Can fresh basil cause tomato sauce spoilage? I added fresh basil to tomato sauce once it was bottled, just before sealing. Never done this before and I lost the whole batch within 2 weeks. Can fresh basil cause fermentation to continue? Should the basil have been cooked into the sauce before bottling?
Yes. The cooking sterilizes the sauce, but adding uncooked basil afterwards has contaminated the sauce again with germs.