Can almonds poison you?
The claim: Almonds contain enough cyanide to kill you.
Last checked 16 October 2026
Not the almonds in your snack bag. Bitter almonds are another matter: one large one reaches Europe's safety limit for an adult, and a handful has put a child in intensive care.
Almonds contain amygdalin, which releases cyanide when the nut is chewed. Sweet almonds, the kind sold as snacks, carry very little. Bitter almonds carry tens to hundreds of times more. Two different lines matter here: Europe's safety limit for one sitting, and the dose reported to kill. The table below works out both for your body weight.
Where the cyanide comes from
Almonds hold amygdalin, a cyanogenic glycoside: a sugar-bound form of cyanide that the plant keeps apart from the enzyme that releases it. Europe's food safety authority, EFSA, explains what happens when you chew:
When plant cells are physically destroyed, e.g. by chewing or grinding, the CNGs come into contact with the β‐glycosidase enzymes and are degraded with the release of HCN.
While the level of cyanogens is rather low in the sweet variety of almonds (about 25 mg CN/kg), bitter almonds and apricots contain cyanogens at levels ranging from about 500 to more than 1,000 mg cyanide/kg (Chaouali et al., 2013).
CNGs are cyanogenic glycosides; HCN is hydrogen cyanide. Sweet and bitter almonds are varieties of the same species. A California study measured amygdalin in sweet, semi-bitter and bitter almonds:
The mean concentrations of amygdalin in nonbitter, semibitter, and bitter almonds are 63.13 ± 57.54, 992.24 ± 513.04, and 40060.34 ± 7855.26 mg/kg, respectively.
Two different lines: the safety limit and the lethal dose
EFSA sets a safety limit for cyanide in one sitting, its acute reference dose (ARfD), with a margin below the doses linked to harm. Separately, it reports the dose found to kill:
An acute reference dose (ARfD) of 20 μg/kg bw was derived from an exposure of 0.105 mg/kg bw
The acute lethal oral dose of cyanide in humans is reported to be between 0.5 and 3.5 mg/kg body weight (bw).
The lowest lethal dose identified in humans was 0.56 mg HCN/kg bw.
bw means body weight. For most foods EFSA says its limit errs on the safe side, but not for bitter almonds:
For exposure to cyanide from foods other than raw apricot kernels, bitter almonds and cassava roots, this ARfD is likely to be over‐conservative because of the lower bioavailability of cyanide from these foods, but establishment of different ARfDs for different types of food is not appropriate.
How many almonds, for your body weight
Enter your weight. The table works out how many almonds reach EFSA's safety limit, and how many reach the low end of the lethal range EFSA reports. It assumes all the cyanide is released, as when the nuts are chewed.
| Almonds | Cyanide per 100 g | Cyanide per almond | Reaches EFSA's safety limit | Reaches the low end of the lethal range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sweet almonds (the snack kind), EFSA data (EFSA, 2019) | 0.45 | 0.0054 | 311 g, 259 almonds | 7,780 g, 6,481 almonds |
| Sweet almonds, a higher figure EFSA cites (EFSA, 2019) | about 2.5 | about 0.03 | about 56 g, about 47 almonds | about 1,400 g, about 1,167 almonds |
| Semi-bitter almonds, California study (Lee and colleagues, 2013) | 5.64 | — | 24.8 g, — | 620 g, — |
| Bitter almonds (EFSA, 2019) | 148 | 0.591–1.48 | 0.948 g, less than 1 to 2 almonds | 23.7 g, 24–59 almonds |
| Bitter almonds, California study (Lee and colleagues, 2013) | 228 | 0.912–2.28 | 0.614 g, less than 1 to 2 almonds | 15.4 g, 15–38 almonds |
Cyanide content varies a lot from one almond to the next, and between studies: EFSA's calculation, its own survey summary and the California study give different averages for bitter almonds. Treat these as a guide, not a dose. Children are smaller, so the same almonds hit them much harder: try a child's weight.
What happened to people who ate bitter almonds
New Zealand's food safety agency collected recent poisoning reports. Two involved almonds:
The patient developed tonic-clonic seizures and became comatose. It was determined that, 5 hours earlier, the patient had consumed about 10 bitter almonds. Testing revealed metabolic acidosis. The child was transferred to ICU, where he was monitored and supported on oxygen.
