What's your favorite dipping sauce? Honey mustard, barbecue, ketchup? You can't go wrong with ranch, either. How about Pink Sauce? The shocking neon magenta condiment has been making the rounds from TikTok to Instagram and everywhere in between - and not because it's a delicious alternative to your favorite dipping delight.
It's causing quite the stir among cooks, foodies, and the general public for a number of reasons. In fact, it's been making headlines for a few weeks now, not just for its shifting bubblegum to Pepto-Bismol hue, but the host of potential health and safety hazards that lurk within its innocent, ketchup-like squeeze bottle.
If you're on the fence about "thinking pink", here's the scoop on this viral TikTok sauce that's got everyone talking.
What is the TikTok Pink Sauce?
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Created by the Miami-based "Chef Pii", real name Veronica Shaw, Pink Sauce is a hot pink condiment currently making the rounds on TikTok. Originally posted to her personal TikTok account, Pii has since made several clips and videos showcasing her homemade Pink Sauce while promoting it and selling it to TikTokers .
On June 11, Pii first posted a clip of herself dipping a chicken tender into a bowl of almost disturbingly colorful sauce. She takes a bite, savors it, and does a little happy dance. Her caption at the time, "PINK SAUCE ??", was innocuous enough - Pii couldn't have possibly known it would spiral off into a viral craze when she shared her creation. But ever since that first clip, Pink Sauce has exploded into a confusing mess that's been difficult to clear up.
https://www.tiktok.com/@chef.pii/video/7108781825538968878
After introducing her Pink Sauce, Pii posted subsequent TikToks with additional foods where she'd chow down on with copious amounts of the sauce: cucumbers, ramen, tacos, and more chicken tenders - anything you can think of, Pii was dipping and devouring. The ever-present bowl of deep pink sauce resembled a vat of melted lipstick, or the Teletubbies' Tubby Custard, certainly not something most diners would want to dunk parts of their meal in. Across Pii's subsequent videos throughout June, she ramped up her promo - the comments rolled in, and it looked like people were curious about her radioactive magenta creation.
@chef.pii
By mid-June, Pii had been promoting her sauce as "edible and natural" while hyping up followers to purchase some and give it a try. But despite all of her TikToks showcasing the sauce, Pii never really took the time to explain what it actually tasted like - or its exact ingredients. What's more, the sauce would change hues and consistency from video to video. In one clip, you can clearly see it's a deeper pink than another, where it's as dark as the most pigmented eye shadow you'll ever see.
Despite Pii's videos garnering millions of views, commenters have mounted plenty of criticism against the Pink Sauce. In addition to calling it "revolting" or outright making fun of the bizarre sauce, people have asked for more explicit ingredient and nutritional information, which Pii has not been able to satisfactorily produce, at least in a manner that seems accurate. The official Pink Sauce nutrition label reads the following, with misspelled ingredients and incorrect serving sizes:
- Water
- Sunflower Seed Oil
- Raw Honey
- Distilled "Vinger" (SIC)
- Garlic
- Pitaya (Dragon Fruit)
- Pink Himalayan Sea Salt
- Dried Spices
- Lemon Juice
- Milk
- Citric Acid
Additionally, Pii claims to be unable to explain exactly what the sauce tastes like, or what makes it pink (it's the dragon fruit). Those who have tried it describe it as similar to ranch dressing, but there's no official taste profile, even direct from the manufacturer herself. But even the method of Pink Sauce manufacturing and sale is uncertain at best.
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Even still, the Pink Sauce was a hot commodity, even selling for $20 with vague ingredients and even less for buyers to go on in terms of taste - and still is. Pii took orders, and sent out the sauce to waiting customers. But after shipping out bottles of Pink Sauce to buyers, waves of customers reported they had received the sauce in "bags", despite the hot weather, with spoiled product. With milk as an ingredient, it's no wonder the Pink Sauce was ruined before it reached hungry customers in the recent heat wave across the country.
@beautifulmonnie It jsut came nope im good can i get a refund ?? @PINK SAUCE QUEEN ??? sorry y’all I waited this long for nothing
This infuriated customers, who questioned Pii's qualifications and legitimacy when it comes to selling the sauce out of her home. Pii claimed that Pink Sauce and her production methods were, and still are, on the up-and-up.
"Yes, we are following FDA standards," Pii had originally claimed in a video, adding that the sauce was going through lab testing. "Once we go through lab testing, we will be able to pitch to stores, to put the Pink Sauce in stores," Pii told The Washington Post. However, days later, Pii went live on TikTok to field the many questions buyers had about the sauce, apparently unaware that the "F" in "FDA" stands for food.
“what do you mean FDA APPROVED?”
Y’all look ??? https://t.co/uwarGmlT7z pic.twitter.com/kuYhVzFZ01
— Life w/ Derek (@derekarnellx) July 25, 2022
Pii also claims she makes the Pink Sauce in a commercial facility that's been certified by the Food and Drug Administration - not out of her home: "I've been using it and serving it to my clients for a year - no one has ever gotten sick."
Most recently, according to Vice, the chef sent out an email to customers with a new set of disclaimers and legalese intended to dispel some of what she believes is incorrect information surrounding the sauce. She claims in the email that she is working with the FDA nd the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), waiting on "official approval" by July 27 - which has already passed.
She added that the sauce's packaging would be revised for "preciseness" as well. But there are still several mysteries that remain surrounding the sauce and exactly what that means for those who purchased it and got sick, had their bottle explode on them, or received spoiled product in the mail.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKeMAvpcGeQ
So before you decide to go pink, consider the sauce's mysterious origins, potential pitfalls, and the inconsistencies surrounding its inception. It's a good idea to wait and see what happens with this product before digging in. Or, do what so many others have done and just try to make your own for now. That's the only surefire way you can be sure you aren't consuming spoiled product.
