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Food

Is The Sriracha Plant A Public Nuisance? We'll Have To Wait Another Month To Find Out

By  Krista Simmons
Published Feb 27, 2014 12:00 AM
srirachaa.jpg
Hopefully we won't have to hoard Sriracha anytime soon (Photo Illustration by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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Those anxiously awaiting the fate of the Irwindale Sriracha plant will have to hold on just a bit longer. It turns out the decision to label the plant a public nuisance (or not) has been delayed until April 1.

Irwindale city council members ultimately decided last night to give the company more time to work with the South Coast Air Quality Management District on its odor issue.

Last night cock sauce loyalists showed up and protested at the city council meeting held in the company’s hometown of Irwindale. Experts showed up to offer their findings on the issues, too. Says the Los Angeles Times:

Multiple experts presented findings, including an environmental chemist from SWAPE, a consulting firm in Santa Monica, who offered information on how the smell could affect more or fewer people at certain times because of weather conditions. Residents who made the initial complaints were also present. 

Local residents
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have complained that the odor of garlic and chilies emanating from the plant is not only offensive, but it's causing them health problems, like watery eyes and coughing fits. The San Gabriel Valley Tribune noted that 41 of the 61 complaints about the factory came from just four homes. Huy Fong Foods is doing its best to prove it’s not such a nuisance. The company recently announced that it has updated its filtering system in response to residents' concerns, and they even began offering public tours of the facility recently in attempt to dispel the stinky myth.