Food Scientist and Technologist

Also called: Dairy Bacteriologist, Enologist, Food and Drug Research Scientist, Food Chemist, Food Engineer

jobs advertised

courses available

Varies

estimated salary

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.

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.
Develop new or improved ways of preserving, processing, packaging, storing, and delivering foods, using knowledge of chemistry, microbiology, and other sciences.
Test new products for flavor, texture, color, nutritional content, and adherence to government and industry standards.
Stay up to date on new regulations and current events regarding food science by reviewing scientific literature.
Evaluate food processing and storage operations and assist in the development of quality assurance programs for such operations.
Confer with process engineers, plant operators, flavor experts, and packaging and marketing specialists to resolve problems in product development.
Study the structure and composition of food or the changes foods undergo in storage and processing.
Seek substitutes for harmful or undesirable additives, such as nitrites.
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.
Develop new food items for production, based on consumer feedback.
Demonstrate products to clients.

Work Context

Electronic Mail — 100% responded "Every day".
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled — 96% responded "Every day".
Face-to-Face Discussions — 82% responded "Every day".
Contact With Others — 48% responded "Constant contact with others".
Telephone — 48% responded "Once a week or more but not every day".
Work With Work Group or Team — 53% responded "Extremely important".
Importance of Being Exact or Accurate — 44% responded "Extremely important".

Work Activities

Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Analyzing Data or Information — Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings — Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.

Interacting With Computers — Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.

Thinking Creatively — Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.

Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards — Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.

Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.

Communicating with Persons Outside Organization — Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.

Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others — Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.

Processing Information — Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.

Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.

Developing Objectives and Strategies — Establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them.

Training and Teaching Others — Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.

Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information — Estimating sizes, distances, and quantities; or determining time, costs, resources, or materials needed to perform a work activity.

Developing and Building Teams — Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.

Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Material — Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.

Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People — Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.

Scheduling Work and Activities — Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.

Coaching and Developing Others — Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.

Provide Consultation and Advice to Others — Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups on technical, systems-, or process-related topics.

Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates — Providing guidance and direction to subordinates, including setting performance standards and monitoring performance.

Monitoring and Controlling Resources — Monitoring and controlling resources and overseeing the spending of money.

Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others — Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.

Detailed Work Activities

Develop specifications for new products or processes.
Review professional literature to maintain professional knowledge.
Test quality of materials or finished products.
Evaluate quality of materials or products.
Collaborate with technical specialists to resolve design or development problems.
Evaluate new technologies or methods.

Food Production

Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

Biology

Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

Chemistry

Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Writing

Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Monitoring

Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Complex Problem Solving

Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

Critical Thinking

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Judgment and Decision Making

Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Active Learning

Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

Science

Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.

Systems Evaluation

Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.

Systems Analysis

Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.

Quality Control Analysis

Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.

Mathematics

Using mathematics to solve problems.

Social Perceptiveness

Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Service Orientation

Actively looking for ways to help people.

Instructing

Teaching others how to do something.

Negotiation

Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.

Persuasion

Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.

Coordination

Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

Learning Strategies

Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.

Time Management

Managing one's own time and the time of others.

Oral Comprehension

The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Problem Sensitivity

The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

Written Comprehension

The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Near Vision

The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Inductive Reasoning

The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

Deductive Reasoning

The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

Category Flexibility

The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.

Information Ordering

The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

Written Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Oral Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Originality

The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.

Speech Recognition

The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

Speech Clarity

The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

Flexibility of Closure

The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.

Fluency of Ideas

The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).

Number Facility

The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.

Mathematical Reasoning

The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.

Visual Color Discrimination

The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.

Selective Attention

The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.

Perceptual Speed

The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.

People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out.

They do well at jobs that need: