His death was caused by cardiac arrest “in the setting of recent ingestion of a food substance with high capsaicin concentration,” according to information shared by Elaine Driscoll, a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security.
The report noted that Harris had a “cardiomegaly and myocardial bridging of the left anterior descending coronary artery” — an enlarged heart and a congenital heart condition.
Driscoll said that the cause of death was determined Feb. 27, but details from the autopsy gained national attention in May.
The chip produced by Paqui, a subsidiary of the Hershey Co., was branded the “One Chip Challenge” and dared consumers to eat the spicy snack. It came packaged in a coffin-shaped box and seasoned with extreme spice for $9.99.
The “One Chip Challenge” has been discontinued, and Paqui worked with retailers to voluntarily remove the product from store shelves in September 2023, the company told The Washington Post on Thursday afternoon.
“We were and remain deeply saddened by the death of Harris Wolobah and extend our condolences to his family and friends,” said Kim Metcalfe, a spokesperson for Paqui, adding that the challenge “was intended for adults only … the product was not for children or anyone sensitive to spicy foods or with underlying health conditions.”
Harris’s mother, Lois Wolobah, told WBZ in September that she learned from the school nurse that her son had fainted in school after eating a tortilla chip. When she reached the high school, Harris showed her an image of the Paqui chip that made him sick.
A few hours later, Harris passed out at home. He was taken to an emergency room where he died, his mother said.
When first responders arrived to assist Harris, he was unresponsive and not breathing, Worcester Police Department spokesperson Katie Daly-Shea told The Post in September.
“Harris was a light that lit up the room with his presence and subtle charm,” said Harris’s family in a now-disabled Go Fund Me arranged to raise funds for his funeral. “He was an intelligent, quirky and incredibly talented young man who loved video games and playing basketball!”
The product was being sold as a “One Chip Challenge,” suggesting consumers would find it challenging to consume the single 6-gram chip dusted with Carolina Reaper and the Naga Viper peppers.
The idea for Paqui’s “One Chip Challenge” was born a decade ago and has gone through seven iterations since then, mainly changing the peppers used to season it.
Before Harris’s death, there had been reports of children suffering physically after eating the chips at school.
In January 2022, three students at a high school in Lodi, Calif., went to the emergency room after eating the chip, which caused them to vomit and struggle to breathe, Lodi Unified School District spokesperson Chelsea Vongehr told The Post.
In September 2022, three students at a middle school in Tyler, Tex., went to a hospital after allegedly suffering “a severe reaction” after eating the chips. Around that same time, school district officials in Clovis, N.M., reported that about 30 children, most of them middle school students, had reported symptoms including gastrointestinal problems and skin and eye irritation.
