Occupational Employment Statistics

DETAILED OCCUPATION DATA

19-1012 Food Scientists and Technologists

Occupational 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.

Occupational Employment Statistics(OES) Wage Data
First Quarter 2024

Geography	Employment	Emp SE*	Percentiles
Geography	Employment	Emp SE*	Mean	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th
Central Minnesota	30	7	$43.25/hr	$23.33/hr	$29.97/hr	$39.96/hr	$48.73/hr	$86.67/hr

Leading Industries for Food Scientists and Technologists

Industry	OES Employment (Statewide)	OES Median Wage (Statewide)
Manufacturing	180	$37.96/hr
Trade, Transportation and Utilities	10	$43.38/hr
Professional and Business Services	150	$51.41/hr
Education and Health Services	N/A	N/A
Public Administration	N/A	N/A

Other Regional Data for Food Scientists and Technologists

Geography	Employment	Median Wage	Projections % Change 2022-2032
Northeast Minnesota	N/A	N/A	N/A
Grand Forks ND-MN MSA	N/A	N/A	N/A
Mankato-North Mankato MN MSA	N/A	N/A	N/A
St Cloud MN MSA	N/A	N/A	N/A
Northeast Balance of State	N/A	N/A	N/A
Northwest Minnesota	10	$36.63/hr	0.0%
Fargo ND-MN MSA	10	$31.00/hr	N/A
Rochester MN MSA	10	$37.39/hr	N/A
Northwest Balance of State	10	$38.17/hr	N/A
La Crosse WI-MN MSA	20	$38.27/hr	N/A
Central Minnesota	30	$39.96/hr	13.2%
Southwest Balance of State	50	$30.89/hr	N/A
Southeast Minnesota	70	$48.27/hr	1.2%
Southwest Minnesota	70	$33.27/hr	1.1%
Southeast Balance of State	70	$46.32/hr	N/A
Seven County Mpls-St Paul, MN	160	$51.41/hr	2.5%
Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington MN-WI MSA	180	$51.41/hr	N/A
Minnesota	370	$45.30/hr	5.6%

Related Occupations

Occupations	Employment	Median Wage	Projections % Change 2022-2032
Animal Scientists	100	$32.07/hr	3.4%
Soil and Plant Scientists	390	$32.61/hr	4.5%
Occupational Health and Safety Specialists	2,040	$43.96/hr	15.0%

Task for Food Scientists and Technologists

Stay up to date on new regulations and current events regarding food science by reviewing scientific literature.
Confer with process engineers, plant operators, flavor experts, and packaging and marketing specialists to resolve problems in product development.
Develop new or improved ways of preserving, processing, packaging, storing, and delivering foods, using knowledge of chemistry, microbiology, and other sciences.
Check raw ingredients for maturity or stability for processing, and finished products for safety, quality, and nutritional value.
Inspect food processing areas to ensure compliance with government regulations and standards for sanitation, safety, quality, and waste management.
Confer with process engineers, plant operators, flavor experts, and packaging and marketing specialists to resolve problems in product development.
Study methods to improve aspects of foods, such as chemical composition, flavor, color, texture, nutritional value, and convenience.
Evaluate food processing and storage operations and assist in the development of quality assurance programs for such operations.
Develop new food items for production, based on consumer feedback.
Inspect food processing areas to ensure compliance with government regulations and standards for sanitation, safety, quality, and waste management.