Rhode Island parents warned of viral ‘one chip challenge’

It’s the latest social media challenge and it’s apparently making high school students in Rhode Island sick. So what is the ‘One Chip Challenge’ and is it coming to the South Coast too?

Although not as dangerous as the ‘Tide Pod Challenge’ from several years ago, the ‘One Chip Challenge’ is also making a good number of people sick. At least that’s what school officials have told parents of high school students in Warwick, Rhode Island.

An email was sent this week to parents of children attending Warwick Veterans Middle School to inform them that several students have become ill after eating the chips that are part of the ‘One Potato Challenge’. Looks like they were brought to the nurse’s office with an upset stomach from the incredibly spicy fries.

So what exactly is the ‘One Chip Challenge’?

It’s pretty much what it sounds like. People are challenged to consume a single incredibly spicy tortilla chip made by the Paqui company.

Paqui makes several types of spicy tortilla chips, but her new viral challenge includes a single chip seasoned with Carolina Reaper Pepper and spicy Scorpion Pepper and the concept is that if you can keep it down, you’ve won the challenge.

While eating just one hot chip might not sound like such a terrible thing, it turns out that these extremely hot chips can have serious consequences for your stomach. In fact, the capsaicin, a compound naturally found in chili peppers, in these particular chips can be so strong that there’s a chance it could cause heart attacks or permanent esophageal damage.

That’s some serious spice.

For now, the reports from Rhode Island are just stomachaches and sore mouths from students who tried the fries. However, it was enough for school officials in Warwick to ban the tokens and choose to punish any student who brings them.

The package itself warns people not to eat if they are sensitive to spicy foods, allergic to peppers, nightshades, or capsaicin, or pregnant. There is also the caveat to wash your hands after touching the chip, as you can only imagine what it would feel like to have these spices in your eye.

Whether you’re brave enough to try the ‘One Chip Challenge’ for yourself or not, these chips clearly have consequences, and for now, school officials in Warwick, Rhode Island don’t want to see these things in their schools. .