Officially the hottest chilli in the world, its name alone is scary enough â and thatâs before you see what the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion chilli can do to a pair of gloves.

The effects a chilli has…

It stunned testers by burning through their protective latex gloves.

âThat has never happened to me before,â admitted researcher Danise Coon, who measured capsaicinoids âchemicals which give chillies their heat â for New Mexico State University Chile Pepper Institute.

The golf ball-sized pepper Scorpion was measured at a sweat-inducing, tear-generating, mouth-on-fire 1.2million Scoville units â a scale developed to measure chilli heat by pharmacist Wilbur Scoville in 1912.


âYou take a bite. It doesnât seem so bad, and then it builds and it builds and it builds. So it is quite nasty,â said the instituteâs director, Paul Bosland, who was brave enough to take a bite.



The Scorpionâs new notoriety is making waves in the industry and among those who love their food very, very hot.

âAs with all the previous record holders, there will be a run on seeds and plants,â said Jim Duffy , a grower in San Diego, who supplied the university with seeds for four of the super-hot varieties. He admitted he wouldnât dare pop an entire Trinidad Moruga Scorpion in his mouth but claimed plenty of people had filmed themselves doing so â and posted the videos on the internet.

âPeople actually get a crack-like rush. I know the people who will eat the hottest stuff to get this rush but theyâve got to go through the pain,â he added.

The title of worldâs hottest chilli is a fiercely disputed one and the institute was asked by the US government, hot sauce makers, seed growers and others in the spicy foods industry to pin down the record.

âThe question was, could the Chilli Pepper Institute establish theÂ benchmark for chilli heat?â said Mr Bosland.

âChilli heat is a complex thing, and the industry doesnât like to base it on just a single fruit thatâs a record holder. Itâs too variable.â