Unilever spent $420,000 lobbying government in 1Q on food safety, sugar policy

Unilever spent $420,000 lobbying government in 1Q

WASHINGTON — The U.S. unit of Unilever, maker of Dove soap, Skippy peanut butter and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, spent $420,000 in the first quarter to lobby the government on food safety, sugar policy and other issues, according to a recent disclosure report.

That’s more than the $240,000 it spent in the same period last year and well above the $40,000 it spent in the fourth quarter of 2009.

The company also lobbied on baby product safety, deferring foreign income, Mexican trucking, nanotechnology and other issues.

Besides Congress, the company lobbied the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Trade Representative, among other agencies, from January through March, according to the report filed April 20 with the House clerk’s office.