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Inside the Sriracha Factory Causing A Stink In California

3 minute read

The first thing you notice when you approach Huy Fong Foods’ factory in Irwindale, Calif. is not the smell of roasting chiles, but its sheer enormity of the building. The company, maker of the wildly popular Sriracha “Rooster” hot sauce, began moving from a smaller factory in a nearby town to its new 650,000-square-foot plant in 2011, betting that the time was right to switch from being the purveyor of a niche Asian product to maker of the next great American condiment.

They may be regretting that bet this week. The Irwindale city council voted Wednesday to declare the new factory a public nuisance, claiming the smell of chilies wafting out of the facility caused nearby residents to suffer breathing problems and bloody noses. The action came after the city filed an odor-related lawsuit against the company last year. Once the council adopts a resolution next month making the public nuisance designation official the company will have 90 days to contain the fumes.

But company owner David Tran, a Vietnamese immigrant who founded Huy Fong Foods in 1980, has insisted the odor concerns are overblown — and indeed there are signs the controversy may be as manufactured as Sriracha itself.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District, which includes Irwindale, has never issued a citation to the company and Sam Atwood, a spokesman for the district, says that many of the 70 odor complaints the district had received as of April 7 came from just a handful of households. The first person to file a formal complaint was the relative of a city official, according to court documents. Atwood says inspectors from the district visited the Huy Fong Foods factory and determined the company was not in violation of current air quality regulations. If a smell is bad enough that the district would take action, he says, “You’re going to get dozens if not hundreds of complaints.”

That hasn’t happened yet, but the factory remains in danger of being shut down. Irwindale officials have even said they may have the right to install air-filtering equipment inside the factory and bill Huy Fong Foods for the expense.

Some locals seem baffled by all the fuss. Tania Bueno, who owns a salon a few blocks from the factory, told TIME in February she’s never detected an odor from the Huy Fong Foods factory. “None of my clients have mentioned any smells.” Tran recently opened his doors for public tours to allow Irwindale residents to decide for themselves how strong the smell is.

Meanwhile, Sriracha devotees, from hipsters to housewives to top American chefs, remain concerned that the famous hot sauce could disappear from store shelves and restaurant tables. On blogs and Twitters, fans last fall braced for the Great Sriracha Shortage of 2014 or even a #srirachapocalypse. Meanwhile, competitors are gearing up. Trader Joe’s now sells its own Sriracha sauce and even the maker of Tabasco has reportedly said the company is experimenting with a Sriracha-style condiment.

Chilies are ground in a mixing machine.
Jalapeno peppers, grown in nearby Ventura County, are crushed inside the Huy Fong Foods factory in Irwindale, Calif.Peter Bohler for TIME
Lids for Sriracha bottles flow into a large container.
Sriracha sauce is bottled on site and topped with distinctive bright green caps.Peter Bohler for TIME
The bottles for Sriracha are made and printed on site. Here, new bottles come off the conveyer belt.
Sriracha’s trademarked look includes clear bottles printed with white text.Peter Bohler for TIME
A forklift moves barrels of chili around the warehouse where they are stored until needed for processing into Sriracha, Chili Garlic and Sambal Olek—ground chilis with no added ingredients.
A forklift moves barrels of crushed chilies stores in the on-site warehouse.Peter Bohler for TIME
Uncapped barrels of chili are pumped into the mixing room.
Crushed chilies are eventually mixed with sugar, salt, garlic and vinegar to make Sriracha.Peter Bohler for TIME
Sugar and powdered garlic are added to the mixture, which is ground again into Sriracha.
Sugar and powdered garlic are added to the mixture, which is ground again into Sriracha.Peter Bohler for TIME
Bottles of Sriracha being filled. When CEO and founder David Tran started making chili sauce in Vietnam, he and his family hand-filled bottles with spoons.
Bottles of Sriracha being filled. When CEO and founder David Tran started making chili sauce in Vietnam, he and his family hand-filled bottles with spoons. Peter Bohler for TIME
Filled and capped bottles of Sriracha come off the assembly line and are organized for boxing.
Filled and capped bottles of Sriracha move along an assembly line on their way to be boxed and shipped.Peter Bohler for TIME
A machine boxes Sriracha for shipping.
A machine boxes Sriracha bottles that will end up in restaurants and on grocery store shelves.Peter Bohler for TIME
A worker adds steel supports to a pallet of barrels. The supports allow Huy Fong to stack the barrels on top of each other without the weight of the chili crushing the barrels.
A worker adds steel supports to a pallet of barrels. The supports allow Huy Fong Foods to stack chili-filled barrels five layers high. Peter Bohler for TIME

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