Hot sauce has been steadily gaining attention in the eyes of consumers in Australia. Hot sauce, also known as chilli sauce or pepper sauce, is a spicy condiment made from chilli peppers.

Although the variations of hot sauce are endless, all sauces contain at least one variety of chilli pepper. The sauce might be vegetable-based with chillies added for heat, or chilli-based for a more chilli-forward flavor. Other spices and flavourings may also be included, such as garlic, black pepper, and mustard oil. In nearly all cases, these sauces have acidic ingredients added to provide a sharp, tart flavour. Most often, the acid addition is in the form of vinegar (acetic acid), but citrus juices can be used to replace or supplement the vinegar. The presence of acid helps to preserve the sauce, guarding against oxidation and microbial growth. Preparing sauces in this manner allows the sauces to be shelf-stable; sauces without acid would have to be refrigerated during storage.

Foodstuffs acidifed with additional ingredients have regulations set by The Board of Food Standards Australia New Zealand. The Standard 2.3.1 states that “A food that is fruit and vegetables in brine, oil, vinegar or water must not have a pH greater than 4.6″. The threshold value set of pH 4.6 is to protect consumers against Clostridium botulinum, which thrives at pH values above 4.6. C. botulinum is known to produce toxins that can cause paralysis and death in low doses, even if the food is cooked. As a result, the guidelines suggest that manufacturers measure pH in order to ensure that the finished product has a pH less than 4.6 and that the product is safe to sit on shelves. The guidelines provide several technologies for testing pH, such as pH paper, indicator dyes, and the potentiometric (meter and electrode) method. However, the potentiometric method is most often preferred due to its accuracy, especially when the pH of the food substance is above pH 4.0, where any amount of error can be the difference between life and death. As the pH of hot sauce varies widely based on the recipe (sometimes near the critical value), it is imperative to get accurate results during production.

Application: