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Covid-19 Information

As states and municipalities enact shelter-in-place or similar orders that make distinctions between essential and non-essential businesses, we want to address how BSG is classified in these scenarios.

As part of the supply chain for agriculture and food production BSG is considered an essential business, therefore we are continuing operations to serve and support the craft beverage industry. BSG’s customer service, order lines, sales team, and distribution centers remain open for your needs during this unprecedented time.

Here are some key points we’d like to share:

  1. Please email your orders to your Customer Service Representative (CSR) – this will help track and record the orders, and accommodate our need to provide flexible working situations for our team.
  2. We may see some supply chain disruptions in the coming weeks as imported container routing is rebalanced. We are working to mitigate any possible impact – please contact your CSR with questions.
  3. BSG has contingency plans in place with our distribution centers to ensure order fulfillment, provided federal and local interpretations do not change.
  4. We’re here to support you through this difficult situation, please stay in touch with us as we collectively navigate these uncharted waters.

For more information, please visit our COVID-19 Resources directory, or reach out to your sales manager or customer service representative.

Updated March 27, 2020

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A message from Rahr about COVID-19

At Rahr Corporation and BSG, we are continuing to prioritize the health and safety of our employees, while maintaining our service and commitment to our customers.

As of today, our businesses in North America have been deemed “essential” as part of the agricultural supply chain and food industry, and thus our malting facilities, barley elevator, hop processing facility, and distribution centers continue regular operations. 

Our leadership team meets on a daily basis to assess the impact of COVID-19 on our business units, our communities, and our customers, as well as to review the latest updates and guidance from federal and local government.  

Below are some examples of the measures we are taking to ensure safety in our daily operations, and efforts to assist the communities in which we live and serve. 

  • The supply chain teams are communicating closely with suppliers, and planning inventory needs as best as possible as the situation changes. 
  • Travel and visitor restrictions have been implemented across the organization and will be reevaluated as the situation develops.  
  • Operations leadership members have implemented actions to distance employees in various ways from each other with the goal of creating backup teams for production staff in the event one shift/team/department is widely affected by symptoms or confirmed cases of COVID-19.  These actions include, but are not limited to: 
    • Ensuring shifts do not personally interact, and sanitize workstations before leaving and when arriving to work 
    • Augmented work from home policies 
    • Augmented sick time policies 
    • Appropriate use of PPE
  • Rahr has donated 150 N95 masks to the Scott County community in MN, and is planning on donating more.
  • We are working with customers on various measures to help support their businesses and ensure we can supply the ingredients they need, when they need them. 
  • We have been purchasing beer from local breweries and distributing them to our front-line workers every Friday as a small gesture of thanks to their commitment and hard work 
  • We are donating ingredients to breweries participating in the “All Together” beer campaign   
  • We continue to donate of malt and other ingredients to distilleries making hand sanitizer for their local communities 
  • Beers that were brewed at the Rahr Technical Center & Brewery for CBC where packaged out and donated to local firefighters in the Shakopee MN community 
  • The Rahr Technical Center and Brewery has been producing hand sanitizer for all of our North American locations 

 

Updated April 22, 2020

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COVID-19 and Food Safety and Availability Information

Our food safety and supply chain teams are monitoring the COVID-19 situation as it occurs in the US and abroad.  We understand that customers may have questions about our preparedness and the safety or ongoing availability of the products we provide and have tried to address a broad range of concerns in the information below.

Can food or other products transmit the virus?

Regarding COVID-19 and the food supply chain, the following information is available:

-Per the FDA (13 Mar 2020): “Currently there is no evidence of food or food packaging being associated with transmission of COVID-19.”

Source: https://www.fda.gov/emergency-preparedness-and-response/mcm-issues/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19-frequently-asked-questions

-Per the CFIA (09 Apr 2020): “There is currently no evidence that food is a likely source or route of transmission of COVID-19.

           Source: https://www.inspection.gc.ca/covid-19/cfia-information-for-industry/eng/1584462704366/1584462704709#a31

-Per the CDC: “ . . . transmission of novel coronavirus to persons from surfaces contaminated with the virus has not been documented.”

            Source: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/disinfecting-building-facility.html

-Per the Fresh Produce Association: “There is no evidence that fresh produce (or any other food, or other product/material) can transmit the virus.”

Source: https://www.freshproduce.com/resources/food-safety/

What are the expectations of employees of Rahr Corporation to minimize the impact of COVID-19 on the food supply chain?

Employees are expected to:

  • Follow the GMP policies of the organization
  • When directly handling food, use single-use gloves
  • Adhere to the illness policy, and notify supervisors immediately about illnesses, especially about respiratory illness or symptoms
  • Wash hands at these times:
    • Before starting work
    • After handling waste
    • After cleaning duties
    • After using restrooms
    • After blowing nose, sneezing or coughing
    • After eating, drinking or using tobacco products
    • After handling money or personal items

 

Increased sanitization of surfaces has been implemented at all facilities in accordance with the guidance from various domestic and international health organizations

 How has Rahr Corporation and BSG prepared to ensure continued availability of products we provide?

While the Covid-19 (coronavirus) outbreak does have the possibility to impact global supply chains, BSG’s Logistics, Operations, and Supply Chain teams are working with our suppliers and carriers in an effort to minimize the effects of these disruptions on our customers. As we maneuver the challenges of this outbreak we do recommend increasing your lead times to reduce the risk of a service disruption.  We will provide updated information as this situation continues to develop.

  • The supply chain teams are communicating closely with suppliers, and planning inventory needs as best as possible as the situation changes.
  • Operations leadership members have implemented actions to distance employees in various ways from each other with the goal of creating backup teams for production staff in the event one shift/team/department is widely affected by symptoms or confirmed cases of COVID-19.  These actions include, but are not limited to:
    1. Ensuring shifts do not personally interact, and sanitize workstations before leaving and when arriving to work
    2. Augmented work from home policies
    3. Augmented sick time policies
  • Travel and visitor restrictions have been implemented and will be reevaluated as the situation develops.

How can customers help us prepare?

We believe in transparency, so please reach out with any critical food safety or product availability concerns.

Please understand we may experience above-normal volumes of requests for information and increased utilization of sick time, so please be patient with our response times.