The country's largest wholesaler is rationing supplies of some beers and soft drinks as the shortage of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas starts to bite consumers.

Booker - which was bought by Tesco earlier this year - said customers including pubs, restaurants and stores were already being given limited stocks.

A spokesperson said: "Due to the international shortage of CO2, we are experiencing some supply issues on soft drinks and beer.

"We are currently working hard with our suppliers to minimise the impact for our customers and to optimise availability with the stock that is available.

"Therefore, we cannot comment further at this stage."


It confirmed the rationing - which is not believed to be affecting Tesco - as a growing number of firms and sectors complain of disruption.

Heineken and Coca-Cola Great Britain are among drinks companies hit - the latter temporarily pausing some production lines but insisting there has been no disruption to supply.

Just hours before Booker's warning, the owner of a major pig processing plant raised fears for animal welfare and meat supplies.

Lack of fizz threatens World Cup drink crisis

Quality Pork, a partnership between UK meat processor Tulip and the Scottish Pig Producers (SPP) co-operative, said it was to suspend output at its Brechin slaughterhouse in Angus - Scotland's largest - at 4pm on Tuesday.

It blamed a lack of CO2 gas, used as part of the stunning process, for the decision to stop work.

The problem has been largely caused by shutdowns for maintenance at plants which produce food grade CO2, which is also used for things such as carbonated drinks, beer-making and vacuum packing.

The drinks industry has said that while it expects there to be plenty of beer, lager and cider to go around during the World Cup, there could be availability problems surrounding popular brands at a local level if the gas shortage lasts much longer.

Quality Pork chief executive Andy McGowan said his company's gas supplier had been unable to guarantee delivery to the Brechin pig plant.

He said: "That's the frustrating thing - they're not telling us anything...the top priority is animal welfare - we will not have ourselves in a situation where the welfare is suffering."

The company, which can process more than 6,000 animals in a typical week, is making arrangements for other abattoirs to take some of its work though they too have been affected by the gas issue.

British Meat Processors Association chief executive, Nick Allen, said: "The frustration is the lack of information.

"We understand that several producers are reopening plants and restarting production, but getting information is very difficult, which makes it very difficult to plan.

"Things are getting pretty tight and this hot weather won't be helping.

"If things don't alter this week, we're going to see people having to make some serious decisions, mainly in the pig production area."

Chicken processors have also complained of dwindling supplies.