High school students who ate very spicy potato chips called “18+” were taken to hospital in groups on the 16th. Among what can be called the “spicy boom”, videos of people eating spicy foods are being circulated on social networking sites (SNS) for entertainment purposes, but there are also cases of boys dying abroad. What is the appeal of spicy food and the dangers associated with it? (Joe Miyahata)
Isoyama Shoji homepage introducing “18+ curry chips”
◆200 times more than Tabasco “What enthusiasts eat”
14 first-year male and female students from Rokugo Metropolitan Tokyo Technical High School (Ota Ward) were transported. After being fed spicy chips by a student, he complained of pain in his mouth and stomach and was taken to hospital. All seem to have mild symptoms.
The food I ate was “18+ curry chips” sold by Isoyama Shoji (Hokota City, Ibaraki Prefecture). According to the company’s website, they use a variety of chili pepper called Bhut Jolokia. “It’s too spicy, so those under 18 shouldn’t eat it.”
But Jolokia has a spicy ingredient capsaicin, which is said to be about 200 times spicier than Tabasco. Shinjiro Kurita, a gourmet writer who is familiar with spicy foods and has eaten these 18+ potato chips, says, “It’s not the spiciness of regular chili peppers. It’s more like stimulation than spicy, and you can’t taste it. Maybe some maniacs … People who are willing to test their mettle would probably eat.”
◆ It is attractive to “relieve stress by sweating”…
When “This Special News Department” interviewed the company on the 17th, they said, “So far, there have been no complaints of similar ill health. There are currently no plans to end sales.”
Many spicy restaurants have been introduced on the internet and on television, and the industry is booming. Tomomi Osuka, who has been running a chili pepper specialty restaurant in Tokyo for about 15 years, says, “In recent years, the number of restaurants that sell spicy foods has increased. My shop has also started to attract young people and YouTubers. . .”
Even in his own restaurant, he has a project called the “Super Spicy Challenge.” “The goal is that people will eat tasty food even if it is spicy. too spicy.
◆ Dose in large quantities can create holes in mucous membranes, “like a murder weapon”
In fact, troubles have arisen regarding “Geki Spicy.”
In 2019, nine students at a high school in Nagano City complained of being sick after drinking a highly spicy mixed drink and were taken to hospital. It is said that the plan was to play “Russian roulette” at the school festival, where the condiments were added to some of the glasses filled with juice.
In May of this year, a boy from Massachusetts was found to have died of cardiac arrest, apparently caused by an overdose of capsaicin. According to US newspapers and other sources, in September of last year, a 14-year-old boy took part in a social media challenge where he had to resist eating extremely spicy tortilla chips, but died a few an hour after eating them.
“Capsaicin is not soluble in water, so it cannot be washed away, and when it enters the body, there is nothing you can do about it. It creates holes.” Yasumasa Yakushiji, director of Yakushiji Jie Hospital (Okayama Prefecture), gives this explanation and warns against foods that are too spicy. “It is an ingredient that is also used in security sprays, and its excessive spiciness goes beyond the level of food and is equivalent to a murder weapon. I think that certain regulations are needed, for example making it impossible to sell it to minors.”
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