Heat on Sriracha chilli sauce factory to shut down

Jesse Bracamontes is one of the legions of Sriracha sauce fans who squirts the bright red paste of peppers, garlic and spices on all manner of foods: pizza, Chinese takeaway meals and even a plain bowl of noodles.

But when the pungent Sriracha smell wafts into the front yard of his home in Irwindale, in the US state of California, he says, his nose runs and he feels a little sick. "It feels a little like pepper spray," he said.

Bracamontes lives a short walk from Sriracha's bustling new plant in Irwindale, which can produce up to 200,000 bottles of the sauce a day. The company moved there last year, responding to heavy global demand.

But some neighbours say they are paying the price as Sriracha booms. They claim the smell makes their eyes water and throats burn and keeps them indoors. In response, the city is demanding that the factory shut down until it solves the problem. Irwindale filed a suit in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday against Huy Fong Foods, charging that the odour was a public nuisance and asking a judge to stop production.

Lisa Bailey, the president of the Irwindale Chamber of Commerce, said she toured the facility about three weeks ago, while chillies were being crushed. She said she wore a hairnet but no mouth covering.

"I didn't have any adverse reaction while I was there," Bailey said. "No burning eyes, no throat constriction, and I've had that while cooking chillies at home."