Let’s be honest. When you come across an expired food item in your pantry, unless it’s from prehistoric times, you probably continue on and eat that item anyway. After all, those dates are just put there as a guideline, right? For most food items the actual risk is pretty low, but when it comes to pancake mix, you might want to think twice.
So why not pancake mix? Well… it could kill you.
That’s the official report following several case studies examining a number of freaky stories about people who claim they experienced life-threatening symptoms after eating expired pancake mix.
One study published in the American Journal of Forensic Medical Pathology covered the story of a 19-year-old man who ate pancakes made from an opened mix that was two years old. After eating the pancakes, the man went into anaphylaxis — a life-threatening allergic reaction, often caused by food, that makes it difficult to breath — and died.
The mix was tested and was later found to contain dangerously high levels of mold, including Penicillin — a mold the man had a severe allergy to.
Another study published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology dove into the story of a 52-year-old woman who went into anaphylaxis after eating the mix which contained dust mites, though the woman survived.
The takeaway? Toss your pancake mix if it’s expired or if you can’t find an expiration date clearly labeled on the box or bag. Pancake mix is, after all, only a few bucks, and it’s certainly not worth the risk of anaphylaxis. But you do have alternatives. Use up that mix before it expires on these decadent Cinnamon Swirl Pancakes. Or you can make your own pancakes from scratch like these delicious Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes.
See! No need to risk it. What you need is just more pancakes. Do it. It’s for your health.
Also see, gingerbread crepes are a tasty alternative to weekend pancakes.
