Ofcom's ban on advertising high fat, salt and sugar foods to children - and fears that the rules could become even stricter in the future - are discouraging grocery companies from sponsoring the London Olympics, it has been claimed.

Olympic Games organisers are recruiting sponsors to raise funds for the games, with Lloyds TSB the first to sign up.

But big names in food and drink were likely to be holding back because of the Ofcom ban, claimed Marina Palomba, legal director at the Institute of Practi­tioners in Advertising.

"I would be wary of spending many millions of pounds to become a sponsor if I were a soft drink or chocolate manufacturer," she told The Grocer.

"If by 2012 we have a regulation that bans all HFSS food advertising before 9pm, you'll not be able to get the full benefits through additional TV advertising.

"To become a national sponsor you'll pay £50m-plus. To make that worthwhile you've got to match that with advertising spend."

Palomba was speaking after a roundtable event on sponsorship of the Games, which was attended by the London Organising Comm­ittee of the Olympic Games and potential sponsors including Cadbury and BP.

At the event, Declan Cushley, head of trade and innovation at law firm Browne Jacobson, warned: "Sponsors are not sure what they will get for their money and this is one of the reasons the Committee has not got lots of backers stepping forward."

Cushley also warned that rules in the Olympic Act that stopped companies from linking their brands to the Games without authorisation could spread to other events because bodies such as FIFA and the International Cricket Council wanted similar protection.

"A lot of companies in the grocery world run promotions and ticket giveaways for big sporting events," he said. "There are fears that FIFA and cricket will get similar legislation for their world cups."

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