Autopsy confirms teen died from eating Paqui spicy chip challenge
An autopsy found that the teen who ate the Paqui One Chip Challenge died from high doses of chile pepper extract, and also had a congenital heart defect.
The Boston teenager who died the same day he ate a Paqui One Chip Challenge tortilla chip died from the effects of consuming a large amount of chile pepper extract and also had a congenital heart defect, an autopsy report obtained by the Associated Press said.
The One Chip Challenge tortilla chip, an intensely hot chip made with Carolina Reapers — considered the hottest peppers in the world — was one of the last things Harris Wolobah, a 14-year-old high school sophomore, said he ate. He died at the hospital about two hours later, the Boston Globe reported.
» READ MORE: Hershey-owned Paqui pulls ‘One Chip Challenge’ after teen’s death
The chip had a contentious reputation beforehand, earning criticism from parents and medical professionals. But Wolobah’s death marked the first time it was potentially linked to a fatality, according to the New York Times. On Thursday, the autopsy results reported by the Associated Press confirmed it.
Wolobah’s cause of death was determined earlier this year, on Feb. 27, and the death certificate was released to the city clerk’s office on March 5, a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security told the Associated Press.
According to the autopsy report, the teen’s cause of death was listed as cardiopulmonary arrest “in the setting of recent ingestion of food substance with high capsaicin concentration.”
Following Wolobah’s death last September, Paqui — a Hershey Company subsidiary — pulled the One Chip Challenge from shelves. Hershey purchased the snack company behind the chip challenge in 2017 for about $1.6 billion.