The carbon dioxide shortage has hit more than 7,500 boozers owned by Wetherspoons, Punch, Admiral Taverns and Enterprise Inns. Some JD Wetherspoon pubs are temporarily without draught John Smith’s and Strongbow owing to a shortage of carbon dioxide across Europe. However, food and drink companies say they are attempting to minimise disruption for consumers. The maker of two popular brands, Heineken, says supplies will be available again in a couple of days.

A Wetherspoon spokesman said, “Wetherspoon has the advantage that it sources its wide range of drinks from a number of suppliers, so has not been too badly affected. Heineken has been the company with the biggest issues and they have told us that all is getting back to normal.” A Heineken spokeswoman said, “We’d like to reassure beer drinkers that all our breweries are operating at full capacity and we’re working 24/7 to get beers to our customers as quickly as possible.”

The Glasgow Science Centre (GSC) said it had been unable to get the dry ice it needed for its new show due to the European shortage of CO2. The food wholesaler Booker said it was limiting sales of some lines to 10 cases per customer per day to prevent ‘sub-wholesaling’. The shortages are understood to have been caused by a longer than usual break in production of ammonia, one of the key sources of food-grade CO2 in Europe.

Ammonia is used to carbonate drinks and preserve some packed fresh foods. The trade journal Gas World said the shortage had been described as the ‘worst supply situation to hit the European carbon dioxide business in decades’.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 29, 2018 03:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).