The tortilla chip company that challenged consumers to eat one chip made with two of the hottest peppers in the world is pulling the product from store shelves.
The move follows the death of a teenager whose family said he died after consuming the chip, which is made with Carolina Reaper and Naga Viper peppers. The peppers range from 1.3 million to 2.2 million on the Scoville Scale, which measures a pepper's heat level. In comparison, a jalapeno has a rating of 8,000.
"The Paqui One Chip Challenge is intended for adults only, with clear and prominent labeling highlighting the chip is not for children or anyone sensitive to spicy foods or who has food allergies, is pregnant or has underlying health conditions," Paqui, a subsidiary of the Hershey Company, said in a statement on its website. "We have seen an increase in teens and other individuals not heeding these warnings."
As a result, the company says it is working with retailers to remove the product from shelves "out of an abundance of caution." Paqui is also offering refunds on its single-serve One Chip Challenge product, which retails for $9.99 for a single serving.
The chip, which comes in a coffin-shaped box, was one of the last things 14-year-old Harris Wolobah ate before he died.
The cause of his death is not immediately clear, but Wolobah's mom told The New York Times that she believed the chip had something to do with his death.
Wolobah told The Times she was called to her son's school after he felt sick, and she found him clutching his stomach in the nurse's office. She said he passed out two hours after he got home and was rushed to the hospital where he died. Autopsy results are pending.