CO2 shortage causes empty shelves in British food stores

18 september 2021
Today at
09:58

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British food stores are in danger of running out of frozen products and meat due to a shortage of CO2. Its production is halted by the peaking gas prices.

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British online retailer Ocado Group will stop supplying frozen products to its customers this weekend. The reason: a shortage of dry ice, which is carbon dioxide or CO2 in solid form and it is mainly used to cool foodstuffs. At the same time, suppliers of pork and chicken meat warn that due to a shortage of CO2, their supply threatens to come to a complete standstill in the coming days.

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The announcements are indicative of the mounting problems caused by the European gas crisis. British food stores, already chaotic due to rising prices and supply problems due to the pandemic and Brexit, are now in danger of emptying their shelves.

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CO2 is a by-product of fertilizers: hydrogen is made from natural gas, which is converted into ammonia with nitrogen from the air. The CO2 that arises from this is used for various applications throughout the food chain.

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For example, it is used to stun pigs and chickens in the slaughterhouse, in food packaging to extend shelf life and in the form of dry ice it serves as cooling. Soft drink manufacturers and brewers also use it as an ingredient to make effervescent drinks.

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In the UK, fertilizer manufacturer CF Industries announced last week that it was forced to close a factory due to rising gas prices. The Norwegian sector partner

announced just before the weekend that it will reduce its European capacity by 40 percent to protect its margins.

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Yara accounts for about a third of the worldwide production of ammonia, a raw material for fertilizers, but also important for textiles, cosmetics, automotive and pharmaceuticals. The group has offices throughout Europe, including an important factory in the Netherlands, but also one in Saint-Ghislain in Belgium.

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The CO2 problems seem to be limited to the UK for the time being. ‘We have not received any signals about shortages so far,’ responds Bart Buysse, CEO of the federation of the food industry Fevia.

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CO2 shortage causes empty shelves in British food stores

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