Grocers group fighting I-522 reveals donors

The Grocery Manufacturers Association on Thursday established a political committee to oppose the food labeling initiative and provided the state with a list of its donors.

Its actions came one day after Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson accused the national group of violating state elections laws by not disclosing the source of $7.2 million it t has given to the group conducting the campaign against Initiative 522.

“In the spirit of continuing cooperation and in an effort to provide Washington voters with full transparency about GMA’s funding for the “No on 522” campaign, the association has voluntarily decided to establish a Washington State political committee and to file reports with the PDC disclosing the source of all funds used in connection with Washington State elections,” read a statement issued Thursday afternoon.

The new committee is named Grocery Manufacturers Association Against I-522.

The list of donors submitted to the Public Disclosure Commission includes industry heavyweights like the Kellogg Co., the Coca-Cola Co., General Mills, ConAgra Foods and Campbell Soup Co.

Below are all the names reported Thursday. GMA intends to file a report Friday showing the amounts of each company’s contribution to the political committee.

Abbott Nutrition, Bimbo Bakeries USA, Bruce Foods Corp., Bumble Bee Foods, LLC, Bunge North America, Inc., Bush Brothers &Co., Campbell Soup Co., Cargill Inc., Clement Pappas &Co. Inc., The Clorox Co., The Coca-Cola Co., ConAgra Foods, Dean Foods Co., Del Monte Foods Co., Flowers Foods, Inc., General Mills, Inc., The Hershey Co., The Hillshire Brands Co., Hormel Foods Corp., The J.M. Smucker Co., Kellogg Co., Knouse Foods Cooperative, Inc., Land O’Lakes, Inc. McCormick &Co., Inc, Mondelez Global, LLC., Moody Dunbar, Inc., Nestle USA, Inc., Ocean Spray, Cranberries, Inc., PepsiCo, Inc., Pinnacle Foods Group, LLC., Rich Products Corp., Shearer’s Foods, Inc., Sunny Delight Beverages Co., and Welch Foods, Inc.