Ministers are racing to avert acute food shortages after high gas prices forced most of Britain’s commercial production of carbon dioxide to shut down.

Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, is holding emergency talks with a series of energy chief executives to help companies weather an unprecedented spike in gas and electricity prices.

High energy prices prompted the closure of two fertiliser plants in northern England this week, leaving the food and drink industry facing a shortage of carbon dioxide, which is a byproduct of fertiliser manufacturing. The gas is critical to the production and transport of a range of products, from meat and bread to beer and fizzy drinks. It is also used in hospitals and nuclear power stations.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/b48247d6-17fa-11ec-8aba-5ab737a99668?