FLORIDA, USA — Editor's note: The image above is a stock photo.
It's tangy, it's sweet and it's the color of Pepto-Bismol.
Pink sauce is the latest food trend taking over TikTok, garnering more than 120 million views on the app.
We’re not talking about the ketchup and mayo mix eaten with tostones or a resurgence of the squeezable pink butter from the early aughts.
This pink sauce is a pastel concoction created and sold by TikToker Carly Pii (@chef.pii.) According to her website, it's made of sunflower seed oil, honey, chili, garlic and dragon fruit — which, presumably, give it its pink color.
The mysterious condiment has both confused and intrigued the internet, with some rushing to try the pink sauce and others expressing their not-so-subtle disgust on Twitter.
The pink sauce and its creator came under fire by online critics pointing out inconsistencies in the sauce's color and texture and questioning the safety of the preparation and shipping process. Misspelled ingredients on the label, the lack of refrigeration, mistakes in the nutrition facts and the $20 per bottle price tag were some of the main red flags for users.
More than 6 million people saw a TikTok pointing out that the nutrition label reads 444 servings per bottle.
Chef Pii, who is reportedly a Miami-area private chef, cleared up the serving size mistake in an apology video where she explained that there are actually 444 grams of pink sauce per bottle, which is about 30 servings. She chalked the mistake on the label to the growing pains of a fast-moving small business.
However, in the video, she also claims the company is "following FDA standard" and is currently in "lab testing." But, the product definitely isn't FDA-approved, at least for now.
So, is it safe to eat?
It's hard to say for sure. Several have brought up concerns about the raw honey and chopped garlic's ability to cause botulism.
Food safety specialist Brigette Joseph told Yahoo News, "It is absolutely not safe to buy unregulated food from strangers on a social media platform just because it has gone viral."
Still, the Florida chef has maintained that her product is legal and safe. In an interview with The Washinton Post, Chef Pii said she makes the pink sauce in a commercial facility that is certified by the FDA.
For now, according to Fortune, production of the sauce is on hold. Chef Pii said in a Youtube live stream on Thursday that her team is working to address the different health concerns.
