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.

Residents of a California city are suing the makers of a popular chili sauce because of an irritable smell emitting from its factory that they say is causing health issues.

Residents near the Huy Fong Foods factory in Irwindale, Calif., which makes Sriracha chili sauce, complain of burning eyes, sore throats and headaches from a widespread odor, the Los Angeles Times reports. That prompted city officials to file suit after failing to resolve the issue after several meetings with the company, according to City Attorney Fred Galante.

The popular spicy sauce, with its trademark green cap, moved production to a 655,000-square-foot factory in Irwindale last year. The hot pepper condiment is processed and stored during the fall, beginning as early as September and spanning a three-month period. But the smell emanating from the factory has proved to be too much for locals, including one family that was forced to move a birthday party indoors after the spicy smell blanketed the air, Galante said.

The city is asking a judge to halt production until the company proposes a plan to address the issue. The judge is set to make a decision Thursday. The company did not immediately comment to the Times.

[Los Angeles Times]