One Chip Challenge

After an investigation into the cause of death, an autopsy report released to various news outlets in May 2024 confirmed that Harris died from cardiopulmonary arrest after eating a substance containing a high amount of capsaicin, and had cardiomegaly, a congenital heart defect.

[11] The One Chip Challenge was first promoted in 2016 by Amplify Snack Brands under the name Carolina Reaper, which at the time was the world's hottest chili pepper.

[16] In September 2020, the main focus became the challenge of eating a single chip as it was marketed inside of a coffin shaped box.

[8][12] On Paqui's website, the challenge scale of 5 minutes to 1 hour was changed to read "Powerless" to "Invincible" and included wording such as "How long can you last before getting Owned?

Celebrities including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Shaquille O'Neal, Joel Embiid, Lil Yachty, and Sean Evans all tried the challenge.

's son King Harris controversially offered to pay a homeless man $50 if he completed a One Chip Challenge.

[31][32] In September 2023, a 14-year-old boy from Worcester, Massachusetts named Harris Wolobah ate a Paqui chip, complained about a severe stomachache, and died within a few hours.

The company deleted web pages that let customers buy Carolina Reaper chips online and locate stores that sold them.

[33] The company asked retailers to withdraw the challenge chips from sale and offered refunds to customers who had purchased them.

Paqui presently has several representatives visiting retailers to retrieve the recalled product, in effort to prevent further injury through "under the tables" sales.

"[36] The autopsy report obtained in May 2024, listed the cause of death as cardiopulmonary arrest "in the setting of recent ingestion of food substance with high capsaicin concentration."

"[39] Dr. Stuart Berger who is the head of cardiology at Lurie Children's Heart Center in Chicago said that this case may "force us to pause and look more closely at capsaicin and its effects.