Description
Inspect food products, processing equipment, and food facilities to ensure compliance with health, quality, and food safety regulations.
- • Inspect food products, processing operations, and food service or storage facilities for compliance with health, quality, and safety regulations.
- • Inspect or test food products and raw ingredients to detect contamination, adulteration, chemical residues, or infestations and to determine quality.
- • Verify that food transportation, receiving, storage, and handling meet regulatory requirements.
- • Collect food, water, and environmental swab samples and submit to laboratories for microbiological, chemical, or allergen testing.
- • Interpret and enforce food safety laws and regulations and explain required standards to plant and food-service personnel.
- • Write inspection reports and corrective action recommendations and advise operators on remediation.
- • Assess employee hygiene, sanitation practices, and training compliance.
- • Monitor sanitary conditions and hazard controls in slaughter and meat or poultry processing plants.
- • Evaluate processing procedures and finished products to determine if they are safe for consumption.
- • Order holds, product recalls, or facility closures when imminent health hazards are identified.
- • Review HACCP, Sanitation SOP, and preventive controls plans and records for compliance.
- • Apply regulatory control actions such as retention tags, product detention, or condemnation when necessary.
- • Examine, weigh, and measure food products to verify identity, net quantity, and regulatory compliance.
- • Verify formulations, allergen controls, and ingredient statements against approved recipes and labeling requirements.
- • Provide consultative guidance on equipment sanitation, plant layout, HACCP plans, and food safety systems.
- • Testify in administrative or legal proceedings regarding inspection findings.
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Agriculture
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Source
Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
