ABATTOIR HIT ‘IN WEEKS’ IN CO2 CRISIS
2 Sisters owner warns of ‘catastrophe’:
THE UK ‘Chicken King’ has warned about the impact of the carbon dioxide (CO2) crisis that could hit abattoirs in Anglesey and Flintshire in the coming weeks.
Poultry producers said the shortage “threatens national food security”, with the gas used to stun chickens prior to slaughtering, and also in the packaging process.
Ranjit Singh Boparan, the owner of Bernard Matthews and 2 Sisters Food Group, says the decision by the US owner of two of Britain’s biggest CO2 producers to halt production was “irresponsible and catastrophic” for the sector.
2 Sisters own sites at Llangefni and Sandycroft in Flintshire, employing hundreds of workers.
A spokesman said they would be impacted within weeks unless action is taken to resolve the CO2 shortage.
Mr Boparan, known as the Chicken King, wants the Government to intervene or claims we will have “another cancelled Christmas”.
He had previously warned about the impact of Covid and Brexit on recruitment in the sector.
He said: “Nothing has fundamentally changed since I spoke about this issue in July.
“I take no pleasure pointing out the gaps on the shelves I warned about then are getting bigger by the day.
“The supply of Bernard Matthews turkeys this Christmas was already compromised, as I need to find 1,000 extra workers to process supplies.
“Now, with no CO2 supply, Christmas will be cancelled.
“The CO2 issue is a massive body blow and puts us at breaking point, it really does – that’s poultry, beef, pork, as well as the wider food industry.
“Without CO2, the bottom line is there is less throughput and with our sector already compromised with lack of labour, this potentially tips us over the edge.”
A commercial decision by CE Industries to halt fertiliser production at two plants in the UK (at Stockton-on-Tees and Ince in Cheshire) – where CO2 is the main by product – means that the food processing and production plants owned by Mr Boparan will lack the ability to produce at normal levels.