Killer Cake: Health Hazard or Hysteria

On any given day I receive a number of emails based on urban legends or isolated incidents. Most of these are sent by people who fail to do any due diligence or fact checking before sending them. In most cases I read them and then deftly consign then to the virtual file 13. However; recently, I received an email that gave me pause. It was titled, "Cake Mixes & Toxins". This concerned me because I love cake. Perhaps, I pondered, someone has launched a terror campaign utilizing cake mix and to avoid being felled by their evil ministrations, I was duty bound to check it out. The gist of the email was that out of date pancake and cake mixes were contaminated and could cause severe anaphylaxis.

I checked further and found the basis of the missive was a letter "Dear Abby" received concerning a woman whose son became ill after eating pancakes. The young man mentioned to his mother that the pancakes tasted funny but went ahead and ate them. Shortly after finishing he began to exhibit symptoms of respiratory distress. He was short of breath and became cyanotic. Cyanosis is brought on by lack of oxygen in the blood. Her son was suffering a severe anaphylactic reaction to something. She checked the pancake mix and found that it was very out of date. The mother treated her son with an allergy pill and a steam sauna to clear his lungs and sinus congestion. It was later discovered that the pancake mix was contaminated with mold spores. Though the woman's son survived his ordeal there is evidence that at least one person has died from ingestion of contaminated pancake mix.

Per snopes.com, a nineteen year old college student, home on break, ate some pancakes he'd made from out of date mix. Though his friends stopped eating the pancakes, saying the tasted off, the student continued to eat. Shortly after, he began to suffer respiratory distress that was not alleviated by his inhaler. In the article abstract from, An Unusual Case of Anaphylaxis: Mold in Pancake Mix, in "The American Journal of Forensic Science and Pathology" authored by Allan T. Bennett M.D. and Kim A. Collins M.D. The molds found in the mix the student ate were Penicillium, Fusarium, Mucor and Aspergillus. It was noted, in the abstract, that the 19 year old had allergies to mold and penicillin. His allergies made him a prime candidate to suffer ill effects. He was transported to the hospital where he collapsed and was unresponsive to efforts to revive him.

Obviously these incidents give rise to the question of whether or not out of date pancake mix or other mixes are inherently harmful. According to snopes.com, mold spore growth doesn't necessarily guarantee a toxic effect. The person would need to have an allergy to molds. Even with an allergy present there must be an ingestion of spores to produce a hazardous result. A lot also has to do with proper storage methods. Just the fact that a mix has gotten old does not transform it into a toxin. If the mix is securely closed in its packaging then it should be safe unless the spores are present during packaging.

A good rule of thumb is if you aren't sure of the date or if the mix has been stored open then you're probably safer throwing it out and getting fresh.

Sources:

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/pancake.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penicillium

http://www.doctorfungus.org/Thefungi/Fusarium.htm

http://www.doctorfungus.org/Thefungi/mucor.htm

http://www.aspergillus.org.uk/aspergillosisframeset.html

http://www.amjforensicmedicine.com/pt/re/ajfmp/abstract.00000433-200109000-00019.htm;jsessionid=JHhX1Dh4S1wS8pGMCDkm2Q1xnTBgJ1bVCb20NG2LYY3ZyCT39PYC!-269263472!181195628!8091!-1