Description
Conduct qualitative and quantitative analyses of foods and ingredients to ensure quality, safety, and regulatory compliance and to support process control and product development.
- • Analyze nutrients, additives, contaminants, and allergens in foods using chromatography, mass spectrometry, and spectroscopy.
- • Develop and validate analytical methods for complex food matrices per AOAC/FDA/USDA guidelines.
- • Design, improve, or customize formulations, flavors, and processes to meet quality and sensory targets.
- • Compile and interpret test data to assess process capability, yield, and diagnose manufacturing issues.
- • Collaborate with food scientists, process engineers, and microbiologists to plan studies, interpret results, and create nonstandard tests.
- • Lead and train personnel in sampling, extraction, and test procedures for chemical and physical properties (pH, water activity, viscosity, color).
- • Induce changes via heat, pH, enzymes, or light to study reactions (Maillard, lipid oxidation) and processing effects.
- • Author technical reports, COAs, SOPs, and specifications; support label claims and regulatory documentation.
- • Prepare standards, reagents, and test solutions for routine and specialized assays.
- • Maintain, calibrate, and troubleshoot lab instruments (HPLC/UPLC, GC/GC-MS, ICP, spectrophotometers, texture analyzers).
- • Conduct quality control and stability studies, including shelf-life and packaging interaction testing.
- • Evaluate safety and compliance (GMP, GLP, HACCP, FSMA) and manage inventory, purchasing chemicals and consumables before expiry.
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Related Pathways
Advanced Manufacturing
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Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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Sources & Standards:
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
