World’s largest brewer starts shipping disinfectant to hospitals in Europe

AB InBev has become the latest drinks giant to turn its production facilities over to making hand sanitiser.

(Photo: AB InBev)

AB InBev, adapted its global manufacturing and distribution networks to create more than 1 million bottles of hand sanitiser gel.

The Budweiser maker, which is the world’s largest brewer by volume, said it will use wastage from the production of its alcohol-free beers to support Europe’s hospitals.

It plans to ship roughly 50,000 litres of disinfectant made with alcohol removed from its alcohol-free beers for use in hospitals in several European countries from today (25 March).

The company said it will likely ship containers of disinfectant to Belgium, Britain, France, Italy and the Netherlands.

It has already made up 26,000 bottles of hand sanitisers for pharmacies and health sector workers, and 1,000 Beck’s bottles of disinfectant for businesses in Germany.

“We have a long history of supporting our communities and this time is no different,” the brewer said in a statement.

The brewer’s African business, South African Breweries, will also donate alcohol to help in the manufacturing of more hand sanitiser to “keep South African communities safe.”

“SAB’s extensive fleet and route network of our breweries will be used to deliver the finished product to the most remote parts of the country,” AB InBev said.

Some 500,000 bottles of hand sanitiSer gel have also been produced by its Brazillian business, Ambev, using leftover alcohol from Brahma 0.0. and will be distributed to hospitals in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia.

Further north, 400,000 bottles of hand sanitiser will be donated to hospitals and local governments by the breweries subsidiaries Bavaria, in Colombia, and Grupo Modelo in Mexico.

And in the US and Canada, Anheuser-Busch and Labatt Breweries’ supply and logistics networks have started distributing bottles of hand sanitiser to accommodate countries’ “growing needs”.