Factory keeps crumpet lines rolling
PRODUCTION CONTINUES DESPITE CO2 SHORTAGE
THE shortage of carbon dioxide has already had a big impact on the nation’s drinking habits, with soft drinks rationed and some beers unavailable in pubs.
Iceland, Lidl and Asda have all reported a shortage of fizzy drinks, with the latter limiting customers to six bottles or multipacks of Coke, Pepsi, Fanta and 7Up; while a number of pubs have run out of beers including John Smith’s, Strongbow and Amstel.
But CO2 is used not only to carbonate drinks but also in some food packaging and the shortage described by trade journal Gas World as the worst in a decade - has also affected crumpet production.
However, one factory in Eastwood has kept going throughout the crisis and is still producing 3,450,000 crumpets a week.
The factory in Meadowbank Way is one of four Warburtons sites producing crumpets but is the only one not to have stopped production.
A Warburtons spokeswoman said: “As a result of the ongoing CO2 shortage, we are producing nowhere near the 1.5 million packs of crumpets we usually make each week and have had to suspend production at a number of our bakeries.
“This will remain the case until the CO2 supply returns to normal. But, rest assured, we are working really hard to keep our products on Britain’s shelves.”
Bolton-based Warburtons - which has around 60 per cent of the UK crumpet market - normally produces an average 10 million individual crumpets a week.
But the company’s bakeries in Enfield, North London, and Burnley have not produced any for over a week, while its Stockton-on-tees factory has just resumed production after being affected last week.
Eastwood has managed to produce crumpets because it had more reserves of CO2 than the other bakeries.
The CO2 shortage has come about after three out of five plants supplying the gas - a by-product from the production of ammonia, which is used in fertilisers - were closed or reduced their operations for maintenance to take place.
This often happens in the summer, when less fertiliser is used by farmers - but, added to the high demand for drinks during the hot weather, it has created a situation where demand for CO2 has outstripped supply.
The gas is used specifically inside crumpet packaging to create a protective atmosphere for the products.
Crumpets have higher moisture levels than other baked goods and replacing oxygen in the packaging with CO2 keeps them fresher for longer and stops them going mouldy.
Meanwile, pub chain JD Wetherspoon - which had been unable to serve John Smith’s, Strongbow and Strongbow Dark Fruits on draught in some pubs because of the shortage - said it was expecting the issue to be resolved by this morning.