Distillers switch to making hand sanitizer including Vernon shop

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They were also planning to give away individual use 50 ml mister bottles of sanitizer but were waiting on the bottles and labels to arrive.

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The small bottles will be limited to one per person available for cash donation to support to local women’s shelters and homeless shelters.

Okanagan Spirits will not be charging for the individual or the institutional bottles of sanitizer.

“We are in unprecedented times and everyone must do their part to fight COVID-19,” said David Eby, Attorney General. “Distilleries have been approaching us asking how they can help, and this new policy directive will mean they are authorized to manufacture alcohol-based hand sanitizer.”

Previously, distilleries and other licensed manufacturing establishments would have required discretionary authorization from the general manager of LCRB in order to produce alternative products. However, given the context of the current provincial health emergency related to COVID-19, the general manager is now permitting all distillers to produce alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Hand sanitizers must meet certain federal regulatory requirements.

Some distillers are donating the “excess alcohol” from their distilling process to a third party that can produce hand sanitizer. Others are producing the hand sanitizer themselves, taking steps to ensure products contain the necessary level of alcohol content to make them effective. Distillers will be able to donate or sell the hand sanitizer they have manufactured, and the authorization will be reviewed on an ongoing basis as the provincial health context changes.

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Notice from the Dyck family and staff at Okanagan Spirits Craft Distillery:

First of all, our family wants to thank you all for your efforts on social distancing and also for your many kind words of support for our “Flatten the Curve” Hand/Surface Sanitizer initiative.

We would also like to thank the other amazing businesses that are supporting our production of this product through their donations of key components and logistics surrounding the production and distribution of this essential product. (Universal Packaging for bottles, Peller Estates for help with the alcohol, Univar Solutions for peroxide, Speedpro Signs Vernon and Wayside Press for the labels). We couldn’t do it alone without their generous support! #localheroes

At this time (and over the next few days) we are really overwhelmed trying to keep up with production and distribution of our alcohol-based sanitizer to the hundreds of emergency front-line medical workers, care homes, homeless shelters and other essential service sectors ranging from ambulance to public utilities and social outreach workers.

Our plan is to focus directly on these as phase one, then by Wednesday this week we will be in a position to open this up to other sectors and also directly to the public. We are providing this 100% free of charge to the collective pandemic response effort and are trying our best to help as many as possible, please be patient as we try to focus on those that are most urgently affected and most at risk.

At our public release, Wednesday, this will also be free of charge to our wonderful Okanagan community, but we are going to try to see if we can pay it forward to create an even bigger positive social impact. We will ask that everyone wishing to pick up a personal bottle of our “Flatten the Curve” sanitizer “pay the kindness forward” in any way they can.

We kindly ask the following:

• 1. Please only take the volume of sanitizer that you require to keep yourself and your loved ones safe.
• 2. Please let anyone you know in the local area who is a front-line medical or essential service worker to reach out to us so that we can help them out first. Our staff are being true heroes and are doing their best to produce more every single day, but if you are able to self isolate and are not imminently at direct risk please allow us to service those that are first.
• 3. Please call ahead if possible to check on supply as daily volumes fluctuate.
• 4. Please be understanding that we are trying our best and a little patience might be necessary.
• 5. If you yourself are sick please do not come in personally but ask someone healthy to pick up some for you. If our family and staff get sick we will not be able to continue producing.
• 6. When picking up your sanitizer please be mindful that social distancing is a necessary requirement for all of us. Give everyone a little space, and please don’t congregate on mass if you have to wait a bit for the sanitizer.

We will do our best to accommodate a safe environment for all at our end, but please help us out from your end too. Please stay safe and self-distance out there people, and keep following us on FaceBook for updates on our “Flatten the Curve” sanitizer. Thank you for your understanding and your patience. Wishing you all the best of health during this stressful time,

The Dyck Family and Staff at Okanagan Spirits Craft Distillery