CO2 shortage causes Coca-Cola to temporarily pause production in UK

26 Jun 2018 --- The carbon dioxide shortage is impacting big brands and small enterprises as the soft drinks, beer and meat industries wait for CO2 for their businesses to operate amid low stocks across Europe. Coca-Cola even “temporarily paused” production for a short period, however, the soft drink giant stresses that there has been no disruption to supplies so far.

A statement sent to FoodIngredientsFirst from Coca-Cola European Partners Great Britain says: “We are currently responding to an industry-wide issue that is impacting the supply of C02 in the UK. Our focus is on limiting the effect this may have on the availability of our products.”

“During this time we temporarily paused some of our production lines for short periods. However, there has been no disruption to supply to date and we are continuing to fulfill orders to our customers.”

“We are working closely with our suppliers, partners and customers on a number of solutions as the situation develops.”

The shortage started to bite last week because of a closure of carbon dioxide production sites in Europe which has led to concerns over the possibility of low stocks of soft drinks and beer during one of the busiest times of the year.

Several representatives from the UK's food and drinks industry warned the crisis was so severe that it could harm production and is urging the government to step in to prepare to prioritize supplies.

Meanwhile, some smaller businesses are concerned that they may be left waiting longer as larger brands get prioritized when more CO2 becomes available. 

CO2 is used in guns for killing farm animals and providing the fizz in carbonated drinks. This is why there are growing concerns that the shortage could affect much of the farm-to-fork supply chain.

The CO2 scarcity is likely to last for the next few weeks and comes at one of the busiest times of the year as Europeans head into summer and the demand for barbecue meat, soft drinks and beer goes up.

Just last week, FoodIngredientsFirst reported that the closure of carbon dioxide production sites in Europe has led to a shortage of CO2 and concerns over the possibility of low stocks of soft drinks and beer during one of the busiest times of the year. You can read the full story here. 

By Gaynor Selby