A 14-year-old American man died after participating in a highly controversial challenge consisting of eating an extremely spicy potato chip, according to an autopsy report seen by AFP on Thursday.
A resident of Massachusetts, in the northeast of the country, Harris Wolobah suffered a “cardioventilatory arrest due to the ingestion of a food substance with a high concentration of capsaicin”, it is stated in the autopsy report. He died in September 2023.
Capsaicin is an active component in chili peppers that causes a burning sensation.
According to local press, the boy, who lived in the town of Worcester, died on 1er September 2023, after trying the “One Chip Challenge”, a controversial challenge consisting of ingesting this chipultra-spicy without drinking water for as long as possible.
According to Washington Postthe company behind this challenge is Paqui.
The product in question contained Carolina Reaper pepper, the hottest in the world according to the Guinness Book of Records. The potato chip was sold in individual bags, in a coffin-shaped package decorated with a skull. The manufacturer withdrew its product from commerce after the death of young Harris.
According to the autopsy, the young man suffered from cardiovascular pathologies, which could have contributed to his death.
The local press cites cases of other adolescents who have fallen ill, or even been hospitalized, after consuming these chipsnotably in California or Minnesota.
