A condition called ‘pine mouth’ is on the rise. It is characterized by an extremely bitter taste in the mouth after eating or drinking. The bitter taste occurs the day after eating pine nuts, and lasts for up to 10 days. It does not happen to all individuals who eat the nuts, and appears to only be from certain batches of pine nuts. It has been suggested that a toxin on the surface of some imported nuts may be responsible. Can anyone provide a plausible biological explanation for this.

Marian Brennan

Newcastle, Wicklow, Ireland