A lawsuit was filed Thursday in the death of a Massachusetts teenager who died after participating in a spicy tortilla chip challenge on social media.
Harris Worova, a 10th grade student from Worcester, died on September 1, 2023, after eating Paki chips as part of Paki’s “One Chip Challenge.” An autopsy revealed that Worova died after consuming a large amount of chilli pepper extract and also had a congenital heart defect.
According to the medical examiner’s office autopsy report, Harris died from cardiac arrest “resulting from recent ingestion of foods containing high levels of capsaicin,” the compound that gives chili peppers their hotness.
According to the autopsy report, Harris suffered from an enlarged heart and a birth defect called a “myocardial bridge of the left anterior descending coronary artery.”
Hershey’s Texas subsidiary, Paki, expressed sadness over Worova’s death but also noted the chips’ “clear and conspicuous labeling emphasizing that the products are not intended for children, people with sensitivities to spicy foods or those with underlying medical conditions.”
Selling for about $10 each, the Paki chips come wrapped in foil in coffin-shaped boxes with warnings that they are intended for “revenge pleasure through intense heat and pain” and that the chips should only be consumed by adults and kept out of reach of children.
Despite the warnings, kids have had no problem buying the chips, and there have been reports from around the country of teenagers getting sick after participating in the chip-eating challenge, including three high school students in California who were taken to the hospital after taking part in the 2022 challenge, and seven students in Minnesota who were treated by paramedics.
The challenge involved participants eating Paki chips and then testing how long they could go without consuming any other food or water. Sales of the chips appeared to be driven primarily by people posting videos on social media of themselves and their friends taking part in the challenge. The videos showed people, including children, opening the packages, eating the chips, and reacting to their heat. Some videos showed people choking, coughing, and begging for water.
Harris’ death prompted Massachusetts officials and doctors to warn that eating such spicy foods can have unintended consequences. Since the chip epidemic began, poison control centers have warned that consuming high concentrations of the chips can cause allergic reactions, breathing difficulties, irregular heartbeats and even heart attacks and strokes.
