14-Year-Old Dies After Taking Part In “One Chip Challenge”

The relatives of a 14-year-old, in Worcester, Massachusetts, reported that he died hours after participating in the “One Chip Challenge.”

Lois Wolobah, the mother of the teen identified as Harris Wolobah, stated that she picked her son up from school on Friday. This came after she had gotten a call from the school nurse. She had said that Harris had passed out after eating a chip given to him by a friend.

As Harris was lying down, the mother asked Harris what he had eaten. Her son then showed her an image of the Paqui brand 2023 One Chip Challenge.

The chip is packaged in a box, with one chip wrapped up inside. It is named as “Carolina Reaper” and “Naga Viper Pepper.” Harris’s mother says that he fainted again when they got to their residence. They then traveled to the emergency room where he died.

Now, autopsy results are pending, but Harris’s parents say that he had no pre-existing conditions. They added their son was a healthy basketball player with no known allergies.

The chip is a part of a social media challenge that the company seems to boast about in its advertisement videos.

Reports show that the chip in question has “capsaicin…consumption typically causes mouth and throat pain but can also result in more serious health problems including heart attack and esophageal damage.”

Harris’s family is now calling for the chips to be removed from store shelves.