Mon, Oct 27th 2013:
The city of Iwindale filed lawsuit against Huy Fong’s Sriracha factory located there in Los Angeles County Superior Court, asking a temporary restraining order to halt all Sriracha production in the factory, amid accusations from the residents that powerful odors emanating from the facility are causing burning eyes, irritating throats and headaches among nearby residents.
Public Reaction:
Iwindale residents claimed that “the odor is so strong that one family was forced to move a birthday party indoors (Shyong, Oct 2013)”; also said by Iwindale city attorney Galante, “if they fix it and the odor problems stop, we don’t need this order; but so far the odor complaints continue (Shyong Oct 2013).”
Huy Fong Foods’ Reaction:
Emails and Calls were not immediately returned on Monday evening.
Huy Fong food denied the problem and argued that their employees worked in the similar olfactory settings without complaint (CBSNews, Oct 2013). Meanwhile, Huy Feng Foods CEO commented on the next day: ““Every bottle produced is already sold and the company is struggling to meet demand (Shyong, Oct 2013); if the city shuts us down, the price of Sriracha will jump a lot.” Furthermore, he added: “If it doesn't smell, we can't sell (Shyong, Oct 2013).”
Thur, Oct 31st 2013:
Judge Robert H O’Brien denied the city’s request and claimed “it’s rather edgy; you're asking for a very radical order on a 24-hour notice. You probably should have come in earlier.”
Public Reaction:
The city continuous to pursuit preliminary injunction (if failed, a permanent injunction) against the factory’s operation. "We're still pursuing this," Irwindale City Atty. Fred Galante said. "This is just one of the various legal tools available (Shyong, Oct 2013).”
Friday, Nov 22nd:
LA county Superior Court judge delayed the ruling on the city of Irwindale’s request to temporarily shut down the Sriracha hot sauce factory, while anticipating more evident from the South Coast Air Quality Management District (Shyong, Nov 2013).
Public Reaction:
More complaints filed. Multiple residents complained of searing red dust and particles in the air, and compared the sensation to pepper spray. One woman claimed she noticed her children were getting nosebleeds at a greater frequency. Others complained of swollen glands, and another said he was forced to take heartburn medicine after he encountered the smell while jogging (Shyong, Nov 2013).
Huy Fong Foods’ Reaction:
Huy Fong Foods attorney John R. Tate said "There's no evidence that we're causing a smell," and “Maybe there's a smell coming from somewhere else, but there's no evidence it's coming from our plant (Harris, Nov 2013).”
Nov 26th 2013:
This time, Judge Robert H. O’ Brien ruled in favor of the city and issued a partially shut down order in respond to smell complaints from the residents. He demanded Huy Fong Foods to cease all operations that could be causing the odors and make immediate changes that would help mitigate them.
Huy Fong Foods’ Reaction:
Did not comment on the ruling or elaborate on whether the factory would be able to continue operations.
CEO David Tran released a statement thanking the fans of the hot sauce for their support on newspaper; including the quote: “we don’t make tear gas here (Shyong, Nov 2013).”
Wed, Dec 11th 2013:
This time, shorted happened. The California department of Public health ordered strict California food safety regulations forced the company not to ship out any product for 30 days (Harris, Dec 2013). This issue is ordered because the department reviewed of the way Sriracha is manufactured without cooking (Harris, Dec 2013). The hold took effect on Monday, and will last until the middle of January (Gold, Dec 2013). Meanwhile Huy Fong was missing in action for many of its distributors.
Problem Analysis:
Huy Fong Foods sold 20 million bottles last year and worth 60 million
