The San Gabriel Valley Tribune (http://www.sgvtribune.com)
Sriracha maker said odor problem is fixed; invites Irwindale officials
to inspect

By Lauren Gold, Pasadena Star-News

and Sarah Favot, Pasadena Star-News

Friday, February 21, 2014

IRWINDALE>> Sriracha maker Huy Fong Foods said Friday it remedied an
alleged odor problem coming from its chili sauce factory, about three
months after a Superior Court judge ordered changes to be made.

CEO David Tran sent a letter to Irwindale’s Community Development
Director Friday saying he “made improvements to our odor filtering
system, and now the odor has been controlled.” Tran requested that the
city come and inspect the changes for themselves.

The city took Huy Fong to Los Angeles County Superior Court in October
seeking a temporary restraining order against the company because
residents complained the odors emanating from the Azusa Canyon Road
factory cause their eyes to burn and coughing fits.

Superior Court Judge Robert H. O’Brien denied the city’s request, which
would have immediately shutdown operations at the factory in the midst
of its three-month chili grinding season. In November, O’Brien ordered
Huy Fong to shutdown operations that caused the smell and immediately
make changes to mitigate the smell.

Huy Fong’s Executive Operations Officer Donna Lam declined to elaborate
on the changes Huy Fong has made to the filters, saying she wanted to
discuss them with the city and then explain further at a planned public
hearing at Irwindale City Hall on Wednesday. She said she hoped to work
with the city to put an end to the issue.

City Attorney Fred Galante, who had not yet seen Tran’s letter, said Huy
Fong did not collaborate with the city on the changes it made to its
filtration system.

“Our expert could probably not even give us an opinion as to whether
that system would be effective during the grinding season,” Galante said.

He said the city will go to Huy Fong and see if they will share the
specifications of its system, so their consultant can make a determination.

Galante said the City Council will decide whether or not to hold the
scheduled public hearing to determine if Huy Fong has created a public
nuisance or wait to see if the changes Huy Fong has made to the
filtration system will be effective.

“It’s sort of very late in the process without giving us that prior
opportunity,” Galante said.

Galante said the city has still continued to receive some odor
complaints, but calls have subsided since the chili grinding season
ended in late October.

“We just don’t know, how far does the city want to take this? Is it no
odor at all?” Lam said. “It’s not fair. One of our workers went out and
said she smelled dog food, people tell us they smell hops from the
Miller factory. I’m not sure if it’s just pinpointing us. We are trying
to do the best we can and we want the city to come and we want to see
what their opinion is.”

Lam added, “It’s not like David is not doing anything. If it’s still not
good enough, tell us what to do or give us an opinion at least. You
can’t go to the hearing and have this preconceived notion based on the
complaints.”

URL:
http://www.sgvtribune.com/business/2...als-to-inspect

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