People who enjoy a good packet of crisps or a serving of crisps might notice a difference as soon as sunflower oil supplies run out due to the war in Ukraine. A company that bottles cooking oil for stores in the UK says it only has a few weeks supply of sunflower oil left.
Edible Oils, which is the largest such company in the country, said the war in Ukraine was causing supply disruptions. As a result, the company, which packages 75% of UK retail market oil, is turning to other oils to make things work.
The war has such an effect because Ukraine and Russia produce most of the world’s sunflower oil. The war is disrupting exports, the company told the BBC. Companies that make foods with sunflower oil — from crisps to granola bars — are changing their recipes.
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And that could be a problem for people with food allergies. The Food Standards Agency has advised people to be alert for additional information from stores and food manufacturers.
Kim Matthews, commercial director at Edible Oils, said 80% of the world’s sunflower oil supply comes from Russia and Ukraine. “So obviously with everything going on there, we physically can’t get the sunflower out of the country,” he told the BBC.
“From the perspective of UK consumers, sunflower oil is the biggest oil. It’s used more than anything else,” Mr Matthews said. “It’s a rapidly changing situation. We’re still trying to see if we can get more, but it looks very tight.”
Edible Oils Ltd have turned to 24/7 production to ensure they have enough rapeseed and other oils to put on the shelves when the oil from sunflower is exhausted.
“Sunflower is great because you can cook at high temperatures. Rapeseed is very similar. You can do the exact same thing with it,” he said.
“At the moment, Ukrainian farmers should sow the seeds now for the harvest in October and November. Obviously that won’t happen… we’ll probably miss the season, so we could be affected for 12 to 18 months. .”
Founder of The British Snack Company, Tom Locke, said: “Sourcing sunflower oil is something we have always taken for granted. There is an incredible jostling. Everyone does the same thing.
“So while sunflower oil is unobtainable at the moment, rapeseed oil is possible but hard to obtain also obviously because everyone has the same idea because prices are skyrocketing right now. .”
It is well known that British farmers grow rapeseed. However, there will not be enough to fill the void.
“Rapeseed oil prices have risen 50 to 70 percent since the attack,” said National Edible Oil Distributors’ Association president Gary Lewis. “But there is a limited supply to cover all this demand, so a shortfall is expected.”
Emily Miles, chief executive of the Food Standards Agency, said allergic reactions to rapeseed oil were “very rare and if they occur they are mild”, and advised anyone with an allergy to seek further information .