Family of Teen Who Died After ‘One Chip Challenge’ Sues Hershey, Walgreens

The family of a Massachusetts teenager who died after eating a Paqui One Chip Challenge product in September 2023 has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Hershey, Walgreens and others, according to an AP news report.

The lawsuit seeks punitive damages for what the family’s attorney called “a perfect storm” leading to the 10th-grader’s death — from production of the spicy chip by Paqui to its marketing efforts to get consumers to video themselves eating the chip and post to social media, and on to Walgreens selling the product to children.

Harris Wolobah, of Worcester, Mass., ate the extremely spicy chip on Sept. 1, 2023, and an autopsy found that he had died of cardiopulmonary arrest “in the setting of recent ingestion of food substance with high capsaicin concentration,” the AP quoted the autopsy as saying. Wolobah, 14, also had cardiomegaly, or an enlarged heart, and a congenital defect called “myocardial bridging of the left anterior descending coronary artery,” the report said.

Although Wolobah had an enlarged heart and the congenital defect, the attorney claims those conditions had nothing to do with his death, that the chip killed him.

Paqui discontinued the One Chip Challenge soon after Wolobah’s death and worked with retailers to remove the products within a week of the fatal incident. It has expressed its remorse for the teen and his family, but also has pointed out that the labeling on the chip’s packaging noted that it should not be consumed by children, nor anyone sensitive to spicy foods or with underlying health conditions.

Neither Walgreens nor Hershey’s commented to the AP about the lawsuit.