A Southern California company that produces Sriracha hot sauce was ordered to shut its doors, after a Los Angeles County judge ruled in favor of residents who said the smell drove them to distraction.
The odor from the Huy Fong company was so overpowering that some residents suffered headaches, watery eyes and soar throats, CNN reported.
“You couldn’t stay outside in some places,” said Irwindale city manager, John Davidson, in the CNN report. “We’ve had softball teams that have had to cancel their games and practices because their eyes were watering.”
The judge said Huy Fong must suspend operations immediately, but also gave an open door to return to production.
“[Huy Fong must] immediately make changes in its site operations reducing odors and the potential odors,” the order stated, CNN reported.
The city said it tried to reach an agreement with the company to install a filtration system that would confine the odors, before pursuing the court route. Huy Fung officials did not immediately comment but in a previous media report, said the filtration system the city wanted was prohibitively expensive.
Mr. Davidson said he’s open to other ideas from the company, so long as the odors are contained.
“We want to find a balance between letting this business be a business and protecting our residents,” he said, CNN reported. “We hope this will allow us to sit down with Huy Fong and come up with a solution that meets the needs of the community.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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