Belgium bans sale of Hot Chip Challenge

Belgium has banned the sale of Hot Chip Challenge, the extremely spicy chip popular with influencers. The Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain has banned the product because it can cause eye, skin and respiratory problems.

The Hot Chip Challenge is a single chip sold in a coffin-shaped box that includes a rubber glove because the chip is too spicy to handle with bare hands. Filming someone's reaction to eating the chip has become popular on TikTok and other social media.

A product with such a concentration of capsaicinoids, the active component of chilli peppers, has no place on the food market, according to the food safety agency's Plant Preparations Commission. 

Last year, a 14-year-old boy died in the US after consuming the Hot Chip Challenge. The cause of his death is still under investigation. Several German states have also banned the chip after a Berlin teenager was admitted to intensive care after eating the product.

"The chillies used in the chip are not banned as such," said food safety agency spokesperson Liesbeth Van de Voorde. "The problem is that it is intended for isolated use." 

The agency is asking customers not to consume #HotChipChallenge branded products and to return them to the point of sale. Hot Chip Challenge was sold online and in several outlets in Belgium, including Delhaize, Intermarché, Carrefour and Spar. 

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