Pancake Poison and Paranoia

Mold in Outdated Pancake Mix Causes Acute Allergic Reaction
Netlore Archive: Email flier quotes a 'Dear Abby' column in which a parent describes her 14-year-old son's severe allergic reaction to mold in outdated pancake mix
Description: Email flierCirculating since: April 2006Status: TrueAnalysis: See below

Email example contributed by C. Cooper, 17 April 2006:
PANCAKES MADE FROM OLD MIX CAUSE ACUTE ALLERGIC REACTION
DEAR ABBY: I recently made a batch of pancakes for my healthy 14-year-old son, using a mix that was in our pantry. He said that they tasted "funny," but ate them anyway. About 10 minutes later, he began having difficulty breathing and his lips began turning purple. I gave him his allergy pill, had him sit on the sofa and told him to relax. He was wheezing while inhaling and exhaling.
My husband, a volunteer firefighter and EMT, heated up some water, and we had my son lean over the water so the steam could clear his chest and sinuses. Soon, his breathing became more regular and his lips returned to a more normal color.
We checked the date on the box of pancake mix and, to my dismay, found it was very outdated. As a reference librarian at an academic institution, I have the ability to search through many research databases. I did just that, and found an article the next day that mentioned a 19-year-old male DYING after eating pancakes made with outdated mix. Apparently, the mold that forms in old pancake mix can be toxic!
When we told our friends about my son's close call, we were surprised at the number of people who mentioned that they should check their own pancake mix since they don't use it often, or they had purchased it some time ago. With so many people shopping at warehouse-type stores and buying large sizes of pancake mix, I hope your readers will take the time to check the expiration date on their boxes. -- SUE IN WYANTSKILL, N.Y.
DEAR SUE: Thank you for the warning. I certainly was not aware that pancake mix could turn moldy and cause an allergic reaction in someone with an allergy to mold -- but it's logical. I wonder if the same holds true for cake mix, brownie mix and cookie mix. If so, then a warning should be placed on the box for people like me.
We hear so often about discarding prescription and over-the-counter medications after their expiration dates, but I don't recall warnings about packaged items in the pantry. Heads up, folks!
Comments: This "Dear Abby" column was published in newspapers in April 2006. The story checks out. As Abby's correspondent mentions, her son's allergic reaction to the "funny-tasting" pancakes she fed him matches a case reported in the September 2001 issue of the American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology in which a 19-year-old male with mold allergies died of anaphylactic shock after consuming pancakes made from an outdated mix.
Note that in both cases, the patient experiencing the attack had specific allergies pertaining to food molds.
These molds can grow in all kinds of food products, not just baking mixes, bacteriologist Chris Atkinson notes in an article in The Hub Weekly, so it behooves consumers to monitor the expiration dates on packaged foods across the board. Since not all food molds are visible to the naked eye or detectable by smell, nor are the mycotoxins they produce eliminated by cooking, Atkinson recommends a better-safe-than-sorry approach and shares several helpful tips for preventing mold contamination of food in the home.

Sources and further reading:
Dear Abby: Mold Could Be Lurking in Old Pancake MixUniversal Press Syndicate, 13 April 2006
An Unusual Case of Anaphylaxis - Mold in Pancake Mix(Abstract) American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, September 2001
Pancake ParanoiaTheHubWeekly.com, article by bacteriologist Chris Atkinson