Distilleries Fined for Making Hand Sanitizer
Would you like to pay a $14,060 fine? Probably now, but a $14,060 fine is being imposed on many distilleries who are creating spirits, not for consumption, but for sanitation purposes. Because of the pandemic, many companies have switched their business model to make products that are more needed during a pandemic. This is partially to stay in business, and partially to do something good for their communities, but also, partially because they had the knowhow. How difficult would it be for a distillery to make hand sanitizer? At least that’s what they thought. Now hundreds, if not thousands of United States based distilleries are being subject to a failure to file certain paperwork with the FDA.
Hand sanitizer is considered to be something that is regulated, therefore they need the proper governmental approval. Many distillery operators didn’t know this and are facing FDA fines. The bad news is that many of those distilleries gave their hand sanitizer away for free as their way to help the community, and now they are being fined for it. To me, punishing them now doesn’t seem fair. I will keep you posted if I see more information on this topic. My takeaway from this is that if you are changing your business model for any reason, make sure that you don’t need any regulatory approval or subject to certain processing applications, or whatever else comes with switching your business model.
#331, January 2021, hand sanitizer, distillery, fine, regulations, business model.