Supplies of industrial carbon dioxide are in such short supply that even major processors like Tyson Foods and General Mills are scrambling to get it.
Carbon dioxide is use in many ways in food production, including beverage carbonization, modified-atmosphere packaging, stunning animals for slaughter, and cooling or freezing. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, CO2 shortages have grown acute in some parts of the country.
The Journal featured correspondence from Tyson and Kraft Heinz begging suppliers for any CO2 supplies they might have on hand, quoting a Tyson email to a supplier: “We have a very big need and anything would be greatly appreciated.”
The situation in U.S. mirrors CO2 shortages in Europe, but doesn’t have quite the same causes. Most industrial carbon dioxide is produced as a byproduct of other industrial processes. In Europe, that usually means fertilizer production, and CO2 supplies have been constricted because of cutbacks by fertilizer companies. In the U.S. it’s ethanol production, which has been low since the pandemic made Americans cut back on driving.
In addition, the Journal reports, a large source of natural CO2 in Mississippi was shut down and only recently resumed production.
