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ABOUT PINE NUT SYNDROME (PNS)

Difference of Siberian pine nuts from Chinese.

We are very concerned with the so-called pine nut syndrome (often called pine mouth), discovered by Belgian doctors in 2001. The pine nut syndrome means that after eating certain species of pine nuts, everything you eat tastes bitter or your tongue tastes like tin foil. According to the resent research by the Wageningen University in Holland, the pine nut syndrome is caused by a Chinese pine nuts specie, called Pinus armandii. “Pinus armandii was found to consistently cause PNS (the pine nut syndrome). Pinus koraiensis (Korean pine nuts) and Pinus sibirica (Siberian pine nuts) are the good ones that have long been established on the market”.

Siberian pine nuts are wild grown in the Lake Baikal area. They belong to the Pinus sibirica specie and do not cause the pine nut syndrome

AIU Siberian pine nuts are wild grown and harvested by hand in the Lake Baikal area. Pine trees (cedars) growing around Lake Baikal belong to the Pinus sibirica specie. So, the AIU pine nuts do not contain Pinus armandii nuts and do not cause the pine nut syndrome (pine mouth).

One more difference between the AIU Siberian pine nuts and Chinese pine nuts is that AIU protects pine nuts from light and oxidation. This way, we maintain the delicate and unique taste of Siberian pine nuts, as well as their numerous health benefits.

Directly after separating pine nut kernels from their shells, we put kernels in vacuum packages. The AIU package has two layers. The inner box contains a vacuum package with pine nut kernels to prevent their oxidation. And the outer shell protects pine nuts from light and outside damages.