The TikTok chef behind 'Pink Sauce' says it will become a hit despite food safety concerns: 'Hey, they ridiculed Jesus.'

• TikTok chef Carly Pii is selling a viral Pink Sauce that has generated memes and safety concerns.
• In an interview with Insider, Pii admitted to making mistakes but defended her pink product.

Carly Pii, the creator of the viral Pink Sauce condiment that has received millions of views and sparked intense backlash on social media, is defending herself and her controversial product. Pii told Insider she and her team were working to address concerns over the safety and shipping of the product — but insisted the sauce would survive, claiming the online criticism was unfounded.

"I am literally being tortured because I won't give answers to people in regards to my safety as a business owner," Pii told Insider. "I have a right to reserve my silence, so that triggered them to dig deep to harass me."

Pii, a food content creator and self-proclaimed personal chef in Florida, began advertising the product in videos on TikTok in June. Many of Pii's videos promoting the sauce have gone viral, some being viewed millions of times, as Insider previously reported.

But the nearly fluorescent sauce, which has been the subject of countless memes, has been criticized for errors on the nutrition label, which claimed there were over 400 90-calorie servings per container. Others who ordered the $20 sauce complained of broken bottles, while some worried the sauce needed to be refrigerated during transport.

"I don't have a lot of confidence in the food safety aspect of what's going on without knowing more about the product," food safety specialist Ben Chapman told Insider in an interview Thursday. Chapman has not tried or tested the Pink Sauce but said he had concerns relating to its pH and water activity.

Some have criticized the taste and texture of the sauce, calling it "watery" and tasting like ranch dressing.

Pii, however, is confident in her creation and insists "the sauce is going nowhere."

"I'm a creator, I'm a painter, I'm an expressional artist," she said. "And Pink Sauce is an expression."

Pii calls the error on the label 'an honest mistake'

Pii addressed the concerns over the label in an apology on TikTok on July 20, and told Insider it was an "honest mistake"— claiming it was part of the "trial and error" of starting a small business and faulting a graphic designer for the error.

Pii told Insider she accepted responsibility, but she called the online reaction "crazy." Although she embraced the views and exposure when her Pink Sauce started gaining traction, many TikToks now cast her as the villain in an ongoing internet drama over the condiment.

Pii called some of the criticism unfair, saying people are "trying to build clout" off her name and are "tearing up" her dreams. She likened her experience with making a mistake to Madonna or Beyonce making an error while performing.

"They're the best performers in the freaking world, and everyone in the world looks at them like, you are awesome, you can't trip on stage," she said. "I tripped on stage. I tripped on stage, and I'm fixing that."

Pii halted production until Monday, she said, and said all bottles of Pink Sauce that will be shipped from now on would have the correct label, including instructions for refrigeration. She also said she will be "100% abiding by FDA standards" and will ensure all bottles ordered will arrive in good condition.

Pii said Pink Sauce gets its color from dragonfruit

Pii told Insider she "grew a relationship with dragonfruit" — the ingredient in pink sauce that she claims gives it its signature color — in 2018, believing it helped with her anxiety. Pii said she had studied "multicultural cuisine" and was raised by her grandmother, learning about food from the other grandmothers in her community.

Pii said Miami was "the land of everyone."

"We have the Latin community, Caribbean, we have Indian, we have West Indian, we have our Asian community," she said. "You have everybody."

Pii claimed people always "love" her food and remained defiant that her sauce would become a hit. The majority of criticism, in her mind, is due to TikTokers not knowing her or her self-described renown as a chef.

She said "the naysayers are naysaying," but she wants to ride the wave of the controversy and "turn it into a safe place for creatives."

"I will not let someone that doesn't understand my entire mission take it away through ignorance," she said. "Hey, they ridiculed Jesus. Who am I, you know?"