Trying the One Chip Challenge? Expert says you need to know your limits
Updated September 7, 2023: Paqui has pulled its "One Chip Challenge" from store shelves.
WORCESTER - A viral challenge has people purchasing an extremely spicy chip and seeing how much heat they can handle. Recently, a 14-year-old boy from Worcester died after attempting the "One Chip Challenge."
People are being encouraged to know their limits. Rich Moyette has been making hot sauce for 25 years. His two shops in Massachusetts have one simple rule.
"We do not sample or sell anything to anyone under 18 years old. We will not do it unless a parent is here. We won't do it," says Moyette adamantly. "I saw the news. It's a tragic, tragic story. It's horrible for anyone to pass."
Moyette sells a similar challenge brand at his store House of Hot Sauce. He's seen someone consume 152 of these at a festival in Vermont. It's basically a tortilla chip covered in scorching spices. It's typically sold in a one chip pouch, however the one Moyette sells has two.
"It's hard to eat, hard to choke down because it's dry. You should drink something with it to get it down," said Moyette. "If I were going to do the hot chip challenge, and I have a high heat level, I am going to try a piece off the top."
He suggests this because everyone has a different tolerance level and no chip or hot sauce is created equal. Hot sauces are measured by something called the Scoville scale, however it's not an exact science.
"If you notice 2,500 to 8,000 is the jalapeño," Moyette said. "You never know which pepper you get, and how hot it is going to be coming off the plant."
Each pepper is created differently, even within a species. A Carolina Reaper is high on the scale but ranges from 1.4 to 2.2 million Scoville. Moyette makes all customers do a personal hotness test starting with a dollop at the bottom of the scale and moving up. He watches the person's face looking for brow sweat, and redness in the face.
"Red in the eyes is to too far," adds Moyette.
"Everyone's body reacts to spices differently," said Dr. Robyn Riseman, a pediatrician with Boston Community Pediatrics. "People are saying there's this hot chip, who knows what's in it?"
She suggests parents watch what their kids do on social media and keep an open dialogue.
"A lot of times you ask kids, 'does that seem like a good idea?' They will say, 'No,' but you have to pose the question. Make them have that conversation," said Riseman.