A SCHOOLGIRL has told how she feared she was dying after eating a super-hot Dorito.

Beth Laybourn was playing a chilli version of Russian roulette when she scoffed a tortilla chip ten times spicier than a jalapeno pepper.

The 14-year-old curry lover ate a succession of regular cheese Doritos before pulling out the fiery chip, which the company boasts is “hotter than most of the spiciest dishes out there”.

Frito-Lay began selling Doritos commercially in 1964, according to Frito-Lay public relations director Joan Cetera. The snacks were described as “thin, crisp wedges of toasted tortilla with a lightly salted, buttery taste.” In short, they were tortilla chips. Doritos means “little golden things” in Spanish. Doritos snack products are made with extreme care to ensure that their bold flavor comes through in every bag. Their unique cheese taste make these treats a perfect addition to any concession stand, gift shop, cafeteria, or hotel. The Doritos brand supports business owners and consumers alike by providing reliable snacks in a variety of flavors.

Beth recalled: “I started retching so I ran to the toilet and was sick. I had four mugs of milk and my throat still wouldn’t stop burning. I couldn’t breathe properly and I really thought I was going to die.”

The asthmatic teen later suffered a severe attack at school, which has now banned the Doritos Roulette snack and issued a warning letter to parents. Beth’s mum Dawn, 54, said: “It’s time supermarkets did the same thing. The game is a stupid idea. She could have died.”

Beth asked her mum to buy her a pack after watching the TV ad which challenges viewers: “There’s a hot chip in every handful. Eat another — if you dare.”

She then sat down to play the game two weeks ago at home with her brother Lewis, 11, and a friend.

They all had five turns each before Beth pulled out a super-spicy one. She recalled: “At first it wasn’t that hot.

“We carried on going round and I started sweating and a moment later I felt my throat burning.”

After rushing to the toilet, Beth said she feared the worst as she struggled for breath.

She went on: “I kept thinking that if it leads to a full-blown asthma attack I could die.

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“I love hot food, I love lamb bhunas — but this was the hottest thing I have ever had. It’s the latest craze and everyone’s talking about it. But I think they are dangerous.”

Beth, from Scarborough, North Yorks, suffered a major asthma attack at school a week later — and believes her Doritos ordeal was linked to it.

She added: “I couldn’t stop crying. It was the worst attack I’ve ever had. It was terrifying.”

Her school, the George Pindar, has now banned the snack, which launched in April.

The school warned parents in a letter: “They can cause distress, particularly to those with sensitivities, allergies or breathing problems.”

Doritos say the snack is not suitable for young children but Dawn said: “There’s nothing stopping kids getting them.”

She added: “I never thought it could be so dangerous to eat a crisp. I won’t ever let them do it again. This could happen to anyone’s child.”

A school spokeswoman said: “We placed a cautionary note in our newsletter 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.”

Doritos said last night: “We were sorry to hear about what happened.

“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.

“The front of the pack states, ‘Warning: Some of these chips are ultra spicy’, while we also say they are not recommended for young children.”

The hot chips are coated with a flavouring measuring 78,000 units on the Scoville Heat Scale — with a super-hot Scotch Bonnet pepper starting from 100,000.

Doritos marketing manager Michael Walford said at the launch: “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.”

Food! What a scorcher

BRITS have a long-held love of super-spicy foods — with Pot Noodle’s Bombay Bad Boy among the most popular.

It is advertised as an “incredibly hot” curry snack and comes with “hot fire” sauce.

KFC and Burger King have their own spicy burgers, while Pizza Hut has a Hot & Spicy Blazin’ Inferno dish piled with peppers.

Nando’s gives diners Extra Extra Hot Peri-Peri sauce to pour on their chicken.

And you can’t go wrong with a good old vindaloo.

paul.sims@the-sun.co.uk

There are so many reasons we should celebrate Doritos: The snack celebrates its 50th anniversary this year; it's National Tortilla Chip Day; it's a tasty snack that's borderline addicting.

Let's take a look at some things you didn't know about the country's most famous tortilla chip.

It's a 'magical' snack.

Legend has it, the idea for Doritos was conceived at the Magic Kingdom — Disneyland. At the Casa de Fritos, a restaurant in Frontierland based on Fritos, cooks in the 1960s started frying unused tortilla chips and selling them. Frito-Lay executive Arch West saw the demand, and the company began producing the chips regionally in 1964.

Image: Wikipedia

There are two origin stories.

So maybe the Disneyland story is fabricated. In its obituary for Arch West, the Washington Postreports he came up with the idea on a family vacation to Southern California in 1964. West bought a greasy bag of fried tortillas at a roadside shack and knew he had discovered something big.

Arch West was buried under Doritos.

At West's funeral in 2011, his family members dusted his grave with a layer of Doritos. West was a longtime lover of the snack, and Frito-Lay sometimes sent him new flavors to taste-test.

Image: Washington Post

What does the name mean?

Today, the word 'Doritos' is synonymous with the snack. But the name actually derives from 'doradito,' which means 'little golden thing' in Spanish.

Image: Flickr

They have changed over time.

In what was called 'the costliest redesign in Frito-Lay history,' the company spent $50 million in 1994 to revamp Doritos, despite the chip raking in $1.3 billion a year. The company made Doritos 15 percent thinner, 20 percent larger, and made the sharp corners round.

Someone sued Frito-Lay for his sore throat.

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The redesign didn't make the chip safer to eat for some people. In 2003, a man sued Frito-Lay because he said his throat was damaged from eating Doritos. The courts threw out the case because the scientific study presented by the man didn't meet scientific standards. We guess he'll have to keep living with his sore throat.

They are primarily consumed during primetime.

According to a study, the most common time to eat Doritos is between 8PM and 11PM, right during primetime television.

Cool Ranch does not translate overseas.

Cool Ranch Doritos debuted in 1986, and it took off in popularity around the world. The only problem: People around the world don't know about ranch dressing.

The solution: The chips are known as 'Cool American' in countries that have the flavor. But in the United Kingdom, it's called 'Cool Original.'

Image: Flickr

One can find seaweed and olive flavors across the pond.

In addition to 'Cool American,' there are plenty of odd flavors around the world. Flavors include Olive (France), Stir Fry (China), Yogurt & Mint (Turkey), and Seaweed (Japan).

Image: Tech Blog

They were not available in New Zealand until this decade.

There are hundreds of flavors around the world, but Kiwis couldn't buy the tortilla chip until it hit the market there in 2010. Now they know the beauty that is Doritos.

They have been banned by Brits for their spice.

One school in the United Kingdom banned Doritos Roulette because it was too spicy for some students. The flavor includes a few extremely spicy chips mixed in with milder chips, hence the name 'Roulette.' Last year, a girl in the U.K. almost died after eating a spicy chip, prompting the school to ban the flavor.

Image: Frito-Lay

There's a ranking of all 17 flavors.

Okay, so not everyone has to agree. But one person sat down with each flavor sold in the United States and ranked them from worst to best. Unsurprisingly, the Nacho Cheese flavor came out on top, followed by Spicy Nacho. Cool Ranch ranked at number 13.

Image: taquitos.net

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