Forum Topic

Morrison's pine nuts....warning.

I've had a bitter, metallic taste at the back of my tongue for the last two days, so that all foods taste disgusting and I can't even taste a cuppa. Was convinced it's some sort of metallic poisoning so made an emergency dental appt for today, which I've now cancelled because I just googled this.I ate a packet of pine nuts for the very first time three days ago! They didn't taste particularly strong, and the problem didn't present until a day or two later.from wiki:Risks of eating pine nutsThe 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 doesn't 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, and many more).[7] [8]The pine nuts involved typically contain triglycerides formed by 16-18° unsaturated fatty acids. No contamination with pesticide residues or heavy metals was found.Some of the pine nuts involved were imported from China. However, in many countries packaged pine nuts are not required to state the country of origin or the species, and thus it is impossible to conclusively link the effect to a particular species or source country.

Becky Bell ● 5908d8 Comments

thanks for this Becky. I never eat them raw but add them slightly grilled to pasta or salads and taste great!Hope your taste return in few days rather than weeks.

Veki Pavlova ● 5908d

The FSA "is inviting people who have experienced the problem to email toxicology@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk with details of the pine nuts consumed and how long they had the metallic taste for".

Ian M Green ● 5908d

Thanks, Ian.

Becky Bell ● 5908d

Becky, the same thing happened to my husband a few months ago. The nasty metallic taste lasted about a week and it wasn't until later that we made the pine nuts connection. We haven't bought them since.

Kate Samano ● 5905d

I seem to be (almost) back to normal today, so yes, about a week. Very unpleasant and I shall avoid pine nuts from now on. Even if it's only a minority of batches that cause this, it's not worth the risk. I did report the batch to foodstandards.gov

Becky Bell ● 5904d

http://www2.sainsburys.co.uk/YourIdeas/forums/12436/ShowThread.aspx#12436

Philippa Bond ● 5904d

Mark Purdey was an organic farmer who funded his own research on subjects such as BSE/CJE, and won his case when he was taken to court by the agriculture ministry. Among other things he found a link between a lack of copper, similar brain disorders, and an excess of pollutants, especially manganese. He discovered that manganese is absorbed and concentrated in pines, and almost all the population in an area that made a "tea" from pine needles collected downwind of a steelworks suffered from similar brain disorders. The same effect is seen amongst workers using manganese. You can find lots of information at www.purdeyenvironment.com

Chris Bell ● 5902d

Scary. Bitterness has gone, but I think subtle tastes are still wasted on me.

Becky Bell ● 5902d