Sriracha Forever! California Plant Will Stay Open, Despite Complaints

The popular hot sauce gets a reprieve

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Patrick T. Fallon / Bloomberg / Getty Images

Sriracha sauce from Huy Fong Foods at a Wal-Mart in the Chinatown neighborhood of Los Angeles, on Sept. 19, 2013.

A judge shut down a southern Californian town’s request to close a nearby Sriracha chili sauce factory over spicy smells and fumes Thursday, saying the factory closure would be “radical.”

Residents of Irwindale complain of health problems caused by emissions from the Huy Fong Foods factory, and called for the plant to be shut down until the company can solve the problem, the AP reports. They say the fumes cause headaches, and makes their eyes water and throat burn.

Huy Fong executives said that they were cooperating with city officials to solve the problem, but couldn’t commit to installing a fancy new filtration system.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert O’Brien rejected the city’s bid to shut down the plant immediately, saying that the company could not be expected to close the factory on 24-hour’s notice.

MORE: City Sues Chili Sauce Maker Over Spicy Smell

[AP]