Japanese children in hospital after eating crisps branded ‘18+’ for spice level

Student brought crisps containing ghost peppers to school ‘for fun’, though they are marketed as not for consumption by those under 18

Fourteen high school students experienced nausea and mouth pain after consuming ‘R 18+ Curry chips’ in Tokyo, Japan on 16 July 2024 (Isoyama-shoji.co.jp)

At least 14 students from a Tokyo high school have been admitted to hospital after eating extra spicy crisps during their morning break.

The children experienced nausea and mouth pain after consuming the “R 18+ curry chips”. One took so ill they had to be transported in a wheelchair, Asahi Shimbun reported.

The crisps are marketed as not for consumption by children under 18 due to their intense spiciness from ghost peppers, also known as Bhut Jolokia.

They were brought to the Rokugo Koka High School by a student “just for fun” on 16 July, the report said.

Nearly 30 students ate the crisps and 14 were rushed to hospital, all but one of them girls.

According to crisp maker Isoyama Corp, the product comes with warnings on the package stating, “People aged under 18 should refrain from eating this product because it is too spicy” and “Not only people who are not good at spicy foods but also those who like spicy foods need to be cautious while eating this product”.

A company representative apologised for the incident and hoped for the speedy recovery of the students, Mainichi Shimbun reported.

The school alerted police at around 1pm saying several students were experiencing difficulties after consuming the spicy snack.

In 2007, Guinness World Records certified the ghost pepper as the world’s hottest chilli, boasting over one million Scoville Heat Units, 170 times hotter than Tabasco sauce and significantly surpassing cayenne pepper in heat intensity.

Spicy snacks have gained wide popularity recently, often as a result of social media challenges. But they have occasionally sent people to hospital and were even implicated in the death of a Massachusetts teenager last year.

Denmark recently recalled Korean ramen noodles containing high levels of chilli extract in the broth mix. The regulator said the concentration exceeded that found in chilli chips blamed for poisonings in Germany.

“Chilli in large quantities poses a risk to children and frail adults in particular,” Henrik Dammand Nielsen from the Danish Food and Drug Administration was quoted as saying by CBS News.

“Possible symptoms include burning and discomfort, nausea, vomiting and high blood pressure. That’s why we are now demanding that the shops remove the products from their shelves.”