What Is the Job of a Food Chemist?

by Fred Decker

When you look at an elegant dessert, the periodic table of elements is probably not the first thing you think of. Yet, in truth, at a fundamental level all foods are collections of chemical compounds, and the human body is a complex chemical-processing plant. Food chemists are scientists who study how foods interact with human bodies at the most basic level. Their work promotes food safety, and helps doctors and dietitians understand the requirements of healthful nutrition.


The connection between nutrition and health is widely accepted. Bans on specific foods, ingredients or food components, such as trans-fats, reflect food's ability to cause significant health concerns. Food chemists play several roles in the understanding of nutrition and health. When medical researchers find a correlation between specific foods and health, whether good or bad, food chemists help to determine what characteristics of the food might be responsible. They also help to determine which nutrients are available in foods and how accessible they are to the human body. Food chemists also help manufacturers to design foods that provide healthful nutrition.

Product Development

Supermarket shelves are filled with canned, bottled, packaged and frozen tributes to the food chemist's art. The crispness of breakfast cereals and their ability to retain their texture in milk are refined by food chemists. So are the satisfying crunch of snack foods, and their carefully calculated levels of salt and flavor. Food chemists also help manufacturers to create foods that meet new regulatory or consumer expectations, such as eliminating trans-fats or reducing sodium. Formulating products that use lower quantities of fat or sugars, minimize carbohydrates or eliminate gluten are all examples of a food chemist's work.

Food Safety

One important aspect of food chemistry that's often overlooked by consumers is food safety. Many of the unintelligible ingredients listed on food labels are chemicals that help keep foods safe for consumption after processing and extended storage. Food chemists also help to discover and refine production processes, such as pasteurization, that reduce the risk of food-borne illness or spoilage. These apply to a wide range of foods, not just the obvious highly processed canned and packaged varieties. For example, frozen fruits and vegetables that retain the color, texture and flavor of fresh produce owe their allure to the work of food chemists.

The Career

Food chemists typically begin their careers with a bachelor's degree in chemistry or related subjects, and a focus on organic chemistry or biology. A graduate degree is necessary for most advanced positions and pure research positions in the field. Food scientists work closely with agricultural scientists, who work directly with food crops to refine them and improve their desirable characteristics. Most food scientists build careers either in universities and private research facilities, or with food manufacturers and other corporate enterprises. The salary range is broad, with entry-level pay of up to $33,930 but incomes of more than $100,000 among the highest-paid food chemists.

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