School forced to ban 'invisible hot chips'

Dangerous Doritos have been banned from a school in the UK. Photo / Thinkstock

A school in the UK has banned a new super-spicy variety of Doritos after a pupil who ate the crisps suffered breathing difficulties.

The Doritos Roulette snack comes in a bag containing a mixture of regular crisps and some which are coated in an invisible chilli powder making them up to 20 times hotter than a jalapeno.

The Doritos website boasts that the flavour will "leave you close to tears".

But after the pupil with a pre-existing respiratory condition was taken ill, George Pindar School has warned parents the snack can cause "severe distress" and has advised them to avoid giving it to their children.

Teachers at the secondary school in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, said it is a health and safety risk to youngsters. The warning in the school's newsletter read: "Parents and carers, please be aware that the new Doritos Roulette crisps are not recommended for children.

"The crisps contain extra hot chips and it has come to our attention that they can cause severe distress, particularly to those with sensitivities, allergies or breathing problems."

A school spokesman said: "The cautionary note in our newsletter with regard to Doritos Roulette was placed in there after an incident with a student where they had experienced some difficulty breathing after eating one.

"The student had a pre-existing respiratory condition which clearly made them sensitive to the 'hot' element of the Doritos chip. Given that this particular chip is not recommended for young children we felt we should draw this to the attention of our parents/carers."

One parent said: "You don't want to be putting something in your children's packed lunches that's going to leave them unwell. It's good the school are doing something about it."

The chips hit the UK in April and one in every handful in each bag is coated with the fiery flavouring which measures 78,000 units on the Scoville Heat Scale for chilli peppers.

In comparison, the famously spicy Scotch Bonnet pepper rates between 100,000 to 350,000.

The other chips in the packet are a much less fiery tangy cheese flavour, making each bag like a game of Russian roulette.

When they were launched, Doritos marketing manager Michael Walford said: "There's a warning on the pack for a reason - the invisible hot chips are exactly that. They're hotter than most of the spiciest dishes out there so you're going to want to have a glass of milk at the ready in case you get one!"

A Doritos spokesman apologised for the incident, saying "we do warn people to expect a seriously spicy experience with Doritos Roulette and we make this clear on the pack and in our adverts".

- Daily Mail