Company pulls spicy chip challenge with teen’s death under investigation on September 8, 2023 at 2:27 pm Business News | The Hill

The company behind a viral spicy chip challenge has pulled the product after a Massachusetts family blamed it for their teenage son’s death last week.

The “One Chip Challenge,” consisting of a single tortilla chip covered in an extremely spicy powder and promoted by social media influencers online as a dare, became popular in recent months. 

Though the official cause of death of Harris Wolobah is still unknown, the 14-year-old’s family has blamed the chip.

His mother, Lois Wolobah, has told news outlets that her son’s school called Sept. 1 saying he was sick and needed to be picked up. He seemed to be feeling better, but later in the afternoon passed out and was pronounced dead at the hospital, Lois Wolobah told NBC Boston.

“I just want there to be an awareness for parents to know that it’s not safe,” she told The New York Times. “It needs to be out of the market completely.”

Manufacturer Paqui has asked retailers to take the product off shelves, a move 7-Eleven convenience stores have already followed, The Associated Press reported.

The product, which sells for about $10, is a single foil-wrapped chip in a casket-shaped box. The packaging says the food is intended for adults and should be kept away from children.

“We have seen an increase in teens and other individuals not heeding these warnings,” Paqui said in a statement. “As a result, while the product continues to adhere to food safety standards, out of abundance of caution, we are actively working with retailers to remove the product from shelves.”

Hospitalizations due to the spicy chip have previously been reported, Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early warned.

“You can have very mild symptoms like burning or tingling of the lips in the mouth, but you can also have more severe symptoms,” Lauren Rice, the chief of pediatric emergency medicine at Tufts Medical Center, told the AP. 

“This goes back to the ingredients that are used with the tortilla chip,” she said. “There are some spices like capsaicin, which is a chemical ingredient that we use in things like pepper spray and so they are very strong chemicals and they can be very irritating. Some of the more severe symptoms that we see can be things like significant abdominal pain or nausea and vomiting.”

The terms of the “challenge” encourages people to eat the chip and avoid drinking water or other spice-soothing liquids for as long as possible, and to post their results online.

The spicy powder for the chip contains two of the world’s hottest peppers, the Carolina Reaper and the Naga Viper, the company notes on its website.

​Business, food safety, online challenge The company behind a viral spicy chip challenge has pulled the product after a Massachusetts family blamed it for their teenage son’s death last week. The “One Chip Challenge,” consisting of a single tortilla chip covered in an extremely spicy powder and promoted by social media influencers online as a dare, became popular in recent…