HPS Community Safety Concern

September 12, 2023

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Yesterday, some RAMS students participated in a “One Chip Challenge”. This was of serious concern, particularly given the recent death of a Worcester student who had taken this challenge last week. Thankfully, none of our students became seriously ill but this could have been much more serious.

According to the National Poison Control Center, “The Paqui One Chip Challenge is a social media challenge that involves consumption of a spicy tortilla chip. The chip contains capsaicin, a compound found naturally in chili peppers. Capsaicin consumption typically causes mouth and throat pain but can also result in more serious health problems including heart attack and esophageal damage”.

The Paqui chip company’s disclaimer states that the chip “should not be ingested by individuals who are sensitive to spicy foods, have allergies to peppers, nightshades, or capsaicin, and those who are minors, are pregnant or have any medical conditions”.

The side effects caused by the pepper dust, the same ingredient in pepper spray, include blue tinged vomiting and severe abdominal pain. Other serious side effects include burning in eyes, nose and throat, coughing, trouble breathing, sweating and mouth pain. This challenge is a serious health and safety concern for our students so we ask that students not bring these Paqui chips into school buildings and that families communicate with their children about this serious safety concern.

For more information regarding the potential dangers of this challenge please visit https://www.poison.org/articles/is-the-one-chip-challenge-dangerous.

Please also see below the communication sent by Principal Jordan to RAMS families about this incident yesterday.

Sincerely,

Dr. Susan E. Kustka

Superintendent

September 11, 2023

Dear Families,

Earlier today during the 7th grade lunch, a group of approximately ten students participated in the “One Chip Challenge”. This was discovered immediately due to the physical distress the chip created for all of the students involved. All students who ate or touched the chip were monitored by the nursing staff and picked up by their families immediately. It was recommended by the nurse that the students go to the emergency room.

For those who aren’t aware of the “One Chip Challenge”, I am linking in the news of a recent Worcester middle school student death as a result of eating the chip. The product has since been pulled from the store shelves. Paqui, the chip used in the challenge, contains very high levels of capsaicin, which has been found to cause esophageal damage, heart problems, and restrict breathing at the levels in the chip.

The “One Chip Challenge” is another example of one of the highly risky, and sometimes life threatening, Tik Tok challenges that middle schoolers are particularly vulnerable to participating in due to their age-related development and interests. I ask that all families please speak to their children about the risks of “challenges” of this nature and be aware that your child may have or may be considering participating in a challenge such as this.

Lastly, this is a plea to monitor your students’ social media presence. I would highly discourage your student from having a Tik Tok, SnapChat, or similar social media account, due to the increasing amount of unsafe challenges that our youth are being exposed to. Student safety is of our utmost concern at Holliston Public Schools.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me directly at jordand@holliston.k12.ma.us.

Thank you.

David Jordan

Principal

Robert Adams Middle School