WORCESTER, Mass. – A teen died suddenly just hours after participating in the viral “One-Chip Challenge,” police in Worcester, Massachusetts, said.
Harris Wolobah, 14, ate a Paqui brand chip — touted as the spiciest tortilla chip in the world — and died later the same day, WCVB reported.
The family told the Massachusetts news station that Harris ate the chip at school. He went to the nurse’s office before going home, where he fainted. He died a short time later at a hospital.
Investigators said it’s unclear whether the chip contributed to his death, but the teen’s mother told reporters she thinks the chip is to blame.
The chipmaker has a warning on its website saying that chip consumption is intended only for adults. There is also a warning to seek medical assistance if someone experiences difficulty breathing, fainting or extended nausea.
Dr. Lauren Rice, chief of pediatric emergency medicine at Tufts Medical Center, told WCVB that the side effects from ingesting capsaicin, the active component of chili peppers, can be dangerous.
“Sometimes we see people that will have a lot of chest pain or they’ll experience things like palpitations as well, so a whole variety of issues that we’re seeing with this One-Chip Challenge,” Rice said.
The teen’s cause of death will be determined by an autopsy.