America's Beer Distributors

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A Michigan beer distributor proved the value of the three-tier system of beer distribution this past Memorial Day. Labatt Brewing Company issued a voluntary recall after learning that several cases of six-pack bottles of Labatt Blue Light sent to Michigan may have been contaminated with glass. The brewer made the discovery as the holiday weekend was kicking off Friday afternoon and immediately informed its beer distributor, Bayside Beverage Corporation in Petoskey, Michigan.

Within hours, Bayside identified the 86 affected cases that had been shipped into retail, including when those cases were shipped to Michigan, when they left the distributorship and what stores received them. Seventeen Bayside employees sacrificed their time with family and friends on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend in order to respond quickly. In many cases, Bayside management, salespeople, delivery drivers and merchandisers drove to stores to personally inspect their inventories and removed any suspect packages. After working round the clock with retail partners, nearly all of the potentially-effected cases were off store shelves by Memorial Day (Monday), leaving retailers and consumers reassured that only fresh, safe beer was on store shelves.

Bayside’s president, Steve Arbaugh, used this voluntary recall as an opportunity to highlight the benefits of the three-tier system for alcohol distribution. In a guest commentary that appeared in the Petoskey News-Review, he gave readers a real-world look at how Michigan’s beer regulations can help keep potentially harmful products from consumers.  While the beer industry was able to effectively track a potentially-contaminated product within 72 hours, he reminded readers of the 2009 deadly salmonella outbreak linked to peanut butter and the nationwide outbreak of e.coli-contaminated lettuce that sickened dozens of people and stumped investigators for months before a source was identified.

“For more than 70 years, Michigan has enjoyed a safe, efficient and working system for regulating how beer goes from a brewer to a distributor to the consumer,” Arbaugh wrote.  “As a system of regulation, it emphasizes consumer safety through effective tracking and accountability. Michigan beer distributors like Bayside are responsible for keeping track of all the beer that comes to our warehouse from the brewer, and what stores it goes to after it leaves on our delivery vehicles. Our workers are trained to make sure we maintain this ironclad chain of custody. We are proud of this responsibility because it helps protect consumers.”

“Michigan’s beer distribution regulations work. Tight regulations and territorial integrity helped us respond quickly, efficiently and responsibly in a recall. By emphasizing accountability and safety, Michigan’s beer distribution system provides a model that other food and beverage producers could emulate,” Arbaugh’s commentary concluded.

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