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Caught Our Eye

Sweetener company lobbying after Customs misstep

Posted by Keturah Hetrick on Aug. 31, 2016

After a not-so-sweet run in with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Malaysia-based sweetener company PureCircle is lobbying the federal government on "trade enforcement issues."

In June, Reuters reported that Customs had seized a shipment of the sweetener stevia imported from China. The agency had reportedly received information that forced prison labor had been involved in the sweetener's production, an alleged violation of a new law prohibiting the importation of products made by slave labor.

PureCircle disputed the claims, and Customs reportedly released the impounded shipment later that month.

Bill Simmons, previously an aide to former Rep. Jim Hansen (R-Utah) and the House Natural Resources Committee, is handling the lobbying work through public relations firm Grayling Communications.