Hundreds who bought bad masa for tamales line up for refunds

DOWNEY, Calif. – Hundreds of people have lined up for refunds at a Southern California market that sold bad masa which spoiled traditional Christmas tamales.

People who couldn’t get refunds from an Amapola market in Downey earlier this week lined up when the store reopened Wednesday. It had run out of money on Monday and was closed Tuesday.

Some customers reported becoming ill after eating tamales made with masa they bought at Amapola markets or threw it out after watching the corn dough turn to goo during cooking.

Chief financial officer Carlos Galvan Jr. has apologized and said the problem seems to have been with 120,000 pounds of raw corn purchased from a longtime provider.

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