Pink Sauce, founded by an influencer named Veronica Shaw who goes by Chef Pii, became TikTok famous before facing controversy over food safety concerns. But just this week, the viral pink seasoning sauce was FDA approved and is now sold in-store at Walmart.
But what’s actually in Pink Sauce and is it bad for you? Does it have any questionable preservative ingredients that now make it shelf-stable? Is it really worth a price of $10 per bottle? And how do real users rate and describe the taste of Pink Sauce?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more as we analyze the ingredients in Pink Sauce based on medical studies to give our take on whether the product is healthy or unhealthy.
We’ll also compare it to other seasoning sauces and share real, unsponsored user reviews of Pink Sauce.
Ingredient Analysis – Is Pink Sauce Unhealthy?
Dragon fruit is what gives Pink Sauce its distinct color, and this is a natural, rich source of phytochemicals that most Americans don’t typically consume.
A medical review published in the Journal of Food Biochemistry described dragon fruit as a “wonder fruit” due to its antioxidant, antimicrobial, anticancer and antidiabetic effects.
Coconut cream is another healthy, whole food ingredient in Pink Sauce. It was shown in a clinical trial to improve cholesterol levels in healthy adults.
Unfortunately while there are some healthy, whole food ingredients in Pink Sauce there are also some ingredients that health-conscious consumers may wish to avoid, especially at this price point.
Added sugar when consumed in excess is associated with increased risk of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease in medical research, and while there are only two grams of added sugar in Pink Sauce, many Americans already consume too much sugar in their diet.
Maltodextrin may cause intestinal distress when used as a food additive according to a 2019 medical review.
Natural flavors and spices are broad categorical descriptors which fail to describe the specific flavoring agents used. As we referenced in our review of Smart Sweets candy, there is some medical evidence that some natural flavors and their metabolites are toxic.
Titanium dioxide is a colorant that’s banned in the E.U. for use as a food additive due to toxicity concerns.
Sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, citric acid and calcium disodium ETDA are all preservative ingredients, and while the inclusion of these ingredients likely helped get Pink Sauce approved by the FDA, it seems illogical in our opinion to use a seasoning sauce with so many preservatives when there are sauces on the market with none.
Overall we do not consider Pink Sauce to be healthy, and we believe there are much better options especially at the $10 price point.
What's the Controversy About?
It’s uncommon for a seasoning sauce brand to be surrounded by so much controversy, but for consumers who want the full backstory on Pink Sauce, it’s an interesting one.
A YouTube creator named “Tea Spill” reviews the whole backstory in a highly entertaining video that covers everything from the missing ingredients lists at the inception of the company, a lack of temperature control before shipping, and even the founder of the company disrespecting a customer on live TV:
Real, Unsponsored Pink Sauce User Reviews
A YouTube user named “Tay Eats” tried Pink Sauce and gave an honest review:
A popular TikTok creator named “NoahGlennCarter” had a negative experience with Pink Sauce:
@noahglenncarter My pink sauce review #pinksauce #review #foryou ♬ All I Want for Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey
Make Healthy Pink Sauce at Home
Since dragon fruits are nutritious, healthy and taste great, people wanting to try pink sauce may want to try making it at home using a recipe with whole food ingredients. This video from a YouTube creator named “lookatchu” shows you how:
Our Healthy Seasoning Sauce Recommendation
We recommend Primal Kitchen Organic Sauce as our top healthy seasoning sauce pick.
The sauces contain nutritious, whole food ingredients like organic apple cider vinegar, organic dijon mustard and organic onion powder, and these products are free of added sugar, free of preservatives and free of titanium dioxide.
Primal Kitchen’s sauces are also cheaper than Pink Sauce, costing $6.84 per bottle.
Interested consumers can check out Primal Kitchen Organic Sauce at this link to its official Amazon listing.
