Paqui, the makers of the “One Chip Challenge” announced on Thursday that they would be removing their spicy tortilla chip from store shelves across the county as well as discontinuing the product altogether after a 14-year-old boy died last month after bringing the dangerous Paqui chip to school. On September 1, 2023, in Worcester, Massachusetts, Sophomore Harris Wolobah came home early from school stating he wasn’t feeling well after eating the spicy food and unfortunately died in the hospital a few hours later.
Paqui is an American-made brand of tortilla chips made by Amplify Snack Brands Inc., a subsidiary of the Hershey Company. Their creation is said to be the spiciest chip in the world. The challenging part of consuming this exceedingly hot snack is that after eating the entire chip, people are supposed to attempt to wait as long as possible before eating or drinking anything else. This chip is individually wrapped and sold in a coffin-shaped cardboard container, with warnings covering the entire back of the box. The writing on the packaging states the product was originally only meant for adults, however, as the chip gained popularity over social media, the challenge was taken on by people of various ages, the majority of them within the teenage range.
The product, made in 2023, contains Blue Corn, Sunflower and/or Safflower Oil, Sea Salt, and Carolina Reaper Pepper. The Carolina Reaper was rated the “hottest pepper in the world,” according to Guinness World Records from 2013 to 2023 before it was surpassed by Pepper X and the Naga Viper Pepper; which is another type of insanely hot chili pepper ranked even hotter than a Ghost Chili pepper as of 2010.
Although Wolobah ate the chip hours before he died, it is not yet clear if it was specifically connected to his death. However, the boy’s parents and multiple others who knew him believe it was caused by the challenge. Kim Metcalfe, Paqui spokeswoman, said that the company was “deeply saddened” by Harris’s death and that they “express our condolences to the family,” the New York Times reported. An autopsy is currently in effect, but the results are not expected to come out for several weeks. The chip has been reassessed and based on alternative experiences from others, it does seem to have some side effects, especially in the younger community. Granada Senior Eddy Martinez says that he’s personally “seen a lot of people do the challenge, and it looks like they’re dying.” He also states that he’s heard “multiple people have been hospitalized.”
These side effects are what is guessed to have stirred Wolobah’s sudden death. Medical experts say that the One Chip Challenge can cause a variety of consequences, sometimes even fatal ones, such as vomiting, stomach aches, difficulty breathing, and various other problems. Makers of the brand caution that the challenge is not safe for minors or people with health conditions. These effects can occur when exposed to high capsaicin doses which is a naturally occurring compound that is the active ingredient in chili peppers. Because capsaicin is highly irritating, most people will develop immediate irritation of the mouth and throat after consuming the chip, which is a high capsaicin-containing product. The symptoms tend to last for several hours but can persist for days in some individuals.
According to Dr. Dasgupta, anybody who is experiencing symptoms after consuming these sorts of hot peppers should “seek medical attention immediately.” The Carolina Reaper pepper, which is used in the fiery chip, is one of the hottest peppers in the world and can cause burning sensations, seizures, and in sensitive cases, death. It’s important to be wary when consuming large amounts of this spicy substance due to the possibility of the extremely dangerous, life-threatening effects.
Initially, after Wolobah’s death, the Paqui company decided to do a “voluntary retrieval” of the chip. Metcalfe said it was not so much of a recall than a move “out of an abundance of caution” after Harris’s unfortunate passing. The company has now recalled Paqui’s 2023 ‘One Chip Challenge’ in Canada as well due to reported adverse reactions to the product. A food safety investigation done by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) remains ongoing. Paqui is actively working with their retailers to remove the product from shelves across the country in order to prevent another incident or possible loss of life. They are also offering refunds to people who have purchased their single-serve chip. Customers can contact Paqui at 1-866-528-6848 or visit their website for additional information.
