Forget the footie and the BBQ – Britain’s nearly run out of beer!
BRITAIN is facing a chronic shortage of meat, beer and fizzy drinks ahead of a sizzling weekend as CO2 supplies threaten to run out.
Almost two-thirds of the UK’s poultry processing plants could shudder to a halt within days as a result of a shortage of carbon dioxide.
Pubs and bars warned yesterday that supplies of beer and cider have been ‘badly affected’ and are in ‘serious trouble’.
The CO2 shortage comes as millions are expected to get out their barbecues for the heatwave forecast for this weekend.
Pubs are hoping for an increase in trade as football fans flock to watch the World Cup. But some brewers have warned pubs they are unable to supply lager or keg bitter as there may be no CO2 to pump the fizz into the drinks.
Heineken, the world’s second largest brewer, said its CO2 supplier had reported it was facing a ‘major issue with supply’.
Carbon dioxide production also comes from bioethanol plants and as a by-product from whisky distilleries in Scotland.
Publicans said they are running out of popular brands, including Foster’s and Strongbow. Wetherspoon, which has nearly 1,000 pubs, and brewer Beavertown said the flow of beer and soft drinks could be cut off within days.
‘It’s come at absolutely the wrong time because it’s the World Cup and the height of summer,’ a Beavertown spokesman said. ‘People want to watch the football and have a pint, so demand increases. This will affect the whole industry.’
Mark O’Neill, owner of The Beer and Gas Man which supplies 700 pubs, said: ‘My customers are really concerned and some are panicking. One wanted to order 30-40 cylinders – their normal weekly order is one or two. Unless there is an intermediate delivery we won’t be returning to normal before the beginning of July.
‘Without that, we will run dry in about a week’s time.’
The threat is so serious the Food & Drink Federation has asked Government food department Defra to help businesses obtain CO2. It said there was a lack of clarity regarding how long the shortage might last and it urged the Government to ‘act with urgency to assess the issue’.
The British Poultry Council said meat producers would be forced to slow or stop production.
It warned that up to 60 per cent of poultry processing plants could be knocked out ‘within days’.
The gas is used by meat producers to stun birds and pigs during the slaughter process and to package fresh meat. The British Meat Processors Association admitted that it did not know when CO2 supplies would return to normal.
The problem is understood to stem from a longer than usual break in production of ammonia, one of the key sources of food grade CO2 in Europe.
A large number of plants that produce the gas have been shut for longer than expected due to maintenance at a period of peak demand.