New analysis by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) says the price of a tonne of liquid CO² is now up to 3000% higher than a year ago.

The UK’s food and drink sector will inevitably be affected if gas prices stay high, they report. Ultimately, these costs are likely to end up on the price of food and drink products that consumers are buying.

There are new fears that gas prices could rise further, or even that supplies will be cut off, leading to increases in the price of liquid CO² or a repeat of last year’s shortages. Liquid CO² is used for everything from packaging food to keep it fresh, to making beer and other drinks fizzy, to stunning animals in abattoirs to make products like sausages.