Autopsy reveals teenager’s death from spicy chip challenge on social media

A 14-year-old died last year from ingesting a chip with a high spice factor as part of a social media challenge, according to an autopsy obtained in a report.

Harris Wolobah, a 10th grader from Worcester, Massachusetts, died on Sept. 1, 2023, after eating a Paqui tortilla chip with a high amount of chili pepper extract, according to the Associated Press. The chip was sold as part of a “One Chip Challenge” on social media, in which the consumer eats the chip and does not resort to drinking water or milk to combat the pain.

The challenge was popular online and is similar to the YouTube show Hot Ones, in which celebrities such as Tom Holland, Jennifer Lawrence, and Billie Eilish eat spicy hot wings while answering questions about their career.

Eating a chip with such a high concentration of capsaicin, according to the National Capital Poison Center, can cause “trouble breathing, esophageal damage, and heart problems.”

The cause of Wolobah’s death was “cardiopulmonary arrest,” according to the report, and the teenager had an enlarged heart and a congenital heart defect before attempting the challenge.

Well-known people who have partaken in the “One Chip Challenge” include Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Shaquille O’Neal, and others.

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Paqui pulled the chip from shelves shortly after Wolobah died last year in response to concerns about how such a spicy chip could affect someone’s health.

In 2021, Paqui sold a combination of Carolina Reaper and Scorpion Pepper tortilla chips and called it “the deadliest spice combination yet that will humble even the toughest of participants.”