Teen’s death after eating a single chip highlights risks of ultra-spicy foods | Ars Technica
The Paqui chip was seasoned with the Carolina Reaper pepper, the current hottest pepper in the world, and the Naga Viper pepper, which was the reigning hottest pepper in 2011 but is now merely among the top 10.
If you haven't kept track, heat-seeking chili growers have been breeding spicier and spicier hybrids. In 2007, the Ghost Pepper was the hottest, but in 2011, it was overthrown by a succession of new hybrids, including the Infinity Chili, the Naga Viper pepper, and the Trinidad Scorpion Butch T pepper. Then, in 2013, the Carolina Reaper came along and has yet to be unseated—which may be for the best.
As a group of doctors from the University of Mississippi wrote in a 2020 medical case report:
The content of capsaicin, the compound that gives peppers their spicy taste, may be measured in Scoville heat units (SHU). The Carolina Reaper pepper boasts up to 2,200,000 SHU. For reference, standard pepper spray contains around 2,000,000 to 5,000,000 SHU, ghost pepper 1,000,000 SHU, and jalapeno pepper 3,500 SHU.The Naga Viper can carry as much as about 1.4 million SHU.
I don't need this ultra-spicy stuff. Even a bit of chili is enough for me.
