Coca-Cola pauses production following national CO2 emissions shortage

Coca-Cola has become the latest company to report ongoing production issues following a CO2 gas shortage in the UK and Europe.

The drinks giant temporarily stopped some of its soft drinks production, although its supplies have not been affected.

Heineken and Amstel are among the other companies involved, as well as five CO2 producers in northern Europe. The CO2 shortage has also impacted frozen food kept cool by dry ice, which is created by compressing CO2.

Global management solutions provider Ivalua believes that these shortages could have been better anticipated and encourages organisations to work with suppliers. Ivalua smart procurement expert Alex Saric said: “This CO2 shortage couldn’t have come at a worse time for the UK. It’s summer, and Brits have got World Cup fever, which will be driving higher than usual demand for soft drinks and beer.

“The likes of Coca-Cola and Amstel have paused production due to the shortage, meaning this could have an impact later in the summer. It’s not clear how long the shortage will last, so organisations affected need to work closely with their suppliers to find a solution, or try to find an alternative short term supply to ensure that this doesn’t impact on consumers.”

Coca-Cola European Partners said in a statement: “We are currently responding to an industry-wide issue that is impacting the supply of CO2 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 fulfil orders to our customers.

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