BRITAIN’S meat processors will start running out of carbon dioxide (CO2) within five days, forcing them to halt production and impacting supplies to retailers, the industry’s lobby group warned Monday.

A jump in gas prices has forced several domestic energy suppliers out of business and has shut fertilizer plants that also make CO2 as a byproduct of their production process.

The CO2 gas is used to stun animals before slaughter, in the vacuum packing of food products to extend their shelf life, and to put the fizz into beer, cider and soft drinks. CO2’s solid form is dry ice, which is used in food deliveries.

The CO2 crisis has compounded an acute shortage of truck drivers in the United Kingdom, which has been blamed on the impact of COVID-19 and Brexit.

“My members are saying anything between five, 10 and 15 days (supply) remain,” Nick Allen of the British Meat Processors Association said.

With no CO2, a meat processor cannot operate, he said.

“We’re two weeks away from seeing some real impacts on the shelves,” he said, adding that poultry could start disappearing from shops even sooner.

Allen said the government was working to try and resolve the issue and might be able to persuade fertilizer producer CF Industries to re-start its U.K. plants.

Meanwhile, the British Soft Drinks Association warned some manufacturers had only a few days of CO2 left.

Some in the poultry industry fear a Christmas crisis.

The crisis is also having a more immediate impact.

Online supermarket group Ocado said it had temporarily reduced the number of lines it is able to deliver from its frozen range. Dry ice is used to keep items frozen during delivery.

(SD-Agencies)