A chef on TikTok has come under fire for selling a fluorescent pink sauce for $20 a pop that allegedly isn’t FDA approved.
Chef Pii introduced the internet to her homemade, bright pink condiment last month, and since then, the pink sauce hashtag has racked up more than 14 million views.
While Chef Pii lists the ingredients as ‘sunflower seed oil, dragon fruit, chilli, honey and garlic’, some social media users have called on the FDA to investigate the luminous concoction and have accused Chef Pii of making errors in the product’s nutritional label. Watch the sauce in action below:
People have been lathering the neon sauce on everything from tacos and rice bowls to chicken and burgers since the condiment first went viral last month, but social media users soon started raising concerns over the condiment, some of which Chef Pii has addressed.
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Initially, Chef Pii didn’t specify exactly what ingredients were in her sauce, however, decided to reveal what went into the condiment after people started complaining that the sauce often changes colour.
Chef Pii also offered an explanation for the sauce’s change in colour, putting it down to the respective lighting in her clips.
Others were sceptical of Chef Pii’s sauce because the TikToker didn’t share exactly how the sauce tasted, instead saying: “It’s a mixture of sweet, spicy, and tangy, but in all actuality, it has its own taste.”
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But perhaps the biggest blow to Chef Pii’s sauce came earlier this week, when TikToker @sseaansvv posted a concerning video pointing out that there were errors in Chef Pii’s nutritional label and that the label itself was hard to actually find on her website.
“I’m seeing so many errors in this nutritional label. If these small details were overlooked, I’m looking at quality control now. I’m scared,” said Sean.
He added: “The hue [of the sauce] keeps changing, and I’m scared for the people consuming it. It’s so hard to find a nutritional label on the website, that should be readily available.”
Sean captioned his post: "I’m genuinely rooting for her to obtain a licence, fix the labels, correct any errors and then sell out — legally.”
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The same day that Sean posted his video, one person wrote on Twitter: “The FDA really needs to investigate this girl and her #pinksauce.
“This is not about race or attacking a small business like she claims. This is about food poisoning, mislabeling, and not posting your ingredients which can cause harm and death to others. This is basic food law.”
However, Chef Pii has since responded to the backlash, saying in a recent TikTok video: “This is a small business that is just moving really really fast. We are working to try to get the price mark down on the Pink Sauce.”
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Chef Pii also insisted FDA standards were being followed and apologised for the faulty nutrition figures.
UNILAD has approached Chef Pii and the FDA for comment.
If you have a story you want to tell, send it to UNILAD via [email protected]
Topics: TikTok, Food and Drink
Aisha Nozari