The makers of one of Scotland’s most iconic products has warned that the nation’s carbon dioxide shortage could lead to a drop in the production of Irn-Bru.
AG Barr, who produce the fizzy drink, have said that due to the “unprecedented circumstances” surrounding the CO2 shortage, the company could be impacted.
It all stems from the soaring price of natural gas in the UK, which is used by soft drink companies to carbonate their products including the famous Irn-Bru.
Since January, the price of gas has seen a steep increase of over 250% which has subsequently led to the closure of two fertiliser plants.
The two plants in Teeside and Cheshire were responsible for 60% of Co2 production in the UK, as CO2 is a by-product of fertiliser production.
This has led to a nationwide shortage that has left many businesses short of supply.
In addition to soft drinks, the food industry as a whole could be severely affected.
CO2 is used as a humane method of killing livestock, preserving the shelf life of certain foods and is vital in the refrigeration of products.
The hospitality industry has already suffered from the shortage as bars and restaurants use CO2 frequently for soft drinks dispensers and beer taps.
A spokesman for AG Barr told The Scotsman: “We’re currently producing to normal schedules however if the situation worsens across Europe then we could be impacted, but we’re taking action to protect normal customer supply as much as possible.”
“We have worked hard to build resilience into our Co2 supply chain over a number of years however these are quite unprecedented circumstances.”