One Chip Challenge

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A person celebrating after completing the One Chip Challenge. A closer view of the chip's packaging is visible at right.

The One Chip Challenge was an internet challenge in which participants had to eat one extremely spicy Paqui Carolina Reaper chip, and avoid eating or drinking anything afterwards. The challenge was initially marketed by Amplify Snack Brands before being sold to The Hershey Company. During the fall season from 2016 to 2023 the chip was sold in various packaging before being declared "sold out". The challenge was tried by celebrities and social media personalities, and garnered criticism for negative associated health effects.

Paqui's One Chip Challenge ended in September 2023 when Harris Wolobah, a 14-year-old boy from Worcester, Massachusetts, died a few hours after he took the challenge. Paqui immediately withdrew and discontinued the chips from any further sales and indefinitely stopped publicity for the challenge. The teen's death later led to the chip being withdrawn from sale by Paqui and recalled from stores.

After an investigation into the cause of death, an autopsy report released to various news outlets in May 2024 confirmed that Harris died from cardiopulmonary arrest after eating a substance containing a high amount of capsaicin, and had cardiomegaly, a congenital heart defect. Paqui responded by stating that the warning label on their website clearly said that the challenge was not for children, or those with health risks.[1]

Background

Paqui was an American brand of tortilla chips made by Amplify Snack Brands, Inc, a subsidiary of The Hershey Company. Its Carolina Reaper chips, sold individually wrapped, were known for being among the spiciest flavors sold.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Doug Lyon, a veteran of the advertising industry, and Alissa Bassana founded Paqui in Austin in 2008.[9] SkinnyPop acquired Paqui in 2015, after which Lyon became the parent company's vice president of creative and innovation.[10] After SkinnyPop later reincorporated as Amplify Snack Brands, The Hershey Company acquired Amplify in 2017.[11]

Challenge

The tortilla chip's formulation was changed on an annual basis.[12]

The One Chip Challenge was first promoted in 2016 by Amplify Snack Brands under the name Carolina Reaper, which at the time was the world's hottest chili pepper.[3][13] As the Reaper chips quickly sold out Amplify started a "1-in-10 chance to win the Reaper" offer in October 2017.[14] This offer also included a chance to win a year's supply of Paqui chips and a custom "reaper" neon sign for those who posted a video or photo of themselves "enjoying" the (Reaper) chip to Instagram or Twitter.[14]

After the contest ended on January 31, 2018 a "Wall of Infamy" was posted on Amplify's "Paqui" website, of those who were able to complete the contest.[15] Paqui, now owned by Hershey, repeated this contest towards the end of 2019, which ended in February 2020, with the grand prize including a "Tailgate Party" instead of a neon sign.[16]

In September 2020, the main focus became the challenge of eating a single chip as it was marketed inside of a coffin shaped box. In order to increase the heat, the Scorpion Pepper and Sichuan pepper were added with the Reaper.[17] In order to qualify for the "Wall of Infamy" participants were required to eat one chip, with video/photo proof, and avoid eating or drinking anything afterwards for up to an hour. A scale was used on Paqui's website that ranged from 5 minutes (Featherweight) to 1 hour (Heavyweight).[17] For the first time, a warning was added to Paqui's "One Chip Challenge" website, which said that children, and people who are sensitive, allergic, and pregnant should not eat the chip.[17]

The challenge returned in September 2021, and again in September 2022 with mention of the Sichuan pepper dropped.[8][12] On Paqui's website, the challenge scale of 5 minutes to 1 hour was changed to read "Powerless" to "Invincible" and included wording such as "How long can you last before getting Owned?", and "How long can you last before you short circuit?".[18][19] In 2022, the chips sold for the One Chip Challenge were made with food coloring that turned people's tongues bright blue, to deter cheating.[20] Before the challenge was discontinued in 2023, the challenge was updated to include the Naga Viper pepper with the Carolina Reaper. Now going with a snake theme, the challenge scale of 5 minutes to 1 hour was adjusted to include "Harmless" to "Apex Predator".[21]

As word of the challenge spread it was attempted by various people in the American media. Celebrities including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Shaquille O'Neal, Joel Embiid, Lil Yachty, and Sean Evans all tried the challenge.[22] In 2023, rapper T.I.'s son King Harris controversially offered to pay a homeless man $50 if he completed a One Chip Challenge. Since the man failed the challenge, Harris only paid him $20.[23] Non-celebrities included an anchor for KWGN-TV in Denver, Colorado, who vomited on live television after trying to eat the chip.[24]

