Carbon dioxide is rarely top of mind for food and beverage procurement teams—until it isn’t available.
CO₂ is best known for carbonating beer and soft drinks, but its role in the food system runs far deeper. It is used to stun animals before slaughter, to package meat and seafood, to ripen vegetables in greenhouses, to cool dough during processing, to freeze and transport food as dry ice, and to regulate temperatures in cold chains. Much of this use happens upstream, outside the direct control of brand owners or retailers.
| Why is CO2 important | Impact on Food & Beverage Businesses |
| Dependency on ammonia/ethanol production | Unpredictable supply, price volatility |
| Energy price volatility | Sudden disruptions, procurement risk |
| Shift to biogas/decentralized sources | New logistics, higher costs, supply diversification |
| Quality/certification challenges | Need for testing, parallel supply chains |
| Market perception/reputational risk | Hesitancy to adopt new sources, limited supply options |
That matters because CO₂ supply in Europe has a long history of disruption.
Unlike many food inputs, merchant CO₂ is not produced primarily in response to demand from the food industry. Roughly three quarters of Europe’s supply is captured as a byproduct of other industrial processes—most notably ammonia and ethanol production. When those plants shut down because energy prices are high or margins deteriorate, CO₂ supply can disappear with little warning, even if food-sector demand is strong.
Previous gas price spikes have shown how quickly this can ripple through food markets. Shortages of CO₂ have led to allocation and force majeure declarations, disrupting meat processing, beverage production, and more. Seasonal maintenance at ammonia plants also tends to reduce availability during the summer, precisely when beverage demand peaks.
Not everyone in the food and beverage value chain feels this exposure equally. Some companies buy CO₂ directly and are well aware of the risk. Others rely on suppliers that use CO₂ in their own operations, and therefore may not realize how exposed they are until something breaks.
Consider a simple example: you sell pasta with pork ragù. Your meat processor likely used CO₂ for humane stunning before slaughter. Your tomato and herb suppliers may rely on CO₂‑enriched greenhouses to accelerate growth and control quality. Your pasta manufacturer may use CO₂ for dough cooling or temperature control during processing. None of those uses may appear on your own bill of materials, but all of them are vulnerable to the same upstream supply constraints. In the event of a CO₂ disruption, shortages are therefore unlikely to be isolated to a single product category; they can cascade across the food supply chain.
Understanding that risk requires more than knowing that CO₂ is used. It requires some basic horizon‑scanning: where merchant CO₂ comes from, why it has been disrupted in the past, and how that supply chain is now changing.
| Commodity Category | Primary CO2 Dependency | Operational Mitigation Feasibility | Financial Risk Level |
| Fresh Poultry & Pork | Stunning / Processing line gas | Low | Critical |
| Beer & Soft Drinks | Carbonation & Counter-pressure filling | Medium | Critical |
| Bagged Produce & Meals | Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) | Low | High |
| Industrial Bakery | Shelf-life extension packaging | Medium | High |
| Frozen / Cold-Chain | Dry ice production | High | Moderate |
Because in Europe, that change is already underway. Faced with repeated disruptions linked to ammonia and ethanol production, industrial gas suppliers are working to diversify sourcing and build resilience into their networks. One of the most important shifts is the growing role of biogenic CO₂, particularly CO₂ captured from biogas upgrading. These sources tend to be smaller and more decentralized than traditional ammonia plants, reducing reliance on a handful of large facilities and on fossil‑fuel economics.
At the same time, this transition raises new questions for food and beverage buyers. Emerging CO₂ sources can introduce unfamiliar quality‑assurance considerations, certification gaps, and perception challenges, even when the gas meets food‑grade specifications. In practice, many suppliers and customers are still working through these issues on a case‑by‑case basis.
Current events underline why this matters. Disruption in fertilizer and energy markets has historically been a trigger for CO₂ shortages in Europe. So far, the latest bout of geopolitical instability has not materially curtailed European CO₂ availability, and market participants do not see immediate disruption as inevitable. But the system remains exposed, particularly over the next 12–18 months, as the transition toward more diversified supply continues.
For food and beverage procurement teams, the takeaway is not to expect imminent shortages, but to recognize CO₂ as a critical, if often invisible, input. Asking where it comes from, how suppliers manage risk, and how new sources fit into existing specifications can make the difference between being caught off‑guard and being prepared.
The accompanying white paper explores these dynamics in detail, drawing on discussions at gasworld’s European CO₂ Summit – access here.
Image source: Adobe
Written by Shannon Behary
