Sriracha Shipments to Resume in Late January

At last it's confirmed: There's only a few weeks standing between the nation and its beloved Sriracha hot sauce. A Huy Fong Foods spokesperson confirms to ABC News that the Irwindale, CA hot sauce plant "plan[s] to resume shipments at the end of the month." Shipments of the fiery sauce were halted by the California DOH in December for 30 days to ensure that the completely uncooked sauce is "free of harmful microorganisms."

The Sriracha distribution delay followed major legal turmoil for Huy Fong, which was brought to court in the Fall by neighbors complaining that the factory's production caused unpleasant odors and burning eyes. In late November, a judge ordered that Huy Fong Foods cease any operations that cause irritating odors, although how exactly they were supposed to do that was unspecified. The judge also made it clear that there was a "lack of credible evidence" linking the various cited ailments like burning eyes and headaches to the odors.

It hasn't been all bad news for the Sriracha makers, though. In response to Irwindale's conflicts with the hot sauce company, Texas State Representative Jason Villalba reportedly sent a letter to Huy Fong Foods encouraging them to move to Texas. He also tweeted: "As a fan of Siracha and an opponent of California over regulation, it's time to bring this company to Texas. On it!" The Dallas Morning News reports there has not yet been any response to this offer from Huy Fong Foods. In other pro-sriracha news, filmmaker Griffin Hammond dropped his Sriracha documentary last month and Momofuku chef David Chang recently told People Sriracha would be one of the biggest food trends of 2014. It also looks like Sriracha may beat Velveeta in the race to get back onto grocery store shelves during prime "dip season."

· Sriracha Heating Up 2014 Just in Time for Polar Vortex [ABC]
· Dallas Rep wants to bring the heat to North Texas [DMN]
· All Sriracha Coverage on Eater [-E-]