tasted bitter.

bootsbedard

02:30:22 PM on

06/06/13

It's AWFUL. Everything tastes bitter and not just bitter but HYPER bitter. It's disgusting. As an avid cyclist, I need a good amount of calories in a day...I don't even want to eat it's so awful. I purchased the nuts at a Hannaford grocery store in Plattsburgh NY. The nuts are distributed by DZA Brands. After researching this bitter taste on the internet, I determined it could be from the pine nuts I ate a day and a half prior and ran to get the Package. It does say Product of China. And in tiny letters just above the product of china statment, on the bottom of the package that blends right in with the rest of the nutritional information there is a CAUTION of Pine Mouth statement. Unbelievable. I called the FDA and the distributor.

Froniga

04:02:59 PM on

06/04/13

Here it is 2013. I developed Pine Mouth and everything tasted so terrible I went to my doctor. He told me I was the 4th patient in a week with the problem and we speculated on causes. Later by Google I learned what it was. I also ate a great deal the first day and developed terrible dysentery for a day (coincidence?) then the bitter taste. I called Trader Joes where i purchased the pinenuts and they demurred as it 'isn't harmful'. But a friend stopped eating for two weeks as food tasted so bad. And what about the stress of not knowing what's happening. And the cost of medical visits. At least they can post a card near the nuts warning people. As those posting here know everything tastes TERRIBLE and not knowing why makes it worse.

Also the pinenuts I purchased TJ says were not from China. but they are the small round ones. I suggested to TJ manager that they pass them around to staff and look and learn. Not quite as harmless to the mind of the sufferer of Pine Mouth, esp. when one does not know why. And ... there's a big scare right now about Mouth Cancer and it's causes (Michael Douglas story). TJ's disappoints me with their shrug and pat answers. AT LEAST PUT A WARNING for consumers so we can make educated choices and know WHY this is happening.

LegalAlien

10:29:58 PM on

08/28/12

My husband and I experienced a horrible bout of Pine Mouth roughly two years ago and it lasted a full two weeks. It was as bad as everyone is making out. I went through all of the well reported feelings: I must be sick perhaps got to the doctor, the food I'm currently eating is bad, I'm stuck with this forever...

I bought mine from Yes! Organics in Washigton DC and hey presto, they were from China.

I now only pay top wack for Italian Pignola's at 25 bucks a pound (pesto is now a real treat). But it's worth it.

I'll be blunt here. We can't trust the Chinese with our food, it's as simple as that. They don't care about us and I guess you can argue that they don't have any obligtion to. Therefore refuse to buy their unregulated swill.

Valicious

11:24:38 PM on

08/11/12

I'm currently suffering with this horrible affliction. No more pine nuts for me ever again. The nuts were purchased from Trader Joe's and were quite old (though tasted fine). The FDA lady says that there are a lot fewer cases being reported...guess I'm just at the unlucky tail-end of it. That, or I have a brain tumor :-\

1KarenW

07:59:33 PM on

05/02/12

Have you tried "OIL PULLING" as crazy as it sounds, it is a tried and true remedy for pulling out toxins, infections and other 'stuff' Google it or read it on my website @ www.healthandcommonsense.com

I think it will drastically shorten your suffering. Bon Apetite

Mish714

12:05:27 PM on

12/23/11

Oh, wow! Same exact story as the last poster - bought pine nuts at Trader Joe's and made absolutely delicious Italian pignoli cookies. No one who ate the cookies was affected except ME - and I am wondering if this is because I ate a few of the nuts raw while baking and the people who ate the cookies had ones that were baked? Three days until Christmas, I am looking forward to the dinner I'm preparing, and I'm stuck with this awful taste in my mouth.

Sewsong

11:23:42 AM on

12/22/11

I too, am suffering from pine mouth after eating roasted pine nuts from Trader Joe's in Kansas City, MO. I had to toss out a gigantic batch of pesto I made for Christmas gifts. I'm on day 5 hoping to be better by Christmas (3 days from now).

hassasu

12:19:41 AM on

10/27/11

Ugh! I'm on day 4 and am disheartened to know that I could be living with this for a while. I had transferred my pine nuts from the bag into a container in the fridge but I am pretty sure they were from Trader Joe's. This will definitely make me very wary of eating pine nuts in the future, especially since I didn't taste anything off when I was eating then and the symptoms took several days to kick in. Too bad because I really like them!

Chris7876

08:10:54 PM on

10/21/11

With an original post date of 5/09 I was surprised to see so many recent entries. I have self diagnosed myself with "pine mouth" after making pesto with fresh basil that I grew. I added pine nuts I bought @ Trader Joes and had the obligatory few pine nuts while making the pesto. Two days later I woke up and everything I ate/drank tasted disguisting! I was perplexed! I Googled my symptoms-which are none other then the gross taste of everything-and came upon pine mouth. I am distraught to hear how long it lasts. Are there any remedies to help lessen the awful taste of everything? So much for a nice sushi dinner this weekend!

epiclay

08:22:19 PM on

10/19/11

Hmmm...I made pesto the other night as well, with Trader Joe's pine nuts, and now I have pine mouth. I've eaten pine nuts before but never had this reaction. Lame.

marley7

02:58:40 PM on

10/19/11

I have pine mouth now, and I should know better. It's my third time. The first time was the worst, when I had no clue about what I was in for. What I've noticed is that the smaller, pointier pine nuts from Asia seem to be the cause. So I am very careful to buy only the European ones from a specialty food store, which means higher cost, but it's worth keeping my taste buds. One time I was going to buy them in bulk and I noticed they were the Asian kind so I didn't do it. The reason I got pine mouth this time was because I ordered a salad at a Toronto restaurant and, although I was slightly skeptical that the pine nuts were okay, I ate them anyway, hoping that they were a European variety. Luckily, I didn't eat too many so my case is not as severe as the first time it happened. It's no fun to cook, eat or drink wine for a whole week!

Nicoleat

03:37:56 PM on

10/16/11

Ugh! I have a terrible case of pine mouth. I made delicious spinach with cranberries, topped it with toasted Trader Joe's pine nuts. Big mistake. This is horrible. Disgusting. I've had it for three days now.

jkriess

10:58:06 PM on

09/25/11