Sriracha Hot Sauce may move its factory out of California because of a months-long battle with the city of Irwindale over the smell from the factory, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Sriracha sauce creator David Tran said on Wednesday that there have been multiple offers from other cities in California as well as other states to move his factory and leave Irwindale behind. He invited the various interested parties to tour the factory and see if the smell would be a problem.
One week ago, the Irwindale City Council voted unanimously Tran’s factory to be declared a public nuisance even though Tran had promised he would fix the problem by July 1. Tran is worried that even if he fixes the smell, and residents still file complaints, he will be embroiled in legal disputes for the foreseeable future. He told the Times: “[City officials] tell you one thing, but think another. I don’t want to sit here and wait to die.”
Irwindale City Attorney Fred Galante, along with Irwindale officials, feel that all they are asking for is an action plan, the Times notes, and they claim that Tran is being intransigent in not providing one to this date. Galante said of Tran’s threat to move: “This seems very extreme. It’s disappointing giving that [air quality officials] have explained that there are readily available solutions.”
Tran is determined to consider moving despite the fact that the pepper grower Tran uses is in Ventura County, and the partnership has benefited both parties. One problem is that the peppers Tran uses have to be fresh ground on the day they are harvested, and if Tran moves that opportunity will be lost. He complained, “I have had the bad luck to move into a city with a government that acts like a local king.”
Alabama, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Ohio, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, New Mexico and West Virginia have all told Huy Fong Foods that they want its business.
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