British producers have raised fears of beer and burger shortages, and higher prices for shoppers, after the government said it would stop propping up the CO 2 industry.
After a crisis in the autumn, a three-month deal to support the UK s main producer of gas will end next week and it is understood that it will not be renewed.
The government gave a temporary bail out to CF Fertilisers, which accounts for 60% of UK CO 2 supplies, to counter the threat of chaos in supply chains, after its US owner shut its factories due to the rising cost of natural gas.
Any holdup in supplies would affect soft drinks and bakery producers, as well as meat processors and brewers, who all use CO 2 in making and packaging their goods.
The government, which pumped in money for three weeks in September before facilitating the current industry deal, has said it will not put up more cash. The deal was supposed to create time for alternative sources of food grade CO 2 to be developed, but industry insiders said there had been little progress.
A spokesman for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, BEIS, said it was for the CO 2 industry to ensure supplies to UK businesses. The deal supported a UK fertiliser plant in Billingham in Stockton-on- Tees, one of the main producers of food-grade CO2, until 31 January.
Further production is dependent on a successful deal between CF Industries, the US owner of the plant, and the UK distributors of gas, Nippon Gases and Air Liquide.
CF, whose Billingham plant can produce 750 tons of CO2 per day, told the Guardian on Monday it was continuing to negotiate with its industrial gas customers.
The government said there was a reasonable chance that the talks would be successful at a meeting with leading food and drink industry figures on Friday.
Its fall-back plan involves relying on imports and a smaller plant operated by Nippon. In that case, CO 2 supplies will be prioritized for the NHS, the nuclear industry, and pork and poultry slaughter, which account for about a quarter of food-grade CO 2 use.
Stephen Livens of the British Beer and Pub Association told the meeting that the UK brewing industry would be in serious trouble if it was largely dependent on imports of CO2.
The gas is used to can and bottle beer, clean equipment and in systems that shift beer around a brewery, making it a vital ingredient for the industry.
He warned that there would be an impact on consumers, especially as demand for beer increases over the summer and brewers were already absorbing a 10% to 15% rise in operational costs of beer-making. There isn't a sign of that reversing.
Livens said a strategic solution has to work for everyone, not just the priority list.
James Calder of the Society of Independent Brewers said that for us the situation is perilous, adding that the price of CO 2 had already risen by up to 400% for some businesses.
Tony Goodger of the Association of Independent Meat Suppliers said that increased CO 2 costs would only add to inflation for shoppers of food and drink. He said that his members were stocking up on CO 2 in case of any issues coming up next week.
In a World Cup year, demand for alcohol and meat products will be higher, and there will be more CO 2 shortages as a result of Qatar 22 in November A spokesman for the Food and Drink Federation said: "We are concerned that just days remain before that agreement comes to an end, and energy prices will still be very high."
This could lead to shortages in the products we find on our supermarket shelves, adding further pressure on families already coping with high food-price inflation.
It is important that we ensure supply can continue and that we build long-term resilience into the production of food-grade CO2.