Harris Wolobah, a high school student at Doherty Memorial High School in Wrocester, Massachusetts, has died in the past few hours from complications from eating what many have dubbed the “world’s spiciest nacho,” which is a viral trend on social media.
The young man, just 14, ate an extremely spicy chip at his school after accepting the one-chip challenge and immediately developed severe stomach pains, his mother told NBC 10 Boston.
Wolobah was picked up by his family, brought home, and started to feel better. However, it was later determined that he was unconscious just as he was leaving for a basketball tryout, his mother said.
Concerned, the minor’s parents rushed him to a nearby hospital for urgent treatment, but the young man died on the way from home to the hospital. So far, the exact cause of death has not been confirmed.
Part of the challenge tests how long a person who ate the chip lasts before eating or drinking something else to relieve themselves. The Paqui brand states on its website that the chip should only be consumed by adults.
His St. Bernard Church basketball coach, Douglas Hill, called him a hard worker who was dedicated to his craft, according to the WCVB. “I feel for the family,” Hill said. “I feel for him, and this is just one of those situations where it’s not his fault.”
Dr. Lauren Rice, chief of pediatric emergency medicine at Tufts Medical Center, told the outlet that the effects of spicy food can range from a burning sensation in the mouth or lips to heart problems. “Sometimes we see people with severe chest pain or palpitations,” Rice said.
According to the Daily Mail, a school district in Lafayette, Louisiana, banned chips on all campuses in October 2022 after several students required medical attention.
Less than a month later, paramedics were called to a high school in Dunwood, Georgia, prompting police to issue a snack food alert.
The chip has been manufactured by Paqui since 2016 and is the product of Texas-based Amplify Snack Brands, which was acquired by The Hershey Company in 2017. A new flavor is released every year, and the 2023 edition will be available on Amazon starting August 9th. Although fewer than ten ingredients are listed, two stand out in particular: California Reaper Pepper and Naga Viper Pepper.
With up to 2.2 million Scoville Heat Units (SHU) on the Scoville scale, the California Reaper pepper was officially voted the hottest pepper in the world. The Naga Viper Pepper was just below 1,382,118 SHU.
The scale measures the strength of different peppers in relation to capsaicin, the compound that gives them their spiciness. Pure capsaicin has 16 million Scoville units.
