Food Technologist
Are you a "foodie" who keeps up with new trends in food and cuisine? Do you enjoy the biological sciences? If so, you may want to consider a career as a food technologist. Food technologists have created and improved thousands of new foods on your grocery store shelf, including juice boxes, healthy pre-cooked entrees, granola bars, and prepared soups. Rapid advances in biotechnology have created many new opportunities in this career field.
What they do:
Food technologists are scientists who create ways to improve the nutrition, purity, taste, appearance, shelf life, and safety of foods. They can be involved with research and development, testing of products, chemical analysis of foods, packaging, or quality control.
Where they work:
Food technologists can work in industry for food processing companies, food ingredient plants, or food manufacturers. Many work for the federal government for agencies like the Food and Drug Administration or Environmental Protection Agency. Still others work in specialized areas, such as developing food for space travel or helping third world nations improve their harvesting and food distribution.
For more information:
Careers in Health Care by Barbara M. Swanson. 2005. Available in the CEC library.