Spitalfields fears being cut out of Games

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Wholesalers condemned Olympic bosses for apparently refusing to discuss using local produce rather than shipping in food from around the country.

They fear goods may be driven hundreds of miles to the site rather than using the market's fruit and vegetables less than 500 yards from the Olympic park.

Jim Heppel, chief executive of Spitalfields Market Tenants' Association, said they were worried the 2012 Games could fail to live up to its "green" pledges.

He said a decision to ship in produce from other sources in the UK rather than London's main markets would be a huge blow to the local economy. He added: "We are very disappointed because despite repeated approaches from the association we have had no contact from the Olympic Delivery Authority or the London Organising Committee. They have not involved us at all.

"We are just 500 yards away from the site rather than a round trip of hundreds of miles. It is four years down the line but they are talking to all these major players and not local people."

Spitalfields is Britain's largest fruit and vegetable market. It is owned by the City of London, along with Billingsgate fish market and Smithfield meat market. As well as trying to secure supplying rights, the markets want to help with the recycling of waste at the Games, using their own existing equipment.

A senior source at the market said bosses had been stunned by the news in April that waste would be shipped down the Thames on a barge to be dealt with. The source told the Standard: "We recycle a lot of waste on site, and we hoped to piggy-back on the Games but all the waste is going to get packed up and put on a barge at Bow and floated down the river. They are just sub-contracting the problem to someone else. It is unbelievable."

A spokesman for London 2012 said no decision had yet been made on who the suppliers for the Games would be, and insisted there was a commitment to have locally sourced food available in the Olympic Park.

The spokesman said: "We would be happy to talk to the likes of Smithfield, Spitalfields and Billingsgate markets to update them on our thoughts so far."