Huy Fong sriracha

David Tran began making chili sauces in 1975 in his native Vietnam, where his brother grew chili peppers on a farm north of Saigon. The case was scheduled for jury trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court on November 3, 2014. A delegation led by Texas state representative Jason Villalba toured the Irwindale factory and offered incentives to move operations to Denton. In 2016, Huy Fong overpaid Underwood by $1.46 million for prepayment of estimated costs. According to Underwood's lawyer, Tran attempted just before this to hire away Underwood's COO in order to form a new chili-growing concern, breaking the trust between Tran and Underwood. Huy Fong sued Underwood for not paying back this overpayment; Underwood countersued for breach of contract and committing fraud by intentionally misrepresenting and concealing information. In July 2019, the case was decided generally in favor of Underwood, with a California jury awarding the grower $10 million in punitive damages and $14.8 million to make up for lost contract revenue between 2016 and 2019. However, the jury also decided that Huy Fong's claim of overpayment was valid, so $1.46 million was deducted from the damages. In June 2022, Huy Fong Foods temporarily halted the production of the chili sauce. This decision was prompted by a severe shortage of chili peppers caused by a drought in Mexico that affected the quality of the peppers. While production soon resumed in the fall, the company soon declared another "unprecedented inventory shortage" in April 2023, offering no estimate as to when this shortage might be resolved. An August 2023 CNBC special program claims that the shortage was caused by Huy Fong switching pepper suppliers, as Underwood still has production capacity (land, irrigation, processing) for the needed peppers. In April 2024, the company told customers it had halted production of all its products until September as its chili harvest was too green. == Composition ==

The basic ingredients of red chilies, garlic, and vinegar have not changed since the early days of the product. Today, the bottle lists the ingredients as: "chili, sugar, salt, garlic, distilled vinegar, potassium sorbate, sodium bisulfite and xanthan gum". Huy Fong Foods' chili sauces are made from fresh, red, jalapeño chili peppers and contain no added water or artificial colors. Garlic powder is used rather than fresh garlic. The company formerly used serrano peppers, but found them difficult to harvest. To keep the sauce hot, the company produces only up to a monthly pre-sold quota in order to use only peppers from known sources. The sauce is certified as kosher by the Rabbinical Council of California. == Production ==

The production of sriracha sauce begins with growing the chilis. The chilis were grown on Underwood Ranch until the two companies ended their relationship in 2016. David Tran, owner of Huy Fong Foods, contracted about of farmland that spreads from Ventura County to Kern County in California. The chili peppers are planted in March. Tran uses a particular type of machinery that reduces waste by mixing rocks, twigs and unwanted/unusable chilis, back into the soil. The chilis are harvested in mid-July to October, and are driven from the farm to the Huy Fong Foods processing facility in Irwindale. Because Tran does not add food coloring to the sauce, each bottle varies in color. At the beginning of the harvest season, the chilis are greener and therefore the sauce yields a more muted-red color. Later in the season, the sauce produced is bright red. After the chilis are harvested, they are washed, crushed, and mixed with sugar, salt, garlic, distilled vinegar, potassium sorbate, sodium bisulfite as preservatives and xanthan gum. The sauce is loaded into drums and then distributed into bottles. All drums and bottles are manufactured on-site, to reduce waste and emissions. == Legacy ==

Filmmaker Griffin Hammond produced a 33-minute documentary titled Sriracha about the Huy Fong Foods sauce. It was funded with the help of a Kickstarter campaign which raised $21,009; over four times the goal. The film was released online on December 11, 2013, in advance of submission to film festivals. == See also ==