Sriracha isn't shipping for a month. Start freaking out.

Ever since the people of Irwindale City, California filed a lawsuit against the makers of Sriracha, hot sauce fanatics have had their hands on the panic button, calling for possible factory shutdowns that never happened, and generally channeling their emotions in alarming ways. But it's actually time to panic this time, guys: Sriracha isn't shipping anywhere for a whole month.

After a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled last month that Huy Fong Foods had to stop producing offensive factory odors -- without offering any instructions at all -- the Department of Public Health decided to step in and ruin everyone's day. As part of the stricter guidelines the health department is enforcing, it's holding all the Huy Fong plant's batches of Sriracha, Chili Garlic, and Sambal Oelek ransom for 30 days. Spokesperson Anita Gore claims this will ensure the sauce is free of harmful microorganisms, but we all know what it really means: whatever's on the grocery store shelf now is all you have until mid-January.

These are dark times indeed, but at least you have bears flame-throwing rooster sauce to keep your spirits up until this national nightmare is over.