With the information given, how can we relate this event to the overall corruption of our American food industry today? Developers have gotten too careless when it comes to America’s acceptable food regulations. This issue is mostly occurring due to capitalism and marketing. It can be easy to forget that the food you buy comes from companies whose main goal is to make a profit, a goal which they will go to extreme lengths to accomplish. Companies often add unnecessary ingredients to products that decrease the nutritional value of the food to make them more sustainable to last longer. Martinez says he feels like he “can’t really buy anything because [nowadays] it isn’t healthy unless it’s literally a vegetable.”
Food is often stripped of important nutrients like fiber and vitamins when manufactured and metabolic disruptors are added. Afterward, our cuisine is left with more fat-building calories and less valuable nutrients. The food is also cheap and addictive, making it a perfect option for companies to target low-income families who can’t afford higher-priced produce and organic foods, which explains why towns with lower socioeconomic status are more likely to be affected by the obesity epidemic. Our senior claims that he believes the food industry is tremendously corrupt because “our food industry is very for profit and there are a bunch of food dyes in all of our meals and it’s just all chemicals that are really bad for you.”
Making foods cheap and available at the cost of health is what helps food corporations make money, but at a cost that they decide to ignore for the quick buck. Producers are starting to pass by our safety standards for what people should be putting in their bodies more and more, which could cause numerous problems for coming generations. Most people don’t even know all of the ingredients in their snacks, nor do they care to look out of trust for their favorite brands.
Furthermore, processed foods have also made a practice of exploiting the terms “healthy” and “natural” in their marketing, intentionally fooling their customers. Grocery stores have aisles full of foods packed with sugar, salt, and unhealthy fats, but only a fraction of store space is devoted to healthy vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. Processed foods are seen as cheaper, long-lasting snacks, and as they get more popular healthier foods are starting to get harder to find and are becoming less of a priority. In 2019 the fast food industry spent “$5 billion on advertising,” which was an increase of over $400 million since 2012. In addition, food companies spent “$11 billion on television ads in 2017, and 80 percent of that (about $8.8 billion) was spent on their processed offerings such as soda, fast food, candy, and snacks.”
This is extremely problematic because some foods that contain several chemicals, dyes, and preservatives that are deemed safe in the U.S. are completely banned in other countries. Dangerous meals can have different effects on those who consume them, including weight gain, obesity, and other chronic health conditions that put people at a higher risk of at least 13 different types of cancer. It’s no secret that America’s obesity rate has increased rapidly in recent years with the rise in fast food sales and preservatives added to our everyday meals. According to PublicHealth.org, such foods have become 11% of the average American diet. Martinez guesses that America’s obesity rate compared to other countries is “more than double than any other country that’s not super close to us.” The American FDA unfortunately tends to take a more reactive approach to food standard inspections, as it currently allows food additives unless they’re proven to be directly harmful.
Luckily, recently Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new law banning food additives, including the infamous Red Dye No.3. For those that don’t know, this colorant is an additive that turns food a pink or watermelon-like red color and is usually used in bright-colored sodas, juices, yogurts, snacks, and frozen desserts. It doesn’t seem too bad, does it? Yet what consumers are intentionally kept in the dark about is what the dye really is made from. Red Dye is made from Petroleum, which is, by definition, a “liquid mixture of hydrocarbons that is present in certain rock strata and can be extracted and refined to produce fuels including gasoline, kerosene, and diesel oil.” These chemicals can end up having serious effects on those who consume them, even unintentionally.
We asked Eddy whether or not he thinks people pay attention to what’s in their food, and his opinion was “absolutely not.” The law, signed earlier this month, is expected to go into effect in 2027. State Assemblyman, Jesse Gabriel, states, “The primary purpose of this bill was to protect kids and families and consumers in the state of California… and hopefully to spur momentum in Washington, D.C. for real, significant change.”
The Paqui chip is just one example of potentially harmful foods that have been allowed to enter the market, and if allowed to continue could have long-lasting effects on people’s nutrition gain, and physical health, and in certain cases even lead to death. Though Paqui was fortunately recalled, with a number of other companies finding new ways to sell their unhealthy products, society must become more aware of what they are putting in their bodies so they can avoid harmful foods in the future.
