Texas-Based Paqui Pulls “One Chip Challenge” After Teen Dies

October 17, 2023 — The Texas-based Paqui company has asked stores to stop selling its “One Chip Challenge” product after a teenager died.

Paqui is a chip company based in Austin, Texas, that is also a subsidiary of The Hershey Company.

Paqui is well-known for selling extremely spicy individual chips in a coffin-shaped box for people to participate in a viral internet challenge known as the “One Chip Challenge.”

Participants are challenged to eat the chip and see how long they can go without eating anything or drinking water.

In September 2023, Paqui asked stores to stop selling the “One Chip Challenge” product after a 14-year-old in Massachusetts died on the same day that he took the challenge.

The teenager ate a Paqui chip that was given to him by a classmate, and soon visited the school nurse complaining about a severe stomach ache.

Instead of going to the hospital, the nurse called his mother to take him home. He was found unconscious later that day. He was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

After being notified of the teenager’s death, Paqui immediately asked stores to pull the product off shelves.

Paqui said it “continues to adhere to food safety standards,” but “out of an abundance of caution, we are actively working with our retailers to remove the product from shelves.”

In September 2023, Paqui also recalled the 2023 “One Chip Challenge” product in Canada after several reports of adverse reactions.

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