A competitive eater is breathing a (fiery) sigh of relief today ... 'cause officials just revealed the man's insane ghost pepper meal back in November has officially become a new watermark.
Gregory Foster gobbled down 17 of the world's spiciest ingredient in one minute roughly nine months ago in San Diego ... and Guinness World Records formally crowned him the new king of heat eating on Wednesday.
It's great news for the guy -- because his run at the record was excruciating.
Check out video of his snack ... the peppers were packed with so much fire, he actually had to wear gloves for the occasion.