More than a dozen students have been taken to hospital after they became ill from eating extremely spicy crisps, reportedly given out by a fellow pupil “for fun”, officials in Japan have said.
Rokugo Koka High School in Tokyo called for help on Tuesday lunchtime after 13 girls and one boy, all first-year students, complained of nausea, as well as stomach and mouth pain, Japan Today said, quoting the city’s fire department and local police.
Other reports, including by the Asahi Shimbun, said 15 students were affected.
All those taken ill are believed to have been conscious and to have had minor symptoms.
Around 30 students had been eating the extremely spicy chips, labelled “18+ curry chips”, brought to the school by one of the students, police said.
The ages of the students are unclear, but Japanese high school begins at age 15.
The company that makes the snack, Isoyama Corp, said in a statement on Wednesday it “apologised for any inconvenience” to customers, and “sincerely wished for the swift recovery of those who have reported feeling unwell”.
One X user posted a video of him eating one of the crisps, in which he screwed up his face after swallowing, then moaned repeatedly before collapsing in giddy laughter.
The company’s website, “forbids” under-18s from eating “R 18+ curry chips” [crisps] due to their extreme spiciness and urges spice lovers to eat with caution.
The crisps are “so spicy that they may cause you pain” and should be avoided by those with high blood pressure, weak stomachs, and anyone with cuts on their fingers should be careful handling them.
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Eating them alone is also dangerous because too many could cause diarrhoea, the company warned.
The spiciness comes from the potent ghost pepper from northeastern India, thought to be one of the world’s hottest chillis, several sources said.
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The curry crisps have been sold since 2013 and are the firm’s flagship product, one of around half a dozen in its 18+ food series, Newsweek said.
One media report said one of the students, a boy, brought the crisps to school “just for fun”.
