Why our drinks lost bubbles
Empty shelves in Australian supermarkets have raised concerns over future supply shortages of a key ingredient in some of the nation’s favourite beverages.
Shoppers have noticed a shortage of soft drinks in major supermarkets, and now an electrochemical engineer from the University of Newcastle has helped explain why.
“Have you noticed the fizzy drink shelves are looking a little empty at the moment?” Dr Jess Allen said on TikTok.
“Somewhat ironically it’s because we’re actually running low on carbon dioxide, which is the main ingredient to make a carbonated beverage.
“Have you wondered where that carbon dioxide actually comes from to begin with?
“Well in NSW, one of the main suppliers of food grade carbon dioxide is an ammonia manufacturing plant.”
The carbon dioxide is a common by-product of the ammonia manufacturing process.
The Orica ammonia manufacturing plant on Kooragang Island in Newcastle closed between February and April this year due to an unplanned outage, halting the production of CO2 and creating shortages for food and drink products.
Coles and Woolworths customers reported seeing empty shelves in the soft drink aisle at stores with home brand beverages in short supply.
But one of the nation’s two major carbon dioxide suppliers, British multinational BOC, said the issue has been resolved and full supply had been restored.