State Reps, City Of Irwindale Tour Sriracha Plant

IRWINDALE (CBSLA.com) — The state of California Tuesday entered the race to keep a Sriracha plant in the Southland.

Representatives from Gov. Jerry Brown's office and members of the Irwindale City Council toured the hot sauce facility in hopes of brokering a deal.

"It's very important to the city of Irwindale and of course for Huy Fong Foods for both of us to get together and work together," Mayor Mark Breceda said. "We asked for a filtration situation, a plan of action."

Some Irwindale residents are trying to get the 23-acre plant shut down, claiming its strong chili smell burns their eyes and forces them to stay inside. The city filed a lawsuit against Huy Fong Foods in October as a result.

"You can't help but smell it, man," neighbor Maria Moreno said. "What worries me are the people that are working there that have families."

Although the plant is still bottling sauce, harvest season isn't until the fall and that's when the pepper stench is the strongest.

"During the grinding season, that's when it's a lot stronger," Breceda said.

Breceda, however, told the Pasadena Star-News that he will ask the council to drop its public-nuisance order and lawsuit against Huy Fong Foods, according to the Associated Press.

Several officials from Texas and the Inland Empire have visited the site in recent weeks in hopes of luring the business to a new location, but plant owner David Tran said he wants to stay in Irwindale.

"I've lived here for 35 years already and now move to a new place? No, that's not what we want," he said.

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