Please look closely at the man from minutes 2:18 to 2:23.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvZzxrA2G8o&t=134s
I am talking about an unseen object the person fed into his mouth with his left hand.
I know this is a weird question to ask of a video with many interesting scenes; I'm guessing that people were adding (what looks like) dried chili peppers to the plates of pasta, so that would make the most sense, but I just couldn't tell. Regardless of whether it was a chili pepper or something else, any historical reason as to why was it eaten in such a fashion?
Bonus question (if a bit morbid): do restaurants that experienced mob hits tend to suffer (e.g., in reputation and/or financing) or prosper (e.g., in tourism)?