Bottle sterilization for bottling sauce

[PLHawkins]

I am presently reworking six of my BBQ sauce recipes for bottling. I have solved most of the logistics of my small scale bottling operation, since there are no co-packers that can produce my sauce with the process I require. My only draw back is how to sterilize and dry the bottles before filling. I will be doing a maximum of 1000 bottles a day and will not be using an automated line. If anyone has had dealings with co-packers producing on this scale and can provide some advice it would be greatly appreciated.

[roksmith]

If you can hot fill you don't have to be as worried about sterilizing prior to filling. But that depends on your sauce.

[deepsouth]

huh......many if not most homebrewers sanatize with starsan from five star.

http://www.fivestarchemicals.com/breweries/homebrewing/products/

might be worth looking into. it's usda approved.

[marubozo]

Another vote for Star San. I use it all the time, and not just for brewing, winemaking, etc. It's great because it's relatively cheap and you can mix up a five gallon batch in a bucket and keep it around for a long time whenever you need it. Plus it's a no-rinse sanitizer, so you don't have to, nor should you, wait for your bottles or tools to air dry first.