How Hot is Hot?

With the proliferation of over 40 pepper sprays in the last two years the questions "What's OC?" and "How Hot is it?", seem to be asked by someone daily.

Oleoresin Capsicum is the product created by a process in which ground dried chili peppers are rendered to release capsaicin, the natural pepper resin into corn oil. Hence the name oleoresin capsicum. Capsicum is the botanical name for Chile peppers. The "Hotness" of the OC is based on the capsaicin content of the oleoresin, basically the active ingredient of the OC. The method of measure called a Scoville Heat Unit that is used to measure how hot a natural chili pepper is also applied to OC.

For example a bell pepper has an SHU rating of zero while Jalapeno peppers rate approximately 5,000 SHU. SHU ratings of OC are based on capsaicin content.

Pure capsaicin is a tremendous 15 million SHU. The OC used in Aerko products is 2 million SHU which contains thirteen percent capsaicin. Further, one million SHU OC is about seven percent capsaicin and 500,000 SHU OC is approximately 3% capsaicin. Other OC products on the market today reportedly contain an OC with a rating of 16 thousand SHU. Hardly seems adequate to me. Obviously higher percentages of this kind of active ingredient are not only needed but demanded.

If confronted with a 10% OC formula the first question should be "10% of what?". As virtually a self regulated industry there is no governing body nationally to say what the minimum acceptable SHU standard should be.

Here's how this all relates. If a product is five percent OC, of an OC rated at 2 million SHU, its capsaicin content is .675%. Another product that is ten percent OC, of an OC rated at 500,000 SHU its capsaicin content is .3%, actually slightly under half the strength of the other product.

The bottom line is this, unlike CN or CS that are known commodities with established incapacitating doses, with OC the question "of what?" is as more important than "How Much?". Obviously propellants used as well as ineffective carriers such as mineral oil effect total product performance, but that's another issue we'll address next month.

All oleoresin capsicum used by Aerko International is 2 million SHU including PUNCH III water based formula.