Food producer warns of ‘price shock’ as carbon dioxide price quadruples

The UK needs ‘2,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a day’, but with three factories closing, just 600 tonnes can be imported. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters

One of the UK’s biggest chicken producers has warned food security could be under threat and shoppers exposed to a “price shock” after a more than threefold surge in the price of carbon dioxide (CO₂).

Pig farmers, soft drink producers, brewers and bakeries are also being hit by the increase in the cost of the gas, which is used to stun animals before slaughter, as well as in packaging and as an ingredient.