UNITED KINGDOM - U.K. shoppers will soon be able to buy the Reaper on store shelves as Tesco looks to turn up the heat in its produce department.

As we reported previously, the Carolina Reaper is a Guinness World Record holder for the title of hottest pepper that held its title until last year when the HP 56 Death Strain took the top spot. Coming in at 1.5 million on the Scoville scale for the official weigh-in, but having been clocked at as much as 2.2 million in an independent test, the Reaper is still something to fear. The pepper heavyweight hits Tesco’s shelves this week, according to the U.K.’s Telegraph, and the retailer isn’t trying to downplay its newest addition one bit.

"The Carolina Reaper is absolute meltdown material - it's one for absolute hot food connoisseurs,” Tesco chilli pepper buyer, Phoebe Burgess, commented, according to the report. But, she added, it has a sweet twist. "Despite it being astonishingly hot, it also has a wonderful fruity taste. Only a sliver is needed to add exciting flavour to your favourite curry.”

As for why the retailer decided to add a produce item that should come with a warning label, spice levels are a rising trend across the globe it seems, and Tesco is looking to see if consumers will rise to the challenge.

"Last year the Komodo Dragon became our most popular chilli pepper ever, and since then we've been inundated with requests from customers to see if we could go one better and, thanks to the fantastic growing skills of our chilli producer, we've done that," Burgess said.

Not to be underrated, The Komodo Dragon chilli pepper reaches 1.4 million on the Scoville scale, but the Telegraph reports that Tesco thinks the Reaper will do even better.

The Carolina Reaper, already on sale in Tesco stores across the U.K., is priced at £1 ($1.33 USD) for a pack of two to three.

Who will be next to catch the heatwave sweeping consumer tastes? While we may not be in a hurry to take a bite, AndNowUKnow can’t wait to find out.

Tesco