PepsiCo spent $5 million in 4th quarter lobbying government on food safety, childhood obesity

PepsiCo spent $5 million lobbying gov’t in 4Q

WASHINGTON — PepsiCo Inc. spent $5 million in the fourth quarter to lobby the government on taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages, food safety and other matters, according to a recent disclosure report.

That’s well above the $274,000 it spent in the year-ago period and quadruple the $1.25 million that the company spent in the third quarter of 2009. Some state lawmakers have proposed taxing sugary beverages as a way to raise money and reduce obesity, which is linked to costly health problems such as diabetes.

The Purchase, N.Y.-based maker of Pepsi, Gatorade and other beverages also lobbied on patents, energy, corporate governance and other issues in the October-through-December period.

Besides Congress, PepsiCo also lobbied the Department of Health and Human Services, according to the report filed Jan. 20 with the House clerk’s office.