Hot Sauce Company Under Heat

JOSEPH ALAN NEY-JUN
Staff Writer

Processing the ingredients to make the Sriracha sauce releases strong fumes into the air that cause irritation in the nose, and at its strongest, the skin and eyes. While the Huy Fong Foods factory in Irwindale, CA does have a filtration system already in place, the locals do not believe it is strong enough.

The southern Californian factory for the famous rooster sauce almost crowed its last peppered breath when the residents of Irwindale petitioned a local judge to shut down the factory until a better air filtration system was put into place.

“The smell is [really] strong, and it kind of burns our eyes and burns our lungs,” Irwindale resident Lawrence Castro said, according to ABC News.

The bulk of their year’s supply is made during the time between September and December. In 2010 the company produced 20 million bottles. It is a crucial time for Huy Fong Foods, as the hot sauce is one of their most popular items, earning $60 million a year.

“Without Sriracha, it would be difficult for me to eat many foods. Sriracha makes the food I put it on taste better,” sophomore Jack Xie Chen said.

Durrng this time of rapid production, the city of Irwindale has come under the exhaust of the beginning of 45 million kilograms of peppers.

The petition was turned down by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert O’Brien, who stated that it was “a very radical order on 24-hour notice.”

Huy Fong Foods is denying that there is an odor problem, but there is a growing movement among the people of Irwindale to stand against the factory until the odor problem is resolved.