Her husband recalled that she had consumed about 50 bitter almonds approximately 2 hours before admission.
The first patient was a five-year-old boy; he recovered. The second was a woman, treated in intensive care with a cyanide antidote; the report says she made a complete recovery. EFSA's summary of the cases it reviewed:
There are a number of reports of acute cyanide toxicity following the ingestion of amygdalin preparations or cyanogenic foods, primarily apricot kernels, bitter almonds and insufficiently processed cassava.
What you'll hear at the table
Here is each almond claim, checked against its source.
You'll hear: A bag of raw almonds is a lethal dose of cyanide.
Doesn't hold up
Not for the sweet almonds sold as snacks. The low end of the lethal range takes far more than anyone could eat in one go. EFSA's safety limit is closer: a bowlful at EFSA's average figure, but only a couple of handfuls at the higher figure EFSA cites (see the table).
The mean concentrations were 4.5 and 1440 mg/kg HCN for sweet and bitter almonds, respectively.
You'll hear: One or two bitter almonds can kill you.
Doesn't hold up
Not for an adult. One or two reach EFSA's safety limit, which is not the lethal dose; reaching the low end of the lethal range takes dozens (see the table). But they are far from harmless: an adult who ate dozens needed intensive care and an antidote, and for a small child only a few reach the low end of the lethal range.
Consumption of 0.1–1.4 g bitter almonds (1,477 mg CN/kg) reaches the ARfD, which corresponds to an amount of less than half a small kernel in ‘Toddlers’ and of 1 large kernel in ‘Adults’.
You'll hear: Bitter almonds are dangerous.
Holds up
They are. EFSA names them among the main causes of cyanide poisoning from food, and says its safety limit is not over-cautious for them.
Poisoning cases, some fatal, have resulted from ingestion of amygdalin preparations, bitter almonds and cassava.
You'll hear: Apple seeds contain cyanide.
Holds up
They contain amygdalin, the same compound as almonds. It is in the seeds, not the flesh, and it is released when the seeds are chewed or ground.
Amygdalin contents of seeds from fifteen varieties of apples ranged from 1 mg g-1 to 4 mg g-1
Amygdalin was not detected in juice made from apple flesh with skin.
The referee's verdict
- Right, for the "plants fight back" side: almonds really do carry cyanide in a chewable trap; bitter almonds are dangerous, a single large one reaches Europe's safety limit for an adult, a handful put a young child in intensive care, and for a small child only a few reach the low end of the lethal range.
- Right, for the almond eater: the sweet almonds sold as snacks carry very little, and reaching the low end of the lethal range would take far more than anyone eats.
- Not settled: how much cyanide any one bag holds. The figures vary widely between almonds and between studies.
Try it with your own plate
See what a handful of almonds gives you, and what comes with it.
Sources
- EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM) (2016). Acute health risks related to the presence of cyanogenic glycosides in raw apricot kernels and products derived from raw apricot kernels. EFSA Journal 14(4):4424. (opens in a new tab)Evidence: Regulatory assessmentRead: EFSA abstract page (quote already held in compounds.json)
- EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM) (2019). Evaluation of the health risks related to the presence of cyanogenic glycosides in foods other than raw apricot kernels. EFSA Journal 17(4):5662. (opens in a new tab)Evidence: Regulatory assessmentRead: PMC full text and tables, in Chrome
- Cressey P, Saunders D, Auapaau F (2022). Evaluation of food safety risks associated with foods containing cyanogenic glycosides. New Zealand Food Safety Technical Paper No: 2022/29. (opens in a new tab)Evidence: Regulatory assessment. A government risk evaluation; the poisoning reports it summarises are case reports.Read: PDF text layer, in Chrome
- Lee et al. 2013, J Agric Food Chem 61:7754–7759, doi:10.1021/jf402295u (opens in a new tab)Evidence: Measured in foodRead: PDF, quote already held in compounds.json
- Bolarinwa, Orfila & Morgan 2015, Food Chem 170:437–442 (opens in a new tab)Evidence: Measured in foodRead: PDF, quotes already held in compounds.json
- USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy 170567: Nuts, almonds (portions). (opens in a new tab)Evidence: Measured in foodRead: SR Legacy food_portion.csv in the repo