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submitted 1 year ago by deconstruct@lemm.ee to c/news@lemmy.world

Paqui, the maker of extremely spicy tortilla chips marketed as the “One Chip Challenge,” is voluntarily pulling the product from shelves after a woman said her teenage son died of complications from consuming a single chip.

The chips were sold individually, and their seasoning included two of the hottest peppers in the world: the Carolina Reaper and the Naga Viper.

Each chip was packaged in a coffin-shaped container with a skull on the front.

Lois Wolobah told NBC Boston that her 14-year-old son, Harris Wolobah, ate the chip Friday, then went to the school nurse with a stomachache. Wolobah said Harris — a sophomore at Doherty Memorial High School in Worcester, Massachusetts — passed out at home that afternoon. He was pronounced dead at the hospital later that day, she said.

Until sales of the product were suspended, Paqui's marketing dared people to participate in the challenge by eating a chip, posting pictures of their tongues on social media after the chip turned it blue and then waiting as long as possible to relieve the burn with water or other food.

The challenge has existed in some form since 2016.

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[-] hesusingthespiritbomb@lemmy.world 70 points 1 year ago

People are calling this kid stupid. I disagree.

Nobody buying food in America would think that a single serving product would be able to kill you without any sort of prior health conditions. This is a completely fair assumption and one that is important.

Second, the one chip challenge has been in the public eye for a while. There are multiple examples of people eating them successfully in previous years. When things do go badly, it's usually something along the lines of "I threw up everywhere". That's a far cry from dying and along the lines of risks teenagers have taken for decades.

Third, a ton of food items use the skull and crossbones motif. I've seen it on hot sauces that aren't even that spicy. Nobody assumes that the skull and crossbones means risking death. This is, again, because everyone assumes that food is generally safe to eat.

In conclusion, don't sell things in convenience stores that can kill an otherwise healthy person in short order. While this is especially true for children, it's a good rule of thumb in general.

I thought this is the kind of thing the FDA is for. If it can kill a 14 year old then why was it allowed?

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this post was submitted on 08 Sep 2023
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