Description
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.
- • Test new products for flavor, texture, color, nutritional content, and adherence to government and industry standards.
- • Check raw ingredients for maturity or stability for processing, and finished products for safety, quality, and nutritional value.
- • Confer with process engineers, plant operators, flavor experts, and packaging and marketing specialists to resolve problems in product development.
- • 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.
- • Study the structure and composition of food or the changes foods undergo in storage and processing.
- • 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.
- • Demonstrate products to clients.
- • Inspect food processing areas to ensure compliance with government regulations and standards for sanitation, safety, quality, and waste management.
- • Seek substitutes for harmful or undesirable additives, such as nitrites.
- • Develop new food items for production, based on consumer feedback.
- • Stay up to date on new regulations and current events regarding food science by reviewing scientific literature.
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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
