TikTok personality Chef Pii has flagged food and health concerns over her product ‘pink sauce’.
Image via TikTok
Pink sauce: Why are people getting sick from the viral TikTok food trend?
Pink sauce – the viral TikTok food trend – has been raising some red…or pink flags over it’s healthy and safety concerns.
TikTok personality Chef Pii has flagged food and health concerns over her product ‘pink sauce’.
Image via TikTok
The latest TikTok food trend – pink sauce – has been blowing up on social media…but for all the wrong reasons.
The brightly-coloured food condiment has gone viral on the video-sharing app, but has also attracted cause for concern from health and safety regulatory bodies.
PINK SAUCE: WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL?
Developed by TikTok foodie Chef Pii, pink sauce is just as it is described – pink sauce.
The private chef posted a video in June of her pouring the fuchsia product over fried chicken before devouring it.
@chef.pii PINK SAUCE ????????
♬ original sound – PINK SAUCE QUEEN ????????????
Since then, it’s blown up and Chef Pii has created her own company selling the viral product.
According to the Miami-based foodie, the sauce has a pink tinge, allegedly over it’s inclusion of dragon fruit and Himalaya sea salt.
And whilst she “can’t” describe what it tastes like – some have compared to a mayonnaise .
@chef.pii Its the Aquarius Virgo Creative Extra Energy ???????????????????? #beyonce ♬ original sound – vicmram
EXPERTS REVEALFOOD POISONING CONCERNS
But whilst Chef Phii has boasted about her booming business selling pink sauce, experts are warning that consumers should stay far away from it.
According to the US Food and Drug Administration body that regulates if commodities are “safe, wholesome, sanitary and properly labelled”, pink sauce has raised several red flags.
The include concerns of:
- The colouring – and why it “keeps changing ” with every batch
- Having incorrect labelling and inaccurate description of ingredients (for example including milk, but not disclosing such)
- The product does not contain an expiration date
- The product has no quality control and NOT being FDA-approved
- Having no preservatives which is a cause of concern over the storage life
- Incorrect shipping packaging has caused the product to leak, spoil and even “explode”
Health experts are also warning that pink sauce can cause botulism -a serious food poisoning causes by toxins which affect the body’s nervous system and can result in breathing, muscle paralysis, and even death.
Food safety expert Professor Benjamin Chapman told Health: “In food like this, when you see low-acid foods like raw garlic or dragon fruit being put in a high oil content, we’ve seen similar products lead to botulism in the past without any acidification of those low acid foods”.
He continued: “What’s really unknown or unclear is the pH of this product. Some people say on TikTok that when the bottle is opened up, it pops or fizzes, or a gas formed. That’s an indication that there could be a growth of pathogens.”
Image via TikTok
CHEF PII RESPONDS TO CONTROVERSY
Following the backlash, Chef Pii took to TikTok to respond to the reports. But her response was even more startling than the concerns themselves.
Reacting to claims her product was not regulated or approved, she said: “What do you mean FDA approved? I don’t sell medical products. Pink sauce is not a medical product. Pink Sauce doesn’t contribute to your health. I never said that, did I?”.
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