Food Scientists and Technologists

Use chemistry, microbiology, engineering, and other sciences to study the principles underlying the processing and deterioration of foods; analyze food content to determine levels of vitamins, fat, sugar, and protein; discover new food sources; research ways to make processed foods safe, palatable, and healthful; and apply food science knowledge to determine best ways to process, package, preserve, store, and distribute food.

O*NET reports this occupation under titles such as: Corporate Food Scientist; Food and Drug Research Scientist; Food Engineer; Food Safety Regulatory Manager; Food Scientist; Food Technologist; Formulator; Product Development Scientist; Research Chef; Research Scientist

Tasks

• Inspect food processing areas to ensure compliance with government regulations and standards for sanitation, safety, quality, and waste management.
• Check raw ingredients for maturity or stability for processing, and finished products for safety, quality, and nutritional value.
• Study methods to improve aspects of foods, such as chemical composition, flavor, color, texture, nutritional value, and convenience.
• Develop food standards and production specifications, safety and sanitary regulations, and waste management and water supply specifications.
• Stay up to date on new regulations and current events regarding food science by reviewing scientific literature.
• Study the structure and composition of food or the changes foods undergo in storage and processing.
• Confer with process engineers, plant operators, flavor experts, and packaging and marketing specialists to resolve problems in product development.
• Test new products for flavor, texture, color, nutritional content, and adherence to government and industry standards.
• Develop new food items for production, based on consumer feedback.
• Develop new or improved ways of preserving, processing, packaging, storing, and delivering foods, using knowledge of chemistry, microbiology, and other sciences.
• Evaluate food processing and storage operations and assist in the development of quality assurance programs for such operations.
• Demonstrate products to clients.
• Seek substitutes for harmful or undesirable additives, such as nitrites.

Knowledge

• Production and Processing
• Food Production
• Chemistry
• English Language
• Engineering and Technology
• Mathematics
• Biology
• Computers and Electronics
• Administration and Management
• Customer and Personal Service
• Education and Training
• Administrative
• Law and Government

Skills

• Reading Comprehension
• Critical Thinking
• Active Learning
• Active Listening
• Writing
• Speaking
• Science
• Monitoring
• Mathematics
• Learning Strategies

Abilities

• Problem Sensitivity
• Oral Comprehension
• Written Comprehension
• Oral Expression
• Written Expression
• Deductive Reasoning
• Inductive Reasoning
• Information Ordering
• Category Flexibility
• Near Vision
• Fluency of Ideas
• Originality
• Speech Recognition
• Speech Clarity
• Number Facility
• Flexibility of Closure
• Mathematical Reasoning
• Perceptual Speed
• Far Vision
• Visual Color Discrimination
• Speed of Closure
• Selective Attention