Health concerns

School incidents

Over time, the challenge became more controversial, as some participants required medical attention.[25] While Paqui warned that the One Chip Challenge should have been attempted by adults only, children and teens still accepted the stunt.[26] In September 2022, the challenge was banned by Huerfano School District RE-1 in Huerfano County, Colorado, as many children of their schools were accepting the challenge and becoming hospitalized.[27][28][29]

Other schools later followed suit, including Lodi High School in Lodi, California, and schools in Pearland Independent School District in Pearland, Texas.[22][30] In November 2022, first responders were called to Dunwoody High School in Dunwoody, Georgia to treat a student who tried to participate in the challenge.[31][32]

Death of Harris Wolobah

In September 2023, a 14-year-old boy from Worcester, Massachusetts named Harris Wolobah ate a Paqui chip, complained about a severe stomachache, and died within a few hours.[32] Shortly afterwards, Paqui removed promotional text reading, "How long can you last before you spiral out?" from its web page about the One Chip Challenge. The company deleted web pages that let customers buy Carolina Reaper chips online and locate stores that sold them.[33] The company asked retailers to withdraw the challenge chips from sale and offered refunds to customers who had purchased them.[34][35]

A spokeswoman for Paqui said, "We care about all of our consumers and have made the decision to remove the product from shelves. Paqui presently has several representatives visiting retailers to retrieve the recalled product, in effort to prevent further injury through "under the tables" sales."[36] The autopsy report obtained in May 2024, listed the cause of death as cardiopulmonary arrest "in the setting of recent ingestion of food substance with high capsaicin concentration." Harris also had an enlarged heart and a congenital heart defect, according to the report shared by Timothy McGuirk, spokesperson for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security.[37][38]

Aftermath

American chili pepper breeder Ed Currie of the "PuckerButt Pepper Company" said "there's a lot more attention" now on capsaicin in his industry. As the creator of the Carolina Reaper he called challenges like these "stupid" and stated that "We don't market our products to children at all."[39] Currie went on to say that "I think, as an industry, we need to inform people of what they're getting into. To me, that's common sense."[39] Dr. Stuart Berger who is the head of cardiology at Lurie Children's Heart Center in Chicago said that this case may "force us to pause and look more closely at capsaicin and its effects."[39]

While a lawsuit could be filed against Hershey, an attorney from a Boston based law firm said that it likely would not succeed. He explained in his reasoning that a lack of adverse event reports filed to the FDA, and the chip being used for its intended purpose would go against it.[40] The attorney concluded by saying that "he wouldn't be surprised if Hershey opted to settle the case out of court to avoid more negative publicity while avoiding admitting any culpability."[40]

The Paqui brand was quietly discontinued in 2024.[41]

