Irwindale Sues Makers Of Sriracha Over Smell Generated By Processing Plant

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The city of Irwindale is apparently not among the legions of fans of the wildly popular Sriracha hot sauce — or, at least how the chili sauce smells.

The city has filed a public nuisance complaint in Los Angeles Superior Court against the makers of Sriracha, demanding the company halt operations at its processing plant until it stops creating odors that have generated complaints by residents.

The complaint filed against Huy Fong Foods Inc., which lists Sriracha as one of its most popular products on its website, seeks temporary, preliminary and permanent injunctions "enjoining all operations on … the subject property until (Huy) abates the public nuisance herein by preventing and causing the emanation of the strong, offensive chili odor."

According to the complaint, residents began complaining last month to the city about the chili smell from the 600,000-square-foot facility.

"The odors are so strong and offensive as to have caused residents to move outdoor activities indoors and even to vacate their residences temporarily to seek relief from the odors," according to the suit.

The city staff met with Huy Fong Foods officials Oct. 1 and company representatives said they would "do everything possible to abate the odors." But on Oct. 16, the city staff was told by a company official during another meeting that no odor problem existed, the suit says.

The next day, the city sent a notice of violation of the Irwindale Municipal Code to Huy Fong Foods and demanded that a strategy be put in place to correct the problem, according to the complaint.

"To date, the city has received no action plan from (Huy) illustrating the steps it will take to address the problem," the suit says.

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