When you hear the term ‘food science’ what is it that you think of? Most (all) of us here thought it had something to do with food preparation or how certain foods or ingredients do certain things in the kitchen and some of us even thought a food scientist was a sort of highly qualified food tester. As per usual, we were wrong, but we learned something in the process so not a complete loss in our books. There is a lot more to food science than a person might think and a career in food science may be just the career path you need to look at if you want to have an impact on foods going from farm to fork. Let’s get started!
What is Food Science?
(image via: scholarship buddy)
Food science is a field that combines chemistry, biochemistry, nutrition, microbiology, and engineering to tackle problems within the food-industry business. A food scientist understands the chemistry of food components, processing and preservation methods in relation to food, and the microbiology of food, mostly how it relates to the safety of food. While you aren’t exactly entering this field on the bottom floor, it is a fairly new branch of science that is always facing new challenges. Think about it, it wasn’t that long ago that convenience foods were really a thing and now these foods could easily be consumed 3-5 times per day. We have food scientists to thank for that.
Food Science Career Options
If food science sounds like a branch you would enjoy, you’ll be happy to know that there are a number of career opportunities within the field. Let’s take a look at just a few of the options!
Sensory Scientist
We have to admit, this made us giggle a little bit because we couldn’t even begin to tell you the number of times we’ve not eaten something because “it’s a texture thing” but we digress. Sensory scientists study the factors that influence food choices such as flavor, texture, appearance, and consumer mood.
Ingredient Development Scientist
This is a great career if you also have culinary skills because ingredient development scientists work to develop tastier, healthier, more cost-efficient, and convenient foods and ingredients. As you can probably imagine, this career also requires a healthy amount of creativity.
Food Chemist
If you think this career combines food with chemistry, then you’re absolutely right. Food chemists design and apply methods to analyze the chemical nature of foods. Natural food colors, flavor chemistry, and lab-testing the nutrient content of food are just a few of the many tasks you could be responsible for as a food chemist!