The number that traveled around the internet this summer was striking: people who ate the most chili peppers had nearly three times the odds of developing esophageal cancer compared with people who ate the least. It came from a real meta-analysis, published in a real journal, and it is being reported accurately.
What it is not is new. The analysis appeared in November 2022. It resurfaced on July 14 when ScienceDaily recirculated it, and a wave of coverage followed. The detail almost nobody mentioned sits one line above the headline figure.
