A little off topic: AFAIK, initially, hot spices were invented not to preserve or flavor the food, but to hide unpleasant smell and taste of a meal's component (i.e. meat), which is a little behind its "shelf life end" being stored in hot climate. In a survival situation such a hot sauce as Tabasco may effectively hide the rotting/decomposing food smell and taste, which would warn you that something is wrong with your food otherwise.