See also

References

  1. ^ LeBlanc, Steve (May 16, 2024). "Mass. teen died from eating a spicy chip as part of social media challenge, autopsy report concludes". NBC Boston. NBC. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  2. ^ "Do Not Eat Paqui's Carolina Reaper, aka the 'World's Spiciest Tortilla Chip'". Hypebeast. September 21, 2016. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  3. ^ a b Huen, Eustacia. "Meet the World's Spiciest Tortilla Chip (So Hot, It's Sold One Per Package)". Forbes. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  4. ^ "Dare to taste: Can you survive the world's hottest chips challenge?". The Indian Express. September 24, 2016. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  5. ^ "Paqui Tortilla Chips, the World's Spiciest Chip, Is Sold One to a Customer". Mental Floss. September 17, 2019. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  6. ^ Miller, Allie (May 12, 2022). "The Spiciest Chips You Can Get In America". Mashed.com. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  7. ^ "The World's Hottest Chip Is Basically Impossible to Eat". Thrillist. 12 October 2017. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  8. ^ a b Best, Mariana (September 13, 2022). "Would you eat the spiciest chip in the world for $9?". SFGATE. Archived from the original on September 19, 2022. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  9. ^ Rodriguez, James (August 24, 2017). "Former ad agency creatives began their careers growing brands — now they're out to create their own". Austin Business Journal. Archived from the original on July 15, 2023. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  10. ^ Theis, Michael (April 23, 2015). "Austin tortilla co. bought by Chicago snack startup SkinnyPop". Austin Business Journal. Archived from the original on February 11, 2017. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  11. ^ Shoup, Mary Ellen (May 31, 2022). "Hershey eyes opportunities in snacking: 'We have ambitions to become a snacking powerhouse'". Food Navigator USA. Archived from the original on September 25, 2022. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  12. ^ a b Holtz, Steve (August 16, 2021). "Paqui One Chip Challenge Returns for a 5th Year". CSP Daily News. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  13. ^ "Paqui Carolina Reaper One Chip Challenge". Paqui. December 5, 2016. Archived from the original on December 5, 2016. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  14. ^ a b "The Paqui #ONECHIPCHALLENGE Is Back". October 19, 2017. Archived from the original on October 19, 2017. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  15. ^ "The Torture Is Over For Now". February 8, 2018. Archived from the original on February 9, 2018. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  16. ^ "The Paqui #ONECHIPCHALLENGE Is Back". December 15, 2019. Archived from the original on December 15, 2019. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  17. ^ a b c "The 2020 Paqui #ONECHIPCHALLENGE Is Back". September 27, 2020. Archived from the original on September 27, 2020. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  18. ^ "Get the 2021 Paqui #ONECHIPCHALLENGE Here". September 5, 2021. Archived from the original on September 5, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  19. ^ "Get Ready for the 2022 Paqui #ONECHIPCHALLENGE". September 5, 2022. Archived from the original on September 5, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  20. ^ Best, Mariana (September 13, 2022). "Would you eat the spiciest chip in the world for $9?". SFGATE. Archived from the original on October 13, 2022. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  21. ^ "2023 Paqui #ONECHIPCHALLENGE". September 6, 2023. Archived from the original on September 6, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
  22. ^ a b Ravikumar, Vandana (January 20, 2022). "Spicy 'one chip challenge' sends 3 students at California high school to the hospital". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  23. ^ "T.I.'s Son King Harris Criticized for Offering Homeless Man $50 to Do Spicy 'One Chip Challenge'". Complex Networks.
  24. ^ Kerr-Dineen, Luke (October 26, 2017). "News anchor tries internet's one-chip challenge on live TV and it backfired so hard". For The Win. USA Today. Archived from the original on November 19, 2022. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  25. ^ Lenzen, Cecilia (September 12, 2022). "'$12 for 1 piece of chip and hospital bills': TikToker says Paqui One Chip Challenge landed niece in the hospital". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  26. ^ Gleiter, Sue (2023-09-06). "Controversial 'One Chip Challenge' Paqui brand is part of Hershey Co.'s portfolio". pennlive. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
  27. ^ Twitty, Tamera (September 16, 2022). "Colorado school district bans 'One Chip Challenge', after students are hospitalized in other states". OutThere Colorado. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  28. ^ Reynolds, Kieran. "Multiple California high school students were reportedly hospitalized after participating in the spicy social media 'One Chip Challenge'". Insider. Archived from the original on July 15, 2023. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  29. ^ Friedman, Elaina (August 9, 2022). "The Paqui One Chip Challenge Is Back And More Taxing Than Ever". Mashed.com. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  30. ^ Perera, John-Henry (September 15, 2022). "Pearland ISD bans super-spicy One Chip Challenge from school, citing dangers to some students". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  31. ^ "Georgia police warning parents about viral 'One Chip Challenge' after student injured". FOX 5 Atlanta. November 2022. Archived from the original on November 1, 2022. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
  32. ^ a b "Massachusetts teen dies after eating spicy tortilla chip". The Guardian.
  33. ^ Edwards, Jonathan (September 7, 2023). "What to know about the 'One Chip Challenge' and extremely spicy foods". Washington Post. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  34. ^ "Paqui Pulls 'One Chip Challenge' Packages from Stores After Teen's Death". Peoplemag. Retrieved 2023-09-07.
  35. ^ "Maker of the spicy 'One Chip Challenge' pulls product from store shelves". NPR. September 8, 2023.
  36. ^ Tumin, Remy (2023-09-07). "Paqui 'One Chip Challenge' Is Being Pulled From Shelves". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
  37. ^ LeBlanc, Steve; McCormack, Kathy; Casey • •, Michael (2024-05-16). "Mass. teen died from eating a spicy chip as part of social media challenge, autopsy report concludes". NBC Boston. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  38. ^ "Teen who ate spicy tortilla chip died of high chili consumption and had a heart defect, autopsy says". AP News. 2024-05-16. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  39. ^ a b c Corky Siemaszko (May 17, 2024). "Death of teen who ate a spicy chip has experts rethinking capsaicin and its effects". NBC News. Archived from the original on May 17, 2024. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  40. ^ a b Charlie McKenna (May 17, 2024). "Could viral spicy chip manufacturer Paqui be hit with a lawsuit after teen's death?". The Republican (Springfield, Massachusetts) via Masslive. Archived from the original on May 17, 2024. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  41. ^ https://medium.com/@spicyfoodreviews_68818/paqui-chips-have-been-quietly-discontinued-here-are-three-possible-replacements-e3789b288663
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