Beyoncé should quit PepsiCo deal, watchdog group says
Photo credit: Handout | Beyoncé at a Pepsi photo shoot. The life-size image will go on display in stores in early 2013. (October 2012)
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A consumer watchdog group has issued an open letter to Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, urging her to pull out of her $50 million endorsement deal with Purchase-based PepsiCo.
Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, charged that the sugary drinks produced by PepsiCo increase the risk of childhood obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
"Each additional sugary drink consumed per day increases the likelihood of a child becoming obese by 60 percent," his letter said. "Each soda consumed per day increases the risk of heart disease in men by 19 percent. Drinking one or two sugary drinks per day increases one's risk for type 2 diabetes by 25 percent."
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The deal calls for Beyoncé's image to be emblazoned on some Pepsi cans and she is scheduled to appear in commercials and headline the Super Bowl halftime show Feb. 3.
If Beyoncé moves ahead with the endorsement deal, Jacobson urged her to donate the proceeds to a hospital or charity involved with preventing obesity-related diseases.
Copies of the letter were sent to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and PepsiCo chief executive Indra Nooyi.
Calls seeking comment from PepsiCo and Beyoncé's representatives at Parkwood Entertainment in Manhattan were not immediately returned.
