Frozen food may be off the menu due to CO2 supply crisis
The gas is used to create dry ice which is used by supermarket delivery vans to keep items frozen
SUPERMARKETS may be forced to pull frozen food off their online shops due to an unprecedented problem with supplies of carbon dioxide.
The gas is used to create dry ice which keeps items frozen when they are being delivered to shoppers homes.
Online grocery website Ocado has started warning shoppers that they may not be able to buy certain frozen items online due to the shortage.
There are fears that the problem may spread to other supermarkets and it is not clear if dry ice is used by suppliers to transport goods.
The gas is also used in the slaughtering and packaging of chicken as well as adding bubbles - or carbonate - to beer and fizzy drinks.
Some fizzy drinks are already out of stock on Tesco's website.
The shortage also affects beer and fizzy drink production, with Heineken warning of plummeting stock of Amstel and John Smith brands, according to .
Wetherspoons, which has over 1,000 pubs across the UK, warned that supply of draught lager and fizzy drinks could be cut off within days.
Supplies for CO2 began drying up two months ago due to planned shutdowns at some of the ammonia plants.
The situation turned "critical" when a technical issue forced other rival plants to close, according to .
The shortage of gas has been heightened due to warm weather across Europe and World Cup when demand for fizzy drinks and beer is higher than normal.
Yesterday, the boss of the British Poultry Council, Richard Griffiths, warned that a shortage of poultry on supermarket shelves and restaurants like Nando's, McDonald's and KFC could be possible.
He told The Sun: "At the moment we are aware of the shortage but everything is running as normal.
"But there are some slaughter houses that have only twos days of supply left and others that have a few weeks.
"Production has slowed considerably.
"We’re working with the government to find a solution to this."
What else is CO2 used for?
THE clear odourless gass 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 slaughter houses 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 steralising capabilities, it's used to clean and steralise equiptment 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 anasthetic 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.
It is not the first time that the UK has faced a chicken shortage.
Hundreds of KFC branches were closed after the firm switched delivery firms, sparking a fried chicken shortage.
While Tesco suffered a "minor" problem with availability of fresh chicken due to a change in packaging earlier this month.
A spokesperson from the British Retail Consortium which represents supermarkets said: "We are aware of some issues with the current supply of carbon dioxide across Europe.
"Carbon dioxide is an important input in food processing and retailers are working hard in conjunction with their suppliers to ensure food availability is maintained.
"The majority of food products are unaffected by the shortages in CO2."
MOST READ IN MONEY
The Sun has contacted Asda, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Iceland, Aldi, Lidl, Ocado and Waitrose if supplies of chicken, fizzy drinks, beer or frozen food is affected by the gas supply issue.
Tesco confirmed that there were no supply issues with frozen food or chicken relating to the gas issue, at present.
A spokesperson from Lidl said: "As a result of the industry-wide CO2 shortages, we are working closely with our suppliers to ensure, where possible, the impact on product availability is minimised."
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Money team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 78 24516. Don't forget to join the for the latest bargains and money-saving advice.