By Harry Bradford, Huffington Post
The founder of the red rooster hot sauce is seeing red.
Sriracha chili sauce is produced at the Huy Fong Foods factory in Irwindale, Calif. The city of Irwindale filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court asking a judge to stop production at the Huy Fong Foods factory, claiming the chili odor emanating from the facility is a public nuisance. (AP Photo/Nick Ut) | AP
David Tran, CEO of Sriracha-maker Huy Fong Foods, said his company could have lost up to $10 million and faced bankruptcy if a judge had granted the shutdown of the factory that makes the much-loved sauce, according to a statement he provided to The Los Angeles Times.
Huy Fong Foods is engaged in an ongoing legal battle with the city of Irwindale, Calif., where its Sriracha factory is located. Last month, a judge denied a request by the city to halt the company’s operations after residents complained that fumes resulting from the processing of chilies were causing headaches and burning eyes.
Tran issued a statement to the Los Angeles Times ahead of a Nov. 22 hearing about the city’s request for an injunction. Despite a mollifying approach to the complaints so far, Tran’s recent response to the Times was more concerned:
“Suppose if the city chose never to issue another business license to the company? Who would be left to run this company’s operations? The city of Irwindale?” Tran wrote in a statement to the LAT , adding that the city had acted “severely toward us without conducting a real investigation.”
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