Pink Sauce Drama

FoodTok is heating up with its latest trend: Pink Sauce. And reviews are very mixed, never mind the numerous red flags raised about the product.

The debut of Pink Sauce came from TikTok user Chef Pii and, while currently sold out, it was selling for $20 a bottle. Its ingredients, as listed on its website, are dragon fruit, sunflower seed oil, honey, chili, and garlic.

Who knows why it took off in the first place (maybe just because it's pink?) but reviews have not been great. Some people say it tastes like watered-down ranch dressing, others just say it simply just doesn't taste good.

Some other issues are that the nutrition label appears to be misleading or inaccurate. I thought those things were issued by a government agency or something, to ensure a certain safety standard is met. But, after asking a friend who had manufactured and sold their own sauce, I'm told a lab tests it and then it's up to you to make the sticker. So there's apparently no vetting to ensure those things are accurate.

Another issue is that "milk" is listed as an ingredient, yet there are no instructions on refrigerating the sauce. Potential for a massive health hazard.

I found this review of the sauce on Reddit, which hits on most of the Pink Sauce's faults;

My friend (we will call her Jess just in case this ends up with some weird legal issue) ordered the Pink Sauce and received it in the mail. I’m a chef by trade with my own restaurant and when she told me about this stuff, I was intrigued because I’d seen it and obviously love food, had to try it.

Tried it on fries that Jess air fried, tasted kind of like a tangy thin honey mustard but had a slightly metallic blue cheesy flavor to it. Sort of the flavor you get from nato or Brie cheese.

Anyways here a few days later I’m seeing all this drama so I call Jess up. This sauce arrived by regular ground shipping, not refrigerated. Looking at the label it does not say to refrigerate it. It also contains milk which if not kept cold obviously can spoil and get you sick.

Watching videos of this girl making it, it contains raw whole garlic, which if not kept cold can cause botulism

I’m concerned by the fact it says in may contain egg. As a chef, after watching her make it in a few videos, unless she’s SUPER emulsifying with a shit ton of lemon juice, the amount of garlic I estimate she uses in a batch, the consistency and creamy look of it doesn’t make sense unless she’s adding far more milk than the labeling leads on, OR if there is egg yolk to stabilize the emulsion.

The garlic and milk alone are concerning enough for how it arrived 4-5 days post shipping

Now I learn this girl is making it out of her kitchen in a ninja blender which is also not even legal to use as equipment in most states by health code law..

Anyways tldr; I tried the pink sauce and I hope I don’t get sick because it wasn’t even that good - kugelkween on Reddit

Despite the bad press, Pink Sauce is completely sold out online. Chef Pii posted a message, apparently addressing the sauce's criticisms, in which she said the sauce was undergoing work to ensure it was compliant with FDA standards. Also, that she was looking for retailers to carry the sauce.

It's hard to mass manufacture a sauce, I would imagine, so of course something that suddenly sells out overnight is going to have problems. I think the sauce's reputation isn't entirely ruined, and the notoriety can probably help it redeem itself with a second-wave of customers. 

But, first, Chef Pii needs to:

1. find a lab to properly test the sauce, 
2. get a label maker/graphic designer to accurately display the sauce's nutritional information, and; 
3. find a manufacturer to make large quantities of the sauce safely

I will never try this sauce because it's been accused of tasting like ranch and blue cheese (I detest both). But, I am curious to see how it turns out, if Chef Pii can get Pink Sauce produced and sold properly.

Side note: how much does Chef Pii look like Cardi B??