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I am a hot sauce producer and I'm dealing with some problems that I think have to do with the hot weather.

When I finish my sauce (processed with a fruit-based paste and put in plastic bottles to funnel it into the sterilized glass jars) sometimes, in about 2 weeks, when I turn the lid, it pops and looks like it's fermented. The smell is bad.

Sometimes, I leave the sauces in the plastic bottles and even in there, they pop and ferment. I really don't know if it's fermenting but it looks like it.

Anyone has had a similar experience in making hot sauces?

Sometimes I process with balsamic vinegar.

Can you help me?

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    Is the plastic also sterilized? Are you properly sealing the glass jars? How do you close the glass jars?
    – CMB92
    Feb 21, 2017 at 21:01
  • The plastics are not sterilized. I do that with boiled water?
    – user54817
    Feb 21, 2017 at 21:06
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    I probably wouldn't do that. The plastic could melt. Could you try a metal canning funnel and a metal ladle that you sanitize with the jars? All of this is moot if the jars aren't being properly sealed after being filled. The sealing process is most likely where the problem lies.
    – CMB92
    Feb 21, 2017 at 21:23
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    "I am a hot sauce producer" ... so you are selling a commercial bottled product while still having issues with uncontrolled spoilage ....?
    – rackandboneman
    Feb 22, 2017 at 12:34
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    i just takes one bad bottle to cause severe illness leading to pain, vomiting, huge health care bills and possibly DEATH.
    – Alaska Man
    Mar 2, 2017 at 5:15

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If you are using sterilised containers and equipment, I expect the problem with fermentation lies with your fruit based paste. Is this a home made, or bought product, does this get heated, and if so what temperature does it get to? As it may suggest an issue with killing/controlling the level of yeast in the mixture. Note: I expect you do not have any added yeast into your recipe, but may not have accounted for the amount of yeast/bacteria in the air and other sources.

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  • Have you considered the use of a food preservative, natural or artificial?
    – Food Lover
    Mar 2, 2017 at 0:36

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