I thought it was a “television joke” when I first heard it: A DEADLY SNACK CHIP! How could one chip injure or kill a person unless it was some illicit drug or poisoning?
But there was the “blurb” on my computer screen and then later a posting on the internet: Some retailers were pulling the “product” from their shelves, and protests were erupting in public—social media had the message, and it was spreading, but apparently the whole thing began with a challenge that had been posted on the “media.”
A teen in Massachusetts (His name was in the newspaper, but I am not going to reveal it.) had eaten a chip and died, an extremely SPICY TORTILLA CHIP, and manufacturers were asking for stores to take the chips off their shelves!
The last I heard, an autopsy had not determined exactly what killed the youngster, but the family was blaming the “One Chip Challenge” for urging participants to eat one specially marketed chip and then see just how long they can go without eating any other foods or drinking any liquids.
The youngster above apparently took the challenge, and then later the police were called to the family home and found him unresponsive.
What I have read says that the manufacturer is named “PAQUI” and is asking sellers to stop and asking people to avoid the chips.
Reports say the product is one foil-wrapped chip that is sold in a coffin-shaped box and costs about ten dollars ($10)—with a warning that it is made for “vengeful pleasure of intense heat and pain”—is intended for adults and should not be kept where children can “get to them.”
One story says, though, that it has been reported that children have had no problem buying the “really hot” chips.
Several children in one elementary school came into contact with one of the chips and needed medical attention, and the girl who had brought it to school had been suspended!
Around the country, parents are asking why something that has an “adults only” warning on it is being sold to children, and there are reports from other areas about several children who have become ill from the chips during the past year, while even adults have also had problems with the chips.
One thirty-one-years-old construction worker said he tried out a chip after reading about the “challenge” and seeing it on social media and that he “loved” spicy food, expected the heat, and wanted to see how he would compare to others who had tried.
However, he says the chip was very, very hot indeed, but that he did not expect the diarrhea and stomach cramps that kept him from attending work the next day!
The last report I saw said that the chips are disappearing or have disappeared from store shelves as of a few days ago.
But, this writer recommends that if you already have one of the “HOT” chips, do not eat it and do not give it to anyone else. Please find a way to dispose of it that will not endanger any “living” animals or people with the extreme heat and side effects!
P. S. “I looked it up” and found these chips get their extreme heat from the CAROLINA REAPER PEPPER!
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