ALERT: The international Sriracha supply has been put on hold for 30 days

Sriracha producer Huy Fong Foods just can’t get a break. The embattled company, already under orders from an L.A. county court to shut down some parts of its operations, has now been forced to put a stop on all sauce shipments until mid-January. The order comes from the California Department of Public Health, which has instituted a mandatory wait period to “ensure an effective treatment of micro-organisms present in the product.” Huy Fong told CBS Los Angeles that it doesn’t expect a sauce shortage, but David Chu, president of U.S. Asian food supplier Grand Union Co., called the situation a “disaster” and said he’d already received dozens of angry phone calls from stores and restaurants in need a chilli fix.

Meanwhile, the hashtag #Srirachapocalypse has gained traction online, with some fans raising the possibility of a Sriracha conspiracy. In the words of L.A. chef and avid Sriracha Festival participant Eric Greenspan: “How come mayonnaise has never had this problem?” It’s certainly weird. But who could possibly want to screw with Sriracha? [Los Angeles Times]