__NOTOC__ Texas Pete is a brand of

hot sauce Hot sauce is a type of condiment, seasoning, or salsa made from chili peppers and other ingredients. Many commercial varieties of mass-produced hot sauce exist. History Humans have used chili peppers and other hot spices for thousands of years ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

developed and manufactured by the TW Garner Food Company in

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...

. Texas Pete is the third best selling hot sauce in the United States as of 2004.

History

Texas Pete hot sauce was introduced in 1929 by Sam Garner, operator of the Dixie Pig barbecue stand in

Winston-Salem Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. Customers asked for a spicier sauce, and the Garners concocted one with cayenne peppers. Developing a product name, a marketing adviser suggested "Mexican Joe" to connote the spicy cuisine of

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. However, Thad's father Sam Garner opposed this, saying that the name should be American.

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

is known for its spicy food; this was combined with Pete, the nickname of Thad's brother Harold Garner.

Lawsuit

Phillip White of California filed a lawsuit against J.W. Garner September 12, 2022 for a "false marketing and labeling scheme". White said he was deceived into thinking the sauce was made in Texas. The 49-page complaint says, "There is nothing 'Texas' about Texas Pete."

Carcinogen

The ingredient Sodium Benzoate ("Benzoate of Soda" under "...Nutrition Info") is a common preservative. Scientists have shown that when mixed with

ascorbic acid Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits and vegetables, also sold as a dietary supplement and as a topical 'serum' ingredient to treat melasma (dark pigment spots) an ...

(vitamin C), it turns into

benzene Benzene is an organic chemical compound with the molecular formula C6H6. The benzene molecule is composed of six carbon atoms joined in a planar ring with one hydrogen atom attached to each. Because it contains only carbon and hydrogen atoms, ...

, a known

carcinogen A carcinogen is any substance, radionuclide, or radiation that promotes carcinogenesis (the formation of cancer). This may be due to the ability to damage the genome or to the disruption of cellular metabolic processes. Several radioactive substan ...

. Sodium benzoate in beverages that also contain vitamin C may, therefore, be problematic. Hot peppers naturally contain vitamin C ("nearly as much as in one orange") so the observation about beverages applies to pepper sauces containing sodium benzoate, like Texas Pete. Hot pepper sauces typically contain some vitamin C, as does Texas Pete.

Products

The brand has 6, 12, and 24 ounce bottles with bright red sauce, flip top, and white and yellow label featuring the name in red and "Texas Pete," a red silhouette cowboy. Texas Pete is fairly mild, registering 747 on the Scoville heat scale. Its auxiliary branded Hotter Hot Sauce is claimed to be three times hotter than original Texas Pete. Texas Pete also makes a sautéed garlic hot sauce. In 2013, Texas Pete introduced the "Cha!" Sriracha sauce. Sabor! by Texas Pete was released in 2016 as their Mexican style hot sauce. In 2015, the TW Garner Food Company discontinued production of its Texas Pete Chili Sauce for hot dogs and hamburgers.

References

External links