COVID-19 Service Information

SERVICE STATUS [AMBER]:

Firstly, we would like to thank everyone who has supported and stood by us during the COVID19 crisis. This has been a difficult time for everyone. We have received many thank you emails and calls and we are grateful for the recognition for the work the team has put in over the last few months.

20/07/20 – We currently have several members of staff who have had to self isolate, this is causing further delays. We are doing the best we can and will ship your order as soon as possible.

As we currently stand (24/07/20) we are still around 5 days behind dispatching any new order that comes in. However, the demand for our products has now slowed down to pre COVID19 ordering and much of the panic buying of things like flour and sugar has also returned to normal. We have now taken on some new staff members due to the ease of some restrictions and we are confident that we will be able to get back on top of orders over the next 1-2 weeks.

All of our suppliers have now also now reopened. We are confident we can get all of our products back in stock over the next few weeks. The majority of postal services are also now managing to cope with the level of demand and we are starting to see some normality returning to our working lives.

Things can quickly change and as always, we will continue to update our service statement as things change and develop.

ORDER DISPATCH [AMBER]:

Current dispatch on any order placed is 3-5 working days.

MY ORDER HAS NOT ARRIVED (24/07/20):

We are currently around 5 days behind packing any order placed. If you have not yet received a “completed order” email from us, we have not yet packed your order. If you wish to cancel any order that has not been dispatched, please contact us. 

If you have a completed order email, it will have been packed and shipped. Delivery with royal mail is currently taking anything from 1-7 working days. Please be patient. All cultures will be fine in transit for at least 15 days. We will still replace any culture that fails to ferment.

DELIVERY NETWORK STATUS [AMBER]:

Royal mail is behind on deliveries. We expect current delivery times to range for 1-14 days. A large volume of post appears to have vanished. We are working hard to resolve this.

All couriers are running. Please expect some delays due to staff sickness.

PRODUCT MANUFACTURING STATUS [GOOD]:

SOURDOUGH PRODUCTS:

We have managed to secure large deliveries of flour.

MILK KEFIR PRODUCTS:

We now have access to organic milk and have restored the organic status of all dairy products.

YOGHURT PRODUCTS:

We are currently very well stocked on freeze-dried yoghurts. 

KOMBUCHA PRODUCTS:

We now have kombucha back in stock, albeit it still needs to be processed and we are working on that. Small amounts will start to go back into stock.

KITS AND DRINKS:

We are adding small amounts of kits and drinks to the stock each week. These items take longer to pack and are slowing us down further. We do have stock and aim to have these back up ASAP. 

 

FOOD SAFETY:

Freshly fermented hold a 5-star hygiene rating which was recently regranted after an unannounced inspection on 05/03/2020. You can view our rating by clicking here. 

All of our staff are trained in food safety management and we are adopting even more stringent hygiene and cleaning routines to further aid in stopping the spread of COVID-19.

Current evidence shows that the virus does not last for long on surfaces and any virus found on the packaging or food would be dead on arrival after shipping. COVID-19 requires a human host for survival. Food and food packaging is not high risk.

QUARANTINE AND YOUR STARTER CULTURES:

Should the situation arise that you are unable to obtain the ingredients to keep your ferments active, please follow these procedures:

Milk Kefir, Water Kefir, and Ginger Beer Plant:
Strain the grains, put them into something airtight and freeze them. Grains can also be left to dry or be dehydrated. Both methods will require some patience during the reactivation stage. They will fully recover within 2 weeks.

Sourdough:
Sourdough is very hardy and will survive many months in the fridge unfed. However, we recommend that you freeze your starter. It will revive very fast once defrosted.

Kombucha and vinegar mothers:
These need to be stored in an airtight container with some starter tea/vinegar. Keep them at room temperature. They will keep for years. Just make up fresh batches when you are ready and continue where you left off.

Ginger Bug:
Paste a thin layer onto parchment paper or a plate. Allow it to fully dry and dehydrate. Revive with fresh water, sugar, and ginger.

Yoghurts:
Sadly, yogurts do not always cope well with being frozen or dried out. We would recommend freezing them over dehydration for the best success. Freeze a reasonable amount and expect to use 4 times the usual amount of starter on the initial batch.