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 2020

Geography	Employment	Emp SE*	Percentiles
Geography	Employment	Emp SE*	Mean	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th
Southeast Minnesota	50	14	$28.35/hr	$19.15/hr	$21.70/hr	$26.02/hr	$32.72/hr	$37.95/hr

Leading Industries for Food Scientists and Technologists

Industry	OES Employment (Statewide)	OES Median Wage (Statewide)
Natural Resources and Mining	N/A	N/A
Manufacturing	320	$31.41/hr
Trade, Transportation and Utilities	20	$31.09/hr
Professional and Business Services	N/A	$46.54/hr
Education and Health Services	N/A	N/A

Other Regional Data for Food Scientists and Technologists

Geography	Employment	Median Wage	Projections % Change 2016-2026
Northeast Minnesota	N/A	N/A	N/A
Seven County Mpls-St Paul, MN	N/A	$43.12/hr	N/A
Duluth MN-WI MSA	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
Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington MN-WI MSA	N/A	$41.78/hr	N/A
Rochester MN MSA	N/A	N/A	N/A
Southwest Balance of State	N/A	$31.47/hr	N/A
La Crosse WI-MN MSA	10	$29.45/hr	N/A
Fargo ND-MN MSA	20	$26.71/hr	N/A
Northwest Balance of State	20	$31.29/hr	N/A
Northwest Minnesota	30	$32.00/hr	4.2%
St Cloud MN MSA	30	N/A	N/A
Southeast Minnesota	50	$26.02/hr	8.8%
Central Minnesota	60	$23.66/hr	N/A
Southwest Minnesota	170	$32.56/hr	-5.0%
Southeast Balance of State	170	$31.63/hr	N/A
Minnesota	630	$35.97/hr	5.4%

Related Occupations

Occupations	Employment	Median Wage	Projections % Change 2016-2026
Animal Scientists	200	$30.89/hr	6.1%
Agricultural Engineers	10	$38.02/hr	N/A
Soil and Plant Scientists	650	$33.19/hr	14.3%

Task for Food Scientists and Technologists

Check raw ingredients for maturity or stability for processing, and finished products for safety, quality, and nutritional value.
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.
Inspect food processing areas to ensure compliance with government regulations and standards for sanitation, safety, quality, and waste management.
Study the structure and composition of food or the changes foods undergo in storage and processing.
Test new products for flavor, texture, color, nutritional content, and adherence to government and industry standards.
Demonstrate products to clients.
Develop food standards and production specifications, safety and sanitary regulations, and waste management and water supply specifications.
Test new products for flavor, texture, color, nutritional content, and adherence to government and industry standards.
Study methods to improve aspects of foods, such as chemical composition, flavor, color, texture, nutritional value, and convenience.