Grocery manufacturers spent $1M lobbying in 1Q

By The Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore.

The Grocery Manufacturers Association spent $1 million in the first quarter to lobby on food safety, advertising, chemical regulation and other business issues, according to a recent disclosure report.

That's up from the $890,000 it spent in the fourth quarter and $730,000 in the first quarter of the prior year.

The trade group -- whose members include major food companies such as Archer Daniels Midland Co., ConAgra Foods Inc. and Hormel Foods Corp. -- lobbied on various pieces of legislation involving ethanol, tax issues and other business matters.

Besides Congress, the group lobbied the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Executive Office of the President during the January through March quarter, according to the report filed April 16 with the House clerk's office.