Capsicum (chile) was domesticated in South America at least 6,000 years ago. While consuming pure capsaicin - the actual compound that produces heat/pain - could possibly be lethal, a simple sauce from fresh chile would not.

It was almost certainly anaphylitic shock. Poor guy.

Chris, Asheville, NC, USA

As an earlier poster said, I think this was more than a reaction to the chili. I would be curious to know what kind of pesticides were used, and what quantities were sprayed ? That could very well be a big factor in this poor man's untimely death.
God rest him.

Stacey, New York , US

i dont think his family will be interested in the origins of chillies right now,or the strength of curries,or the fact that india are not the creators of the chiilie but portugal or where ever,my thoughts go out to them.not dolmio or the humble chillie.

carl mcnulty, manchester, england

Not all people are bothered by handling raw jalepenos and other chillies, they never bother me a bit.

Yeah, I believe Nick, Croydon is right, black pepper was used before chilis were introduced, but I believe plenty of other spices were used before chilis too, they just weren't all hot spices.

Matthias Singh, virginia beach, U.S.

From what I recall reading a while back, India sort of accumulated its hundreds of spices over a period of many years of trading with foreign countries.

Matthias Singh, virginia beach, U.S.

J Clarkson

forgive me if i've missed something here but..

whats india, or curries got to do with this?

it says he made a chilli sauce not a curry sauce?

Chillis aren't native to India, they were introduced by the portuguese.

the sons of the raj are not the reason mild curry exists

andrew, leeds,

I agree with Howard that this is very unfortunate. In fact, I'm quite surprised that nobody else feels motivated to express their sadness at the loss of this young man's life.

As one chili-holic to another, I say,

"Good Luck Andy."

Alex, London, UK

This really depends on what type of chilli's these actually are.
There are a few types such as the Dorset Naga,or even worse,the Bhut Naga Jolokia that are DEFINITELY NOT to be consumed lightly,as they can have very adverse effects if consumed, even to the point of death,as in this case.

JD, Blackburn, UK

The itching is a dead give-a-way, the man in question had an allergic reaction to the chillies or to the sauce.
Raw jalapeno peppers are very much an irritant and will cause severe burning and swelling of the hands of anyone processing them without rubber gloves.
Hanenjero pepper is 100X as hot.

Joyce, Cabot, USA

it was obviously anaphylaxis - severe allergy to any of the ingredients he ate.

john, sydney, oz

About 5 years ago I started to itch after eating spicy food; a few simple "trial and error" tests when cooking lead me to discover an allergy to chillies. Whenever I eat food with the smallest amount of chilli pepper in it, my legs itch; sorry Sally of Londonshire, it sounds like an allergy to me

Mark, Oldham, UK

"Does anyone know when and how chilies were introduced to India, after all they came originally from Latin America? Were curries always less spicy before this?"

From what I understand, Chillies were introduced to India by the Portuguese. Before that, Peper was the main spice in Indian cuisine

Nick, Croydon, England

Perhaps it was just his time to die. if ever I'm found dead after listening to Mozarts 23rd Piano Concerto, please don't make that an excuse to ban classical music.

Mark Taylor, Cambridge,

It sounds as though he had a severe allergic reaction to either the chillis or something else in the sauce. It's unfair to say his death was caused by 'idiocy' as it could have just as easily happened after a normal meal containing whatever ingredient it was.

Sarah, London, UK

I think there's more to this story than we are getting...

a) did the girlfriend's brother get any reaction?

b) itching isn't your typical chilli reaction – perhaps allotment chemicals are to blame?

c) if he's such an aspiring chef, why did he simply stir them in Dolmio??!

Sally, London, UK

Does anyone know when and how chilies were introduced to India, after all they came originally from Latin America? Were curries always less spicy before this?

Chris, Dursley, UK

Chillies were never eaten like this by the British rulers of India - they used to make their servants make milder curries. Only the native Brits seem to think that every currie has to make you head and stomach explode with fire. We could learn a thing or two from the sons of the Raj.

J Clarkson, Camborne, Cornwall

To die because you've eaten an exaggerated amount of chilies is so stupid. I love hot food and eat chilies many times a week, even raw, but I'm careful and mix them in with my food so as to irritate my stomach as little as possible. Stupidity kills, not chilies.

juneann, madrid, spain

A small moment of idiocy has led to death, how unfortunate.

Howaard, Manchester,

the health gestapo will jump on this one health warnings on chillie sauce bottles plus scarey photos on label and no doubt they will be filling in the forms applying for the grants to research chillies and god help chillie eaters if the word passive is in their report a ban on them will follow

brian rice, halifax, england