Food Scientists and Technologists

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

Source: O*NET OnLine information for Food Scientists and Technologists.

• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• 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.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• 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.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
• Systems Analysis - Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.

Source: O*NET OnLine information for Food Scientists and Technologists.