One Chip Challenge

The One Chip Challenge is an internet challenge in which participants must eat one extremely spicy Paqui Carolina Reaper chip and avoid eating or drinking anything afterwards. The challenge has been tried by celebrities and social media personalities, and it has garnered criticism for negative associated health effects.

In September 2023, after a 14-year-old boy died on the same day he took the challenge, Paqui immediately withdrew and discontinued the chips from any further sales and indefinitely stopped publicity for the challenge. It is currently under investigation whether the fatality was diretly due to consuming the chip, or if other health factors were at play. The teen's death led to the chip being banned in many retail stores nonetheless.

Background
Paqui is an American brand of tortilla chips made by Amplify Snack Brands, Inc, a subsidiary of The Hershey Company. Its Carolina Reaper chips, sold individually wrapped, was known for being one of the spiciest flavors sold. Doug Lyon, a veteran of the advertising industry, and Alissa Bassana founded Paqui in Austin in 2008. SkinnyPop acquired Paqui in 2015, after which Lyon became the parent company's vice president of creative and innovation. After SkinnyPop later reincorporated as Amplify Snack Brands, The Hershey Company acquired Amplify in 2017.

Challenge
The One Chip Challenge has been promoted by Amplify Snack Brands since 2016. Participants must eat one Carolina Reaper chip and avoid eating or drinking anything afterwards. An anchor for KWGN-TV vomited on live television after trying the challenge. Celebrities including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Shaquille O'Neal, Joel Embiid, Lil Yachty, and Sean Evans have tried the challenge. In 2022, the chips sold for the One Chip Challenge turned people's tongues bright blue, to deter cheating.

Criticism and controversy
The challenge has been controversial because some participants have required medical attention. Paqui warns that the One Chip Challenge should be attempted by adults only, and recommends safety precautions for participants. 

Because children and teens have attempted the challenge, several schools have taken action. In September 2022, the challenge was banned by Huerfano School District RE-1 in Huerfano County, Colorado, as many children of their schools were accepting the challenge and becoming hospitalized. The One Chip Challenge has also been banned from Lodi High School in Lodi, California, and from schools in Pearland Independent School District in Pearland, Texas. In November 2022, first responders were called to Dunwoody High School in Dunwoody, Georgia to treat a student who tried to participate in the challenge.

In September 2023, a 14-year-old boy from Massachusetts ate a Paqui chip, complained about a severe stomachache, and died within a few hours. Shortly afterwards, Paqui removed promotional text reading, "How long can you last before you spiral out?" from its web page about the One Chip Challenge. The company deleted web pages that let customers buy Carolina Reaper chips online and locate stores that sold them. The company asked retailers to withdraw the challenge chips from sale and offered refunds to customers who had purchased them. A spokeswoman for Paqui said, "We care about all of our consumers and have made the decision to remove the product from shelves. Paqui presently has several representatives visiting retailers to retrieve the recalled poduct, in effort to prevent further injury through "under the tables" sales."

Some individual stunts involving the challenge have also been criticized for other reasons. Rapper T.I.'s son King Harris controversially offered to pay a homeless man $50 if he completed a One Chip Challenge. Since the man failed the challenge, Harris only paid him $20.

Worldwide

In Germany, the challenge was marketed as the Hot Chip Challenge (Scharfer-Chip“-Herausforderung) with the same ingredients and similar rules to their English counterpart. In August 2023, there was a large-scale emergency response in Euskirchen after multiple children were impacted in a 5th grade classroom. The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment has since warned against doing the test of courage and of the chips.

See also
Chili pepper
Hot pepper challenge
List of Internet challenges
Scoville scale

References

External links

Challenges
Brand name snack foods
Spicy foods
Products introduced in 2016
Products and services discontinued in 2023
The Hershey Company brands