Pepper Eating Contest starts at 1:30 pm at intersection of Broad & Hillsboro Street

What would a hot sauce contest be without a Hot Chile Pepper eating contest? Can you take the heat? If so, sign up for a chance to win $1,000 — to the stomach that can take the heat of N.C. Hottest Chile Peppers.  

A chilies heat is based on Scoville Heat Units. In 1912, Wilbur Scoville, a chemist by profession, developed a method to measure the heat level of chile peppers. The test is named after him, known as the "Scoville Organoleptic Test.  

The substance that makes a chile so hot is called Capsaicin. Pure Capsaicin is rated somewhere between 15,000,000-16,000,000 Scoville heat units. To put Scoville heat units (SU) in a better perspective, a jalapeno is rated 2,500-8,000 Scoville heat units compared to a Habanero which is rated 100,000-325,000 Scoville heat units.

• Round 1: Each contestant will start out with a Large Cayenne Pepper (Long Hots) (500-2,500 SU). You must eat all but the cap of the Cayenne in order to advance to the next round. 
• Round 2:  Red Fresno (4,000-5,500 SU). You must eat all but the cap of the Red Fresno in order to advance to the next round. 
• Round 3: Jalapeño (2,500-5,000 SU). You must eat all but the cap of the Jalapeno in order to advance to the next round. 
• Round 4: The Serrano Chile (5,000-10,000 SU). You must eat all but the cap of the Serrano in order to advance to the next round.
• Round 5: The Orange Habanero (100,000-300,000 SU). You must eat the entire pepper except for the cap in order to finish the contest. 
• If there is not a winner after round 5 (five), the contest will continue with additional Habaneros until the last contestant is standing. 
• Contestants are disqualified if they cannot perform the instructed actions described above or if they raise their white flag at the eating table. 
• Contestants unable to keep the chilies down will be disqualified. 
• Each contestant is permitted only 1 bottle of water for the contest. No other food or drink is allowed on stage.