FDA to pay Alaska $540,768 for state food safety inspections

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will pay the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation $540,768 to carry out food safety inspections on its behalf over the next year, according to federal spending records. On Thursday, Sen. Lisa Murkowski asked President Trump's nominee to lead the FDA to keep that money coming.

The one-year contract runs from Sept. 30 through Sept. 29, 2027. DEC's Food Safety and Sanitation Program regulates restaurants, markets, food trucks, seafood and shellfish operations and other food processors across the state. Alaska is one of 43 states with FDA contracts to do human food inspections.

At Heidi Overton's confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Murkowski said DEC has done inspection, permitting and enforcement work under contract for the FDA for many years. She asked Overton to commit to keeping the funding, saying the FDA "cannot as cost-effectively replace the state's DEC food inspectors." Overton said she would work with Murkowski.