Factory, Harried by Neighbors, Moves Tortilla Chip Division

Mission Foods Corp., a Canoga Park food manufacturer that nearby residents have complained about for years, has moved its noisy tortilla chip frying operation to Walnut, a company official said Monday.

The company will continue to make soft tortillas and other foods at its plant in the 7900 block of Deering Avenue, but its “chip line,” where tortilla chips are fried in oil, was dismantled late last month, said Raymond Hansen, Mission Foods vice president. A high-powered air filter known as a scrubber, which reduced the odor of the frying chips, also was removed, he said.

Hansen also hinted that company officials are considering whether to move the entire business, which employs about 300 people.

Employment Stable

No layoffs have resulted from moving the company’s chip-frying component to the San Gabriel Valley, he said.

“We’re looking at our entire operation in light of an ongoing commitment to both the business and the community,” Hansen said.

In 1987, the city filed misdemeanor criminal charges against the firm, alleging violations of air- and noise-pollution laws. The company pleaded no contest in the case last year and was fined $3,400. It also agreed to several conditions of probation, such as limiting times when flour trucks can make deliveries and enclosing the areas of those deliveries to prevent flour from blowing into the neighborhood.

Although the scrubber had eliminated residents’ complaints about odors from frying tortilla chips, it produced a noise that irritated many in the residential area east of the plant, said Deputy City Atty. Vincent B. Sato, who handled the case.

Apparent Resolution

Mission Foods so far has complied with the conditions, Sato said. But the scrubber noise was “the last major complaint that the neighbors had,” he said. Its removal “appears to resolve that,” he added.

The scrubber produced a high-pitched “screaming” noise, said Valerie Hofmann, who lives on Variel Avenue, east of the plant.

“We’re tickled to death that it’s gone,” Hofmann said. “It was a major concern of the homeowners.”

Moving the chip-frying operation to Walnut is costing the company more than $600,000, Hansen said.

“It was the only solution,” Hansen said. Some neighbors also disapproved of the physical appearance of the air-filtering machine, Hansen said.

As part of court settlements with the city and the South Coast Air Quality Management District, Mission Foods also was required to meet monthly with the neighbors. Hansen vowed to continue the meetings.