A Los Angeles County city has declared the smell of Siracha hot sauce production a public nuisance, prompting a state senator to offer the offending factory a new home in a different city.
The Irwindale City Council approved the declaration unanimously (4-0) Wednesday night, even though the hot-sauce maker’s attorney, John Tate, has promised an action plan and a fix for the smell by June 1, reports the Los Angeles Times.
The council also asserted it has the right to enter the factory and make the changes itself, if nothing is done to fix the smell, which residents say burns their eyes and throats.
“The City Council is determined to assert its authority regardless of the status of the odor remediation efforts,” Tate told the Times.
State Sen. Ed Hernandez offered to help the hot-sauce maker find a home in a neighboring city and said it’s one of the “shining stars” of the San Gabriel Valley’s business community, in a statement delivered to the council meeting. “I ask that the city of Irwindale reject this inflammatory and unnecessary ‘public nuisance’ designation,” Hernandez said.
Irwindale has already filed a lawsuit against the company, with a trial set for November, and is expected to grant Huy Fung Foods about 90 days to deal with the smell in a resolution this week.
Councilman Albert Ambriz told the Times that the city wants to keep the hot sauce factory, but the problem “needs to be fixed.”