The Cool Sheep Careers

FOOD TECHNOLOGIST
 
ALSO CALLED

  • Food Microbiologist
  • Food Scientist

WHAT’S THE JOB ABOUT?

  • Developing new food products

Dairy products, biscuits, snack foods, juice and soft drinks, confectionery, meat, poultry, seafood, vegetables, bread, cakes, pastry, pharmaceutical products.

  • Developing processes that turn raw materials into food products

Conducting market surveys of consumer trends, assessing and comparing raw materials and products of other brand names, formulating new products, running trials and analysing experimental results, devising techniques to produce new foods, trouble shooting production problems

  • Improving the quality of the food supply

Testing raw ingredients for nutritional value, retaining the quality, safety and nutritional value of foods during processing, testing foods for microbial counts, checking foods for colour, taste and flavour

  • Developing and monitoring procedures to ensure the safety of food products for consumers

Ensuring government and HACCP regulations are met, implementing hygiene, sanitation and quality assurance practices, supervising the transportation and storage of foodstuffs, inspecting foods for spoilage, supervising the cleaning and maintenance of machinery used in food processing

  • Liaising with management, suppliers and clients

Meeting with the research and development team, costing products, ordering raw material supplies, answering consumer enquiries and complaints, reporting to management

 

WORK CONDITIONS

  • Food technologists work for food processing firms, companies that market and distribute food, research institutions and government health departments.

 

  • Work may take place in a laboratory and/or office and in food processing facilities.
  • The job can be theoretical but mostly requires practical and applied scientific research.

 

  • Depending on the workplace, the workday and hours may be structured or may be flexible with irregular, long hours depending on the activity.
  • Food technologists may work on their own, as part of a team or monitor the work of others.

 

  • Opportunities exist to travel both within Australia and overseas to work and attend conferences.

 

EXPERIENCE AND RELATED TRAINING

  • To be employed as a food technologist you should have a degree in a relevant field of study.

 

  • Specialisation usually occurs through postgraduate studies.

 

 

Career path

 

Training Requirements

 

  • Production Operator – Food Processing

 

You operate a range of food processing machines under supervision.

VOCATIONAL TRAINING

  • Certificate 3 in Food Processing

 

  • Production Supervisor – Food Processing

 

You supervise production processes and staff in a medium to large food processing enterprise.

VOCATIONAL TRAINING

  • Certificate 4 in Food Processing

 

  • Laboratory Technician  - Food Testing

 

You undertake a wide range of sampling, testing and analysing in a food processing facility.

VOCATIONAL TRAINING

  • Diploma of Laboratory Technology (Food Testing)
  • Food Technologist

 

You undertake a range of the above tasks, liaising with management and the research and development team.

VOCATIONAL TRAINING

  • Degree in Applied Science (Food Science)
  • Degree in Science (Food Technology)

(or equivalent)

 

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