Britain preparing for food shortages as Iran war bites: Britain could face shortages of chicken, pork and other food industry goods this summer if the war in Iran continues, a secret government analysis has found. Officials have drawn up contingency plans for a “reasonable worst-case scenario” amid fears that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz will lead to shortages of carbon dioxide, which is critical to the food industry. Senior government officials have secretly rehearsed scenarios looking at the potential impact on British industry in an event codenamed “Exercise Turnstone”. The Times reports that the reasonable worst-case scenario prepared for the session, run by the government’s emergency committee, Cobra, was set in June 2026 and assumed that the Strait had not reopened and a permanent peace deal had not been reached. Farming and hospitality would likely be hit earliest and hardest, given CO2 is used to help increase the shelf life of food such as salad, packaged meats and baked goods. CO2 is also used in the process of slaughtering nearly all pigs and more than two thirds of chickens. While the government does have stockpiles, this was said to not be a long-term solution. Breweries would also be hit because the gas is used to make drinks fizzy. Concerns were raised about the shortages coinciding with football World Cup, which begins on 11 June. While there are not expected to be critical food supply shortages, officials expect there could be a lack of product variety. Sir Keir Starmer asked Cobra to examine the potential impact of the war lasting into summer. The reasonable worst-case scenario warned that supplies of CO2 could fall to just 18% of present levels. To mitigate against the scenario, plans have been drawn up to ask factories to increase CO2 production to 100% by ceasing other manufacturing. Emergency legislation has been discussed to compel the factories to co-operate, which could be passed in only a few days in parliamentary time. Competition law may also be relaxed to allow prioritisation of more limited CO2 supplies to key areas. The Civil Contingencies Act, which gives ministers temporary but far-reaching powers to respond to national emergencies, could be invoked instead. Government lawyers have been told to prepare advice on activating the legislation. Government insiders stressed that the reasonable worst-case scenario was not a prediction, but a part of normal Whitehall planning. A government spokesperson said: “We took decisive action last month to shore up the UK’s critical supplies of CO2 by temporarily restarting the Ensus bioethanol plant in Teesside and are continuing to work closely with business groups to tackle the impacts of events in the Middle East. Reasonable worst-case scenarios are a planning tool used by experts and are not a prediction of future events.”