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 2022

Geography	Employment	Emp SE*	Percentiles
Geography	Employment	Emp SE*	Mean	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th
Southeast Minnesota	100	18	$45.43/hr	$30.19/hr	$34.30/hr	$41.71/hr	$53.07/hr	$64.92/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	260	$38.49/hr
Trade, Transportation and Utilities	40	$31.76/hr
Professional and Business Services	600	$53.41/hr
Education and Health Services	N/A	N/A

Other Regional Data for Food Scientists and Technologists

Geography	Employment	Median Wage	Projections % Change 2020-2030
Northeast Minnesota	N/A	N/A	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	$53.41/hr	N/A
Northeast Balance of State	N/A	N/A	N/A
Northwest Minnesota	20	$39.20/hr	0.0%
Fargo ND-MN MSA	20	$31.14/hr	N/A
Northwest Balance of State	20	$37.91/hr	N/A
La Crosse WI-MN MSA	30	$39.19/hr	N/A
Rochester MN MSA	30	$40.43/hr	N/A
St Cloud MN MSA	30	$32.63/hr	N/A
Southwest Balance of State	50	$33.39/hr	N/A
Central Minnesota	60	$38.32/hr	13.2%
Southeast Minnesota	100	$41.71/hr	1.2%
Southeast Balance of State	100	$41.71/hr	N/A
Southwest Minnesota	110	$38.56/hr	1.1%
Seven County Mpls-St Paul, MN	600	$53.41/hr	2.5%
Minnesota	930	$48.13/hr	2.5%

Related Occupations

Occupations	Employment	Median Wage	Projections % Change 2020-2030
Animal Scientists	390	$31.50/hr	4.4%
Soil and Plant Scientists	520	$30.97/hr	2.1%
Occupational Health and Safety Specialists	1,690	$40.44/hr	4.4%

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.