A chip company is pulling a product off store shelves after its spicy product allegedly killed a 14-year-old boy.
Harris Wolobah took Paqui’s “One Chip Challenge” by eating a single chip packed in a coffin-like box, before passing away Friday, according to the boy’s mother. The product contains Carolina Reaper and Naga Viper peppers, according to the Paqui website.
The challenge exhorts participants to eat the chip and then wait as long as possible before drinking or eating to alleviate the heat, according to NBC Boston.
An autopsy has yet to confirm Wolobah’s cause of death, but his family believes it’s linked to the chip, the outlet reported.
Paqui said in a statement posted online that it is “offering refunds” and “actively working with [retailers] to remove the product from shelves” due to “an abundance of caution.”
‘One Chip Challenge’ company Paqui PULLS product off shelves after teen, 14, dies https://t.co/4QRbye1C1G pic.twitter.com/wJaexIU4Ob
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) September 7, 2023
“The Paqui One Chip Challenge is intended for adults only, with clear and prominent labeling highlighting the chip is not for children,” the company wrote.
Paqui said labeling also urged “anyone sensitive to spicy foods or who has food allergies, is pregnant or has underlying health conditions” to avoid the product. (RELATED: FDA Issues Warning Over Viral Cooking Craze Deemed Incredibly Dangerous)
The company acknowledged “an increase in teens and other individuals not heeding [warnings]” despite the product’s adherence “to food safety standards.”