A Massachusetts household is asking for a ban on the viral “One Chip Problem” after a teen died unexpectedly, shortly after consuming a very spicy tortilla chip.
Harris Wolobah died on the Worcester Public College district on 1 September the place he was a sophomore, stated college officers.
Harris’s household claimed he died after he ate a chip as a part of a “One Chip Problem”, though the reason for his dying remained to be established because the post-mortem report is pending.
The social media dare includes consuming a really spicy chip and ready for so long as doable earlier than consuming water or taking one thing for aid.
Chips producer Paqui advertises the problem on its web site because the “2023 Paqui One Chip Problem”. The same branding could be seen on the wrapper of the actual chip that Harris’s household stated he ate as properly.
Paqui packages the one chip in a coffin-shaped wrapper and warns that it must be stored out of kids’s attain.
It additionally has a warning label advising these dealing with respiratory issue or prolonged nausea to hunt quick medical help, as per its web site. The warning additionally says these “allergic to peppers, evening shades or capsaicin” and people pregnant or with medical circumstances mustn’t eat the chip.
“I pray to god that no dad and mom will undergo what I’m going by,” Harris’s mom Louis Wolobah advised CBS in tears. “I don’t wish to see anyone hurting the best way I’m hurting. I miss my son a lot.”
Ms Wolobah stated she went to choose up her son on Friday after receiving a name from the varsity informing her that Harris had fainted after consuming a chip shared by a fellow pupil, leaving him with a abdomen ache.
“After I went there, he was mendacity down and I stated, ‘what was the chip you ate?’ And that is what he confirmed me,” stated Ms Wolobah, and referred to a picture of the “One Chip Problem”.
Although he felt higher at dwelling, he handed out simply earlier than he was about to go away for a basketball tryout at round 4.30pm, reported NBC Boston. He was pronounced lifeless on the hospital.
Whereas the corporate has not issued an announcement on the matter, a consultant for Paqui advised Right now final yr that they take “security very critically and have labored laborious to make sure our merchandise are correctly and clearly labeled with allergen and security data”.
“It’s our intent that customers tackle this problem with a full understanding of what it’s and whether it is applicable for them,” the corporate stated on the time.
Grieving his loss, Worcester Public Colleges superintendent Rachel Monárrez known as him a “rising star”.
“It’s with a heavy coronary heart I share that we misplaced a rising star, Harris Wolobah, who was a sophomore scholar at Doherty Memorial Excessive College. As a mom and educator, I can not think about how laborious that is on his household, buddies and lecturers,” Ms Monarrez stated in her assertion Sunday.
“My coronary heart goes out to all who knew and beloved him.”
The college can be providing grief counselling to college students.
In the meantime, kinfolk of the Wolobah household created a GoFundMe web page to assist them “elevate sufficient funds to alleviate the burden of funeral bills for his dad and mom and siblings”.
“The ache our household is experiencing is unimaginable. Harris was a lightweight that lit up the room along with his presence and refined attraction. He was an clever, quirky and extremely proficient younger man who beloved video video games and enjoying basketball,” it learn. The GoFundMe requested assist to achieve its aim of $30,000.