"Cheongyang Chili Pepper 100 Times Spicier"... Japanese High School Students Hospitalized After Eating '18+' Snack

Japanese Spicy Potato Chips '18+ Curry Chips' Cause Stomach Pain
"Pain and Nausea in Mouth Right After One Bite"
Contains 'Hottest Chili Pepper'... "Sorry for the Concern"

In Japan, high school students experienced nausea and abdominal pain after eating spicy potato chips, leading to hospital transfers. On the 17th, Japan's Jiji Press reported that "on the 16th, 15 first-year students at a high school in Ota Ward, Tokyo, who ate '18+ Curry Chips' complained of abdominal pain, nausea, and pain around the mouth, and 14 of them were taken to the emergency room." Fortunately, their symptoms were mild.

Appearance of 18+ potato chips. [Image source=Captured from Isoyamasangsa website]

It was reported that 33 students shared one bag of the potato chips that morning. One student told Jiji Press, "As soon as I took a bite, I felt pain and numbness in my mouth and felt nauseous." The students repeatedly shouted "It's spicy," and one student reportedly sat down in distress in the school infirmary.

The potato chips are a product where the enclosed curry powder is mixed into the chip bag before eating. The product is known to contain India's 'Bhut Jolokia,' one of the world's spiciest chili pepper varieties. 'Bhut Jolokia' was once registered in the Guinness World Records as the world's hottest chili pepper. In the United States, it is sometimes called 'Ghost Chili' to indicate its extreme spiciness. The Scoville rating (a measure of spiciness) of this chili is recorded at over 1,000,000, which is about 100 times spicier than Cheongyang chili peppers, which have a Scoville rating of 4,000 to 12,000. For comparison, the popular spicy ramen product Buldak Bokkeum Myun has a Scoville rating of about 4,404.

Accordingly, the product packaging includes warnings such as "Do not eat with bare hands if you have cuts on your fingers," "Do not eat if under 18 years old due to the extreme spiciness," and "People with high blood pressure, poor condition, or weak stomachs should absolutely not eat this." There is also a warning stating, "Do not eat with bare hands if you have cuts on your fingers." Regarding this incident, the manufacturer stated, "We apologize for causing concern and wish a speedy recovery to those who were taken to the hospital."