Judge Trounces Fouled-Up New Mexico Chili Facility

(CN) - A federal judge in New Mexico has ordered the destruction of a stock of contaminated chili pods and ground and crushed chilies.

Food and Drug Administration officials seized the chili products in December from a warehouse in Derry, N.M., owned by Duran and Sons LLC.

Derry is just a few miles from Hatch, N.M., a community world-renowned for its chili products.

The products were "held under insanitary conditions whereby they may have become contaminated with filth," according to a consent decree authorizing the destruction of the chilies filed Monday.

The decree, signed by U.S. District Judge M. Christina Armijo, requires Duran and Sons to permit FDA agents to supervise the destruction and inspect the facility - and to pay the agents more than $80 per hour for their time.

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