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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?

Giorgio
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user54817
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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 '17 at 21:01
  • The plastics are not sterilized. I do that with boiled water? – user54817 Feb 21 '17 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 '17 at 21:23
  • Additionally, how is your sauce cooked and processed? Is cooking the final step in your process? If it's not, there's also another issue. – Juliana Karasawa Souza Feb 22 '17 at 03:01
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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 '17 at 12:34
  • No. This kind of Spoilage is 2% of my production. But I still wanna make it 0%. – user54817 Feb 22 '17 at 12:37
  • With a failure rate that low, I'd imagine it's just a couple cans that aren't properly sealing when you go through the canning process, which is pretty normal. I would very carefully check each can to make sure it has sealed properly after the canning process before putting it away. If you find some improperly sealed, just do the canning process again. Also make sure you're using new lids. Without industrial tools it'll be very hard to get a near 0% failure rate. Good luck. – CMB92 Feb 22 '17 at 20:15
  • Yeah I know that. The process is all homemade. But I will buy industrial equipments to legalize the production. My intentions is to export these beauties. – user54817 Feb 22 '17 at 20:24
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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 02 '17 at 05:15
  • @Alaskaman Really helpful information. Noted – user54817 Sep 15 '17 at 23:28

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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.

Food Lover
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