Food technologist

As a food technologist, you'll work on developing and manufacturing food and drink products. Your main aims will be to make sure the products are safe to consume, made in an efficient way and meet specific regulations.

You may create new products and recipes or work on existing ones in order to improve or modify them in some way. This can include using newly-discovered ingredients, or making changes to create, for example, fat-free versions or to improve the shelf life of an item.

You'll often work closely with product development teams to help deliver factory-ready recipes, based on development kitchen samples. Keeping up with ever-changing food production regulations will be an essential part of your job.

Your tasks and focus may vary depending on where you work, which can include food and drink manufacturing companies, universities, research associations, retailers and local authorities

Key Responsibilities:

Modify existing products and processes and develop new ones.
Check and improve safety and quality control procedures in your own and suppliers' factories, from the raw material stage through to the finished productResearch current consumer markets and latest technologies to develop new product conceptsSelect raw materials and other ingredients from suppliersPrepare product costings based on raw materials and manufacturing costs to ensure profitable productsAudit suppliers or manage internal auditsRun trials of new products - either alongside or together with product developmentCoordinate launches of new productsDeal with any customer complaint investigations or product issuesCompile, check and approve product specifications and ensure clear labellingUndertake long-term projects with other departments, such as reducing waste by improving efficiencyWork on packaging innovation and technology.Conduct experiments and produce sample products.