Its lethal effects include burning eyes, streaming nose, uncontrollable hiccups and much, much worse.

And it is about to be sold at Tesco.

The world's hottest chilli pepper, the Dorset Naga, will be available in 10g sachets containing up to three tiny fruits, at a price of 89p.

Red hot: The notorious Dorset Naga, which is being launched across the UK by Tesco

‘The Dorset Chilli is something only absolute connoisseurs of very hot food and those with asbestos-lined stomachs should even consider trying.

‘However, that said, there are an increasing number of chilli heads as they are officially known, that not only savour but endorse these tiny vegetables as being beneficial in helping sweat out the body’s toxins.

‘We trialled them in our test kitchens and even the hardest blokes in our team were brought to their knees.

‘Anyone brave enough to try the Dorset Chilli will definitely be yelling "Ooh argh".’

The tiny ingredient was recently used to make the world’s hottest curry, a Bollywood Burner in a London restaurant.