John Powell, chief executive of the British Meat Processors Association, also welcomed the return to production in Teeside, saying it provides “a little more security should things change.”
It would be “preferable to have that domestic supply” for long-term food security, he said, while also stressing there is “no immediate concern about food supplies,” and “our CO2 supply is still fully functional.”
Lessons learned
Chris Elliott, a professor of food safety at Queen’s University Belfast, said the current strain on CO2 supplies reflects a pattern of repeated vulnerability in the U.K.’s manufacturing base, particularly in sectors such as fertilizer production, which also generates CO2 as a key byproduct.
“The severity of the current situation has been compounded by earlier decisions taken during the Ukraine war and subsequent energy crisis, when key U.K. fertilizer plants closed and the government failed to provide sustained support to maintain this strategically vital domestic capacity,” he said.
“The fact that the U.K. now finds itself facing renewed shortages suggests that few, if any, meaningful lessons were learned by the government from the CO2 crisis triggered by the Ukraine war.”
A government spokesperson said: “We took decisive action last month to shore up the UK’s critical supplies of CO2 by temporarily restarting the Ensus bioethanol plant in Teesside and are continuing to work closely with business groups to tackle the impacts of events in the Middle East.