There’s spicy and then there’s “super spicy.” On Tuesday, a student at Rokugo Koka High School in Tokyo’s Ota ward brought in some “18+ Curry Chips” to share at school “just for fun.” Unfortunately, it wasn’t a particularly fun experience for many of those who tried them. Around 30 students ate the super spicy chips, with 14 of those — 13 girls and one boy — being taken to hospital. The first-year pupils complained of nausea and acute pain around their mouths. All are believed to have minor symptoms, though one person felt so ill, they had to be transported via a wheelchair.
Isoyama Corp, the company that makes the super spicy chips, released a statement apologizing for “any inconvenience” to customers, adding that it “sincerely wishes for the swift recovery of those who have reported feeling unwell.” According to the company website, anyone under the age of 18 is forbidden from consuming the snacks that are “so spicy they might cause you pain.” It also prohibits those with high blood pressure and weak stomachs from eating the chips, discourages those who are “timid or too scared” from trying them and advises people against consuming them “when they are alone.”
Ghost Pepper: The Super Spicy Chips’ Potent Ingredient
Responding to the news on X, Elon Musk wrote, “Damn, they must be next-level spicy!” The intense spiciness of the chips comes from the potent “ghost pepper,” also known as bhut jolokia, which is cultivated in Northeast India. In 2007, Guinness World Records certified it as the world’s hottest chili pepper, 170 times hotter than Tabasco sauce. Attempting to eat chips containing bhut jolokia has become a popular challenge on social media in recent times. Last year, Harris Wolobah, a 10th grader from the city of Worcester in Massachusetts died after participating in Paqui’s “One Chip Challenge.”
