Teen died from eating spicy chip as part of social media challenge, autopsy report says

The Associated Press

2 months ago

A Paqui One Chip Challenge chip is displayed in Boston, Friday, Sept. 8, 2023. A medical exami ... — A Paqui One Chip Challenge chip is displayed in Boston, Friday, Sept. 8, 2023. A medical examiner says a Massachusetts teen who participated in a spicy tortilla chip challenge died from ingesting a substance “with a high capsaicin concentration,” according to autopsy results The Associated Press obtained late Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Capsaicin is a chili pepper extract. Harris Wolobah died on Sept. 1, 2023, after eating the chip. (AP Photo/Steve LeBlanc, File)

Paqui One Chip Challenge chips are displayed at a 7-Eleven store in Boston, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023, before they were removed the following day. A medical examiner says a Massachusetts teen who participated in a spicy tortilla chip challenge died from ingesting a substance “with a high capsaicin concentration,” according to autopsy results The Associated Press obtained late Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Capsaicin is a chili pepper extract. Harris Wolobah died on Sept. 1, 2023, after eating the chip. (AP Photo/Steve LeBlanc, File)

Rev. Jonathan Slavinskas, left, prays with the family of Harris Wolobah, including mother Lois and father Amos Wolobah, right, during a vigil in Newton Square Friday, Sept. 8, 2023 in Worcester, Mass. A medical examiner says a Massachusetts teen who participated in a spicy tortilla chip challenge died from ingesting a substance “with a high capsaicin concentration,” according to autopsy results The Associated Press obtained late Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Capsaicin is a chili pepper extract. Harris Wolobah died on Sept. 1, 2023, after eating the chip. (Rick Cinclair/Worcester Telegram & Gazette via AP, File)

BOSTON — A Massachusetts teen who participated in a spicy tortilla chip challenge on social media died from ingesting a high amount of a chili pepper extract, according to an autopsy report obtained by The Associated Press.

Harris Wolobah, a 10th grader from the city of Worcester, died on Sept. 1, 2023, after eating the chip. He was found unresponsive by police who were called to his home, and brought to a hospital, where he died.

The cause of death was listed as cardiopulmonary arrest “in the setting of recent ingestion of food substance with high capsaicin concentration.”

The teen also had an enlarged heart and a congenital heart defect, according to the report, the findings of which were shared with the AP in an email from Elaine Driscoll, a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security.

The cause of death was determined on Feb. 27, and the death certificate was released to the city clerk’s office on March 5, Driscoll said.

The manufacturer of the chip, Paqui, asked retailers to stop selling the product shortly after Harris’ death.