Is there a hot sauce batch record I can copy?

Yes. The sheet below covers one batch of one product on one page, in the order the work happens: ingredients and their lots, the pH meter check, the cook, pH before filling, the fill and hold log, container checks, the equilibrium pH reading the next day, and where the bottles went. It is built from what 21 CFR 114.100 says an acidified food processor must record [1] and the log fields UGA Extension and K-State use in their procedures [2][3]. Copy it as printed, or set up the spreadsheet version described further down. Before you use it, fill in the limits from your own scheduled process; the sheet has blanks for them, never numbers of its own.

Why the sheet is laid out this way

Federal rules ask acidified food processors for records of raw materials, packaging and finished product checks; processing records that show you followed the scheduled process, including pH, in enough detail to judge each lot; every departure from the scheduled process with what you did about it; and initial distribution so a lot can be found if it has to come back. The processing, deviation and distribution records are kept for 3 years from the date of manufacture [1]. What each of those means in practice, and which records inspectors ask for first, is on batch records. This page is the form.

Every container also has to carry a permanent code that identifies the establishment, the product, and the year, day and period it was packed [1]. The sheet's lot code is that code, so the bottle and the paper always point to each other.

The printable batch sheet

A. Batch header

The supervisor line is there because the rule requires acidified food operations to run under a supervisor who has completed approved training [1]. The critical limits line is the most important line on the sheet: you copy it from your process authority's letter, and every reading below is checked against it. Critical factors explains what those limits are.

B. Ingredients

Use your formula from the recipe to formula calculator for the formula weight column. The supplier lot column is what lets you trace a bad delivery of peppers or vinegar to the batches that used it. Keep supplier guarantees or certificates with the sheet if you rely on them [1].

C. pH meter and thermometer check

UGA's procedure calibrates the pH meter every day before readings, with pH 7.0 and pH 4.0 buffers, and keeps a calibration log for the meter and the thermometers [2]. If you calibrate more than once a day, add a line each time. Electrode care and calibration steps are on measuring pH.

D. Cook and acidification

E. pH before filling

F. Fill and hold log

UGA's procedure takes the fill temperature at the center of the first filled container before capping, and the hold temperature in the last filled container of the batch, where the product has cooled the most [2]. K-State's hot-fill-hold publication asks you to record how long each container was inverted and held, in minutes and seconds, and the temperature after inversion and holding [3]. The numbers you must meet come from your scheduled process; what the extension sources say about fill temperatures and the hold is on hot fill and hold.

G. Containers and closures

The rule asks processors to check containers often enough to be sure they protect the food from leaks and contamination [1]; UGA keeps these on a container closure log [2].

H. Equilibrium pH, the next day

UGA's method opens one container 24 hours after processing, does not refrigerate the sample first, takes three readings at different levels, and records each one without averaging [2]. The sheet asks for the highest of the three in its own column because that is the number to judge against your limit. Why the reading moves after bottling is explained on equilibrium pH.

I. Release and distribution

Distribution to the first point of sale is what the rule asks for [1][2]; you do not have to track a bottle to the person who eats it.

J. Deviation note

If any reading misses its limit, write "deviation" here, the time, what was out, and the lot affected, and open a deviation record. The options the rule allows for that product are reprocessing it fully, processing it as a low-acid food under Part 113, or setting it aside for evaluation by a process authority, and anything that cannot be shown to be safe is reprocessed or destroyed [1]. NC State's process authority asks for deviation records to be kept in a separate file for three years [4]. What to do step by step, and when FDA must be told, is on when a batch misses its limits.

Reviewed and signed by supervisor: ____________ Date: ________

The spreadsheet version

If you keep records on a computer, set up one workbook per product with these tabs. Each row in the Batches tab is one sheet above, and the other tabs link to it by lot code.

Three formulas save the most trouble:

• `eq_pH_high` as the highest of the three readings, for example `=MAX(J2:L2)` if the readings sit in columns J to L.
• `pass_fail` comparing that to the limit, for example `=IF(M2<=I2,"PASS","DEVIATION")`, and the same pattern on the fill log against the minimum fill temperature.
• Conditional formatting that turns any "DEVIATION" cell red, so a missed limit cannot sit unnoticed in a long list.

Lock the formula columns and keep a backup copy outside the computer you record on. A spreadsheet is only a record if it cannot be quietly changed later. Printing and signing the finished batch row each day solves that and gives you a signed page to show when asked.

Filling it in on a production day

• Write in ink at the time you take the reading. A sheet filled in from memory at the end of the day is hard to stand behind if a lot is ever questioned.
• Cross out errors with a single line and initial them. Do not erase or white out.
• Fill every blank. If a step did not apply, write "n/a" so nobody wonders whether it was skipped.
• File the sheet with the lab results and the next-day pH reading before you release the batch.
• Keep three years of sheets where you can produce them during an inspection [1].

The records behind this sheet

For what each record is for, which ones FDA inspectors ask about, and how long to keep each, read batch records. For the limits that go into Section A, start with critical factors.

References

1. Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 21 CFR Part 114, Acidified Foods (sections 114.10, 114.80, 114.89 and 114.100), up to date as of October 20, 2026. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-114
2. University of Georgia Extension (Anand Mohan), Step-by-Step Guidelines for Processing, Manufacturing, and Regulatory Approval of Acidified Foods in Georgia, Bulletin B 1455, November 2015. https://secure.caes.uga.edu/extension/publications/files/pdf/B%201455_1.PDF
3. Kansas State University Research and Extension (Kelly Getty and Rashmi Gaikwad), Hot-Fill-Hold Process for Acid and Acidified Foods, MF3671, September 2024. https://bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/download/hot-fill-hold-process-for-acid-and-acidified-foods_MF3671
4. NC State Extension, Food Business (Nick Fragedakis), Acidified Foods Scheduled Processes "How To," September 18, 2023, updated May 14, 2026. https://foodbusiness.ces.ncsu.edu/2023/09/acidified-foods-scheduled-processes-how-to/