A new pepper three times hotter than the previous Guinness World Record holder hit the market this week. Pepper X rates at an average of 2.693 million Scoville Heat Units , a measure of pungency for peppers and chilis. That's hotter than law-enforcement-grade pepper spray, which can reach up to 2 million SHU. It was created by the Puckerbutt Pepper Company, which also developed the previous 10-year record holder, the Carolina Reaper.
Puckerbutt Pepper Company released a variety of products using Pepper X from hot sauce, to salsa, to “the world’s spiciest chocolate bar.” Puckerbutt Pepper Company was initially going to release Pepper X right before COVID hit in 2020, but the lockdown stopped that process. Currie decided to release it now because it simply felt like the right time for the company, he said. Currie said the name ‘Pepper X’ was just a placeholder because the team didn’t know what to call it, but it stuck.