'Bhoot Jolokia': Chips made with this Indian pepper sent 14 students in Japan to hospital

At least 14 Japanese students from a high school were rushed to a hospital on Tuesday after eating extra spicy "R 18+" curry-flavoured potato chips during their morning break. The chips were made with an extremely hotvariety of chilli peppers originally from northeastern India.

Media reports mentioned that one male student brought the crisps to school and around 30 students ate them. He loved the "super spicy" chips when he first tried them.

The student said the chips were purchased by his older brother and he brought them to the school "just for fun".

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The students who were admitted to the hospital said their mouth and stomach were in pain after consuming the snack, but were conscious and treated for minor symptoms.

The maker of the snack, Isoyama Corp, issued an apology in an online statement and wished the students a speedy recovery.

On its website, the manufacturer wrote on July 17: "We apologise to our customers and other concerned parties for causing a great deal of inconvenience."

The snack called "R18 Curry Chips" comes with a warning for those under the age of 18, and those with high blood pressure and a weak stomach, to not consume it.

It further advises consumers to not consume the snack all on one's own, since it could cause diarrhoea.

As quoted by the news agency Reuters, Tae Tsutaki, who is an IT company worker, said, "It (the package of snack) forbids those below 18 years old from eating it, so they (high school kids) shouldn't have eaten it."

"I saw on the news that one of the high school students apologised. I'm glad nobody died, I think they should be more cautious in the future," Tae added.

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What do we know about the spicy chilly?

Local media reports mentioned that the chips are spiced with the ghost pepper, also known as 'Bhoot Jolokia', which is said to be at least 200 times spicier than Tabasco sauce. It is an interspecific hybrid chilli pepper cultivated in Northeast India.

'Bhoot Jolokia' is an extremely pungent pepper and it was registered in the Guinness World Records from 2007 to 2011 as the "world's hottest".

'Bhoot Jolokia' has a high Scoville Heat Units (SHU) rating, which is around 1,000,000 SHU. If we compare, a regular jalapeño pepper is around 2,500 to 8,000 SHU.

Besides being spicy, 'Bhoot Jolokia' is packed with potential health benefits as it is loaded with vitamins, especially vitamin C. It also supports the immune system and skin health.

(With inputs from agencies)