OUT OF GAS
Britain’s biggest pubs running out of booze ahead of England’s World Cup match
It comes as food and drink companies put plans in place to minimise disruption for consumers
BRITAIN’S biggest pub chains are running out of booze in the heat ahead of tonight’s England World Cup match.
The carbon dioxide shortage has hit more than 7,500 boozers owned by Wetherspoons, Punch, Admiral Taverns and Enterprise Inns.
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It comes as food and drink companies put plans in place to minimise disruption for consumersA Wetherspoon spokesman said some pubs would be without John Smith's and Strongbow cider but said that supplier Heineken had advised both would be available again in a couple of days.
He said: "Wetherspoon has the advantage that it sources its wide range of drinks from a number of suppliers, so has not been too badly affected.
"Heineken has been the company with the biggest issues and they have told us that all is getting back to normal."
A Heineken spokeswoman said: "We'd like to reassure beer drinkers that all our breweries are operating at full capacity, and we're working 24/7 to get beers to our customers as quickly as possible."
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Ei, the UK's largest pub group which runs the Craft Union and Bermondsey Pub Company chains, said: "We are aware of the issue relating to a shortage in the supply of CO2 and are working with our suppliers to minimise any disruption to our customers and our publicans."
Last week, we warned that beer and fizzy drinks could run out in UK pubs and supermarkets over the supply crisis.
The Glasgow Science Centre (GSC) visitor attraction said it had been unable to get the dry ice it needed for its new show due to the European shortage of CO2.
Coca-Cola has also "paused some production lines" as giant joins latest hit with UK CO2 shortage.
There's even speculation the issue could even cause a chicken shortage.
What else is CO2 used for?
THE clear odourless gas is a byproduct of ammonia and has plenty of uses.
Food and drink
CO2 is used to change the atmosphere that food is packaged in to extend the shelf life of fresh meat and salads.
About 60 per cent of slaughterhouses rely on it to stun and kill pig and poultry too.
It's also used to carbonate liquid and make them fizzy, like pop including Coke and Pepsi, as well as beers like largar.
The drinks industry use it to bottle and keg the beer too.
The gas is also used to treat water and make it safe to drink.
Hospitals
Thanks to its sterilising capabilities, it's used to clean and sterilize equipment at hospitals.
It's also used on patients in some invasive surgery, like in an endoscopy.
The gas is also sometimes given to patients during and after they have had general anesthetic if they have difficulty breathing.
Fire extinguishers and oil industry
Fires feed on oxygen and when there's CO2 in the air there is less of it to burn. Thanks to this property, it's used in fire extinguishers to put them out.
It's used to extract oil too from reserves by pushing the oil through pipes when it's put under high pressure.
Food wholesaler Booker said it was limiting sales of some lines to 10 cases per customer per day to prevent "sub-wholesaling".
The Tesco-owned retailer, which is used by bars, restaurants and traders, said the move was to preserve availability and satisfied the "vast majority of Booker customers".
A Booker spokeswoman said: "Due to the international shortage of CO2, we are experiencing some supply issues on soft drinks and beer. We are currently working hard with our suppliers to minimise the impact for our customers."
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Tesco said the CO2 shortage had not resulted in any availability issues on any product lines.
However, Booker's move to ration sales followed Scotland's largest pig processing plant suspending its slaughtering process, Coca-Cola temporarily pausing some production lines and Morrisons and Ocado telling customers that the shortage had led to disruption to some frozen product lines.
Quality Pork Limited in Brechin, Angus, carried out its last slaughter on Tuesday due to a lack of the gas used to stun animals before they are killed.
There are plans to send around 1,000 pigs to another plant near Manchester this week, but operators say the CO2 shortage could have serious implications if it continues.
British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) chief executive Nick Allen said the situation was getting "pretty tight", exacerbated by the hot temperatures.
Mr Allen said: "The frustration is the lack of information. We understand that several (CO2) producers are reopening plants and restarting production, but getting information is very difficult, which makes it very difficult to plan.
The shortages are understood to have been caused by a longer than usual break in production of ammonia, one of the key sources of food grade CO2 in Europe - which is used to carbonate drinks and preserve some packed fresh foods.
Trade journal Gas World said the shortage had been described as the "worst supply situation to hit the European carbon dioxide (CO2) business in decades".
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