California City Fumes Over Hot Sauce Factory.

Irwindale, California City Manager says the fumes in the area near a Sriracha hot sauce plant are "horrible" and is taking the company to court. Gavino Garay Reports.

Published

over 1 year ago

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Lifestyle, Health

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Legal, Food, Health

People

Gavino Garay

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California

Transcript

Sriracha hot sauce has a controversy on its hands, and its jalapeno-based condiment is making more than just taste buds burn. Residents of Irwindale, California, where Huy Fong Foods makes the sauce, claim a Sriracha plant is causing their eyes to burn, and giving them headaches. The fumes from the plant have burned up local sentiments, and the city is taking the company to court. City Manager John Davidson: (SOUNDBITE) IRWINDALE CITY MANAGER JOHN DAVIDSON SAYING: "In the interior of Huy Fong, it's fine. You go to the exterior and it's horrible." That's a sentiment these neighbors are echoing. (SOUNDBITE) IRWINDALE RESIDENT RITA SANCHEZ SAYING: "You feel it in your nose tingling. You want to sneeze. It's like cooking chilies in your house. You have that little cough, the itch in your throat, definitely kind of unbearable." (SOUNDBITE) IRWINDALE RESIDENT YESENIA PANAMERO SAYING: "Because it's when we smell it real bad, and when I feel it in my throat is when she starts sneezing a lot." Unless the company installs an air filtration system, it's at risk for being shut down by the city. (SOUNDBITE) ADAM HOLLIDAY OF HUY FONG FOODS SAYING: "We don't want to put in a unit and spend a lot of money, and then have the residents still have an issue." Closing the facility could force the company to raise its wholesale prices for the first time in 30-years.