Thatchers explains pungent 'cannabis' smell in villages near North Somerset factory

People living in North Somerset have sniffed out a suspicious scent wafting through "every morning" in recent weeks.

The pungent pong has been likened to cannabis, but is actually the result of blackcurrants being processed for RIbena.

One villager in Yatton posted on social media: "Anybody know what is causing the sulphuric dioxide/weed/pot smell every morning wafting across North Somerset? Smelt it in Yatton and Weston.”

People across North Somerset have been reporting the smell hanging in the air including in the towns of Nailsea and Weston-super-Mare.

The smell is actually the result of the process of concentrating blackcurrants for the non alcoholic cordial, Ribena at Sandford’s Thatchers factory.

Around 12,000 tonnes of blackcurrants are collected from 35 growers across the UK to be processed at the plant at Myrtle Farm – home to the revered cider-makers.

Thatchers is the UK’s biggest processor of the berries, dealing with 90% of the crop from across the whole of Britain.

The berries are mashed and the juice pasteurised at the plant before the juice is turned into a concentrate to be used at Ribena’s main mixing factory in Coleford, Gloucestershire.

As the juice is evaporated into a concentrate, it lets off a vapour, which the staff at Thatchers also capture and turn into a liquid aroma which is also used in the Ribena making process. The process of the pressing and evaporation is what is causing the smell.

The blackcurrant harvest and processing normally takes place during July and early August. The concentrate is taken to the Coleford factory where it is stored in cold stores for use throughout the year.

A spokesperson for Thatchers said: "It is the harvest season for blackcurrants, which runs from July through to the start of August. All the blackcurrants that are used in Ribena are pressed at Thatchers Cider’s mill in Sandford, before being transported to the Forest of Dean for processing into the world famous juice drink.

"We are coming to the close of blackcurrant pressing for this year, then we have a short window before the annual apple harvest at the end of August. The aroma that people may be noticing is completely natural and part of the blackcurrant pressing process."