英國二氧化碳供應短缺 圣誕節(jié)將可能吃不到火雞

Turkeys won't be on Christmas menu if CO2 shortage persists

英國二氧化碳供應短缺 圣誕節(jié)將可能吃不到火雞

The traditional British Christmas dinner could be missing its centrepiece this year if a shortage of carbon dioxide (CO2) caused by surging natural gas prices persists, leading turkey farmer Paul Kelly told Reuters on Tuesday.

火雞養(yǎng)殖大戶保羅·凱利上周二(9月21日)告訴路透社稱，如果天然氣價格上漲導致的二氧化碳供應短缺持續(xù)下去，今年英國傳統圣誕大餐的主菜可能要缺席了。

Kelly, who hatches 2 million of his own breed KellyBronze birds a year, accounting for 27% of all turkeys sold at Christmas, said CO2 was used in the slaughter process and more importantly to keep the product fresh.

凱利自有的凱利青銅火雞品種每年要孵出200萬只火雞，占據了圣誕火雞市場份額的27%。凱利說，火雞屠宰過程尤其是產品保鮮都需要用到二氧化碳。

"Carbon dioxide is used to extend shelf life, so when you put a turkey in a bag, you suck the air out and you blow carbon dioxide in and that stops the bugs growing, " he said.

他說：“二氧化碳的使用可延長保質期，我們把火雞放入包裝袋后，會抽掉包裝袋中的空氣再灌進二氧化碳，避免細菌滋生。”

"We can't create millions and millions of turkeys all in the week before Christmas, it has to be spread over a few weeks so if (CO2 production) really wasn't back up and running, it would be another car crash."

“我們無法趕在圣誕節(jié)前的一周內生產出數百萬只火雞成品，而是需要幾周時間，所以如果二氧化碳生產不恢復，將會是災難性的打擊。”

The shortage of CO2 will hit meat processing in a matter of days if supplies do not come back online, the industry has warned, which would then make the alternatives of a joint of beef or a goose also hard to find.

該行業(yè)警告稱，如果二氧化碳供應問題不解決，幾天后肉類加工業(yè)就會受影響，牛肉、鵝肉等肉制品也將難以買到。

A gin and tonic could also be off the menu, with the carbonated drinks industry facing the same issue.

加奎寧水的杜松子酒也將會從菜單上消失，碳酸飲料業(yè)也會面臨同樣的難題。

Later on Tuesday, Britain struck a deal with CF Industries for the US company to restart the production of CO2. The gas is a byproduct of the fertiliser it produces at two plants in northern England and the company had halted operations due to the soaring price of gas.

上周二晚些時候，英國和美國CF工業(yè)公司達成協議重啟二氧化碳的生產。二氧化碳是該公司在英格蘭北部的兩家工廠生產化肥的副產品，先前由于天然氣價格飛漲，該公司已經讓工廠停工。

The news will come as a relief to Kelly, who said the problem could be solved pretty quickly.

這個消息能讓凱利松一口氣，他表示問題應該能很快解決。

"The production facilities are there, it's just about turning it on again, and paying the gas bill," he said.

他說：“生產設施都還在，只要重新啟動機器，支付天然氣賬單就可以了。”