Games organisers’ sustainable sourcing commitment called into question after Sebastian Coe admits food sponsor will truck in 90 per cent of chicken from abroad

The organisers of London’s 2012 Olympic Games have been accused of failing to reinforce their own sustainable food sourcing pledge, after it was confirmed McDonald’s will be exempt from a requirement to source all its chicken from Britain for this summer’s Games.

Sebastian Coe, chairman of the London Olympic and Paralympic Organising Committee (LOCOG), yesterday told the London Assembly that McDonald’s, the official 2012 London Games food sponsor, will only source 10 per cent of its chicken from UK farmers.

Under LOCOG’s Food Vision, the 31 thousand tonnes of poultry expected to be sold at the Olympics should be British Red Tractor Assured, of high quality, fit for purpose, and free from damage or spoilage.

Coe confirmed McDonald’s has secured an exemption from this element of the Food Vision and will import 90 per cent of chicken from other countries such as Brazil, although it would comply with equivalent Red Tractor Assured and international environmental standards such as GlobalGap.

However, Green Party London assembly member Jenny Jones branded the exemption a “disgrace”, maintaining the decision flew in the face of LOCOG’s commitment to cut its carbon footprint by sourcing food locally, and to set an example for other businesses to follow.

“This has a resonance way beyond the Games,” she told Coe. “This is something about British farming and local food that LOCOG could have made a huge difference in.

“It is an absolute disgrace that McDonald’s will import most of the chicken it will serve at the Games from as far away as Brazil. This is a dismal failure of McDonald’s to support British farmers and of LOCOG, the games organisers, to ensure all Games sponsors adhere to the food sourcing standards they set.”

However, Coe defended McDonald’s food sourcing commitments, maintaining all its beef and pork is sourced from the UK and Ireland, adding that the company was making a “serious contribution to the [Games’] food vision” through its position on LOCOG’s food advisory group.

Paul Deighton, chief executive of LOCOG, also maintained that McDonald’s would be supplying less than 10 per cent of the Olympic Games’ food, and customers would have a broad range of locally sourced meal options.

“I don’t think there has ever been any Games or major sporting event that’s had the kind of food policy we’ve got,” he said. “We’re going to showcase the best British quality food.”

A McDonald’s Restaurants spokeswoman denied it had been exempted from the Food Vision, on the grounds that its organic milk, free range eggs and beef were used as case studies in the Food Vision document.

“We buy 10 per cent of our chicken from the UK and more than half from Western Europe,” she said. “We also buy chicken from Thailand and Brazil in varying degrees during the year.

She added McDonald’s fully complied with the standards set out in LOCOG’s Food Vision and was a long-term supporter of British agriculture, spending more than £300m each year with UK farmers.

“Our sourcing strategies are built on long term commitments to all of our stakeholders, not just for the period of the Games and we apply the same or comparable standards to all of our ingredients regardless of where they are sourced from,” she added.

However, the news is likely to raise fresh questions about LOCOG’s commitment to sustainable sourcing after it emerged last month that 11 million tickets will be made in the United States and flown back to the UK for distribution.

LOCOG is also facing questions about its merchandising sourcing, after it emerged that just nine per cent of the 194 merchandise products available on the London 2012 website were made in Britain. The rest come from overseas countries, including China, Turkey and the Philippines.