FAQs

Yes, Marie is very real!  Since 1980, Marie has crafted recipes using the habanero pepper, well before it was a household name.  The undisputed "Queen of Habanero" sells her sauce in more than 30 different countries, the #1 Habanero Pepper Sauce in the world.

Marie, 79 years young, is hard at work every day at 8:00 AM.  Three generations of family members report to Marie, who is in full command of day-to-day operations.

From 1980 until 1994, Marie's sauces were sold under the brand name, Melinda's.

The Melinda Forest Reserve is an area of Belize, Central America, adored by bird-watchers, and home to the greatest sauce maker the world has ever known. Birds such as Collared Aracari, Lineated Woodpecker, Laughing Falcon, Social Flycatcher, Brown Jay, Gray Catbird, Tropical Mockingbird and Summer Tanager's are often spotted. 

Melinda Estate is the name of the Sharp family farm where Marie Sharp has made her products since 1980.  The Melinda Estate is located off the Melinda Road, in the Stann Creek District of Belize, within the greater Melinda Forest Reserve.

Absolutely not.  Marie Sharp is the creator of the original habanero pepper sauce recipe marketed between 1980-1994.  

This fresh carrot-based blend of onions, freshly squeezed key lime juice, natural vinegar and sea salt, with varying amounts of red habanero pepper, took the world by storm.  

After 1994, Marie has produced all her products under the MARIE SHARP'S FINE FOODS BRAND name.  Everything is still made at the same family farm.  

Our ingredients are used FRESH and are of the absolute highest nutritional quality obtainable.  #ZeroJunk

What does this mean? 

For example, common Mexican sauces with water listed first, is an indication that the producer has cut corners and used powdered ingredients (i.e. Cholula, Tapatio, El Yucateco, etc). The water is needed to rehydrate (or reconstitute) these cheap, dead, over-processed powdered ingredients.

Our pesticide-free, NON-GMO vegetables are sustainably raised by the same Mennonite families, who for decades, have hand-harvested our unique, heirloom varietals. 

2. We do not ferment our peppers, the day they are picked is the day they are used, retaining all juicy flavor.  Most sauces use fermented mash stored over long periods of time.

3. Our sauces are not vinegar-based, like typical "hot sauces,"  which can contain more than 40% white distilled vinegar.  Marie Sharp's "Pepper Sauces" are based on whole fruits and vegetables, making the incorporation into daily meals more natural, without the acidic vinegar pungency.

No.  Organic certification is very costly and difficult to obtain in Belize. 

To obtain USDA certification for produce, in the United States, the plants are only treated with fungicides, pesticides, or herbicides that the USDA deems safe (yes, organic foods can often be treated with pesticides), and do not use synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, genetically modified organisms, or radiation.

We go well beyond this standard.  We are 100% pesticide free, we use indigenous non-gmo heirloom varietals, our crops are hand harvested.  Fresh fruit and vegetables are made into products within hours of picking. 

All crops coming into our facility are routinely tested for contamination. 

We use the highest quality natural vinegar (i.e., cane, pineapple), which in its basic form can not only be used to whip up fat-fighting dressings and marinades, but it’s also an invaluable tool in your weight loss arsenal. Our natural vinegar is full of acetic acid, a compound which delays gastric emptying to keep you fuller longer.  You also get an additional boost of iron, energy-boosting B vitamins, detoxing phenolic compounds, digestion-assisting enzymes, and prebiotic pectin, a type of carb which promotes healthy digestion by encouraging the growth of good bacteria in your gut.

No.  But they will stay fresh longer.  Room temperature is where microbes thrive and multiply at the fastest rate; refrigeration slows down this growth.  The FDA is now encouraging all sauce makers to add "Refrigerate after opening" to labels. 

We developed our own method for smoking peppers after watching documentaries about smokers in Alaska.

We have an exclusive, and secret blend, of four different types of fruit wood; Craboo wood, Grapefruit Wood, Guava wood and Orange wood. 

For all the scoop, check out the post here:

1. First and foremost, we use only fresh ingredients. This is almost unheard of in the Western world of food manufacturing.  No fillers, colors, preservatives, thickeners, stabilizers, gums,  or unpronounceable things.

2. What we don't grow or raise ourselves, we meticulously manage. 

The same Mennonite families have been growing the same species of our indigenous carrots and onions for more than twenty years.  No pesticides, fungicides, roundup or any GMO seeds on these farms.  No mechanized equipment either.

Unlike most makers of common table sauces, we know exactly from which plot of land our ingredients originated, we are not interested in sourcing the cheapest form of salt, powdered garlic or dehydrated pepper.

We do not have an expiration date.  The "Best By" date is 36 months from the day of manufacturing.  The product is extremely shelf stable, and is safe to use for many years after this date.

Marie Sharp's prides ourselves on using whole and natural ingredients. You'll notice our competitor's labels may contain ingredients like; Sodium Benzoates/Sorbates, Nitrites and Sulfites. Because we refuse to sacrifice taste and health for these artificial preservatives, we have to find a way to stabilize our product's shelf life in a healthy and delicious way. We accomplish this by only using natural sea salt and fruit vinegars to preserve our tasty sauces.

Marie Sharp's USA has made a commitment to uphold an environmental and consumer friendly standard. In order to prevent contribution to the food waste epidemic in America, Marie Sharp's encourages consumers to look past the "best if used by" date when products still remain at peak freshness! 

Read more on the environmental impact of food waste here.

NO! "Best if used by" is a considered a marketing tool to promote sales and push products off shelves quickly. Which is why as a result, 84% of people throw out food when it’s close to the package date at least occasionally. In reality, these products are still fresh, yummy, and safe to consume.

First check your home country to be sure you do not have a Marie Sharp's affiliate that stocks our products.  If none are available, you are welcome to order from our site.

You deserve your sauce and we want to get it to you, through any means.  Contact Sonia at Info@MarieSharpsUSA.com, or call us at 336-701-0377.

Yes, we do!  Check out the bottom of the contact page.

When you make jams and jellies from scratch, every batch will be different. You will not have a perfect uniform consistency like a fast food restaurant or other large scale jelly maker. If the layer on top is a crystallized layer, it is sugars in the jam that have risen to the top and hardened from being in a cool place. If it is a frothy layer, that is from the bubbles forming while being cooked and then rising after the canning process. These factors will not change the flavor but can change the texture. You can fix this by heating your jams and jellies back up, or stirring out the bubbles.