How to Become a Food Scientist?

Food Sciences focus on discovering new food sources fit for human consumption. They study crops and livestock to find out more nutrition and health benefits and ways to improve the shelf life of the product. As per US News, demand for food scientists is expected to grow by 20% by 2025. Let’s explore how to become a food scientist with eligibility, universities and more in this blog!

Responsibilities of Food Scientists

1. Research, develop, and test various components and foods to verify that they are safe to eat.
2. Use their knowledge of biological and physical sciences to create new food processing, packaging, and production technologies and methods.
3. Deal with regulatory components to ensure that finished products meet the country’s food laws and regulations in terms of quality and safety.
4. Use scientific techniques to specify accurate nutritional information for food labelling
5. Investigate new methods to keep food fresh and safe for longer periods of time
6. Develop processing methodologies to save time and money while maintaining nutrients and quality
7. Ensure that the food is safe and free of contamination.

The majority of food scientists work in the R&D divisions of food processing corporations in the private sector. Many work as quality control inspectors or production supervisors in processing facilities. Some are involved in university teaching and research. Others work in food product and technology sales or advertising.

Skills

• Communication skills– Agricultural and food scientists must be able to communicate effectively. They must be able to explain their investigations, including what they were attempting to learn, the methods they utilised, the results they obtained, and what they believe the ramifications of their findings are.
• Critical-thinking skills– Agricultural and food scientists must apply their knowledge to decide the most effective strategy to respond to a specific study issue
• Data-analysis skills– Collecting data using a variety of methods, including quantitative surveys. They must next decipher the data and identify solutions to the challenges they’re examining using typical data analysis approaches
• Math skills– Agricultural and food scientists, like many other scientists, require a solid grasp of mathematics.
• Observation skills- Agricultural and food experts carry out investigations that necessitate careful monitoring of samples and other data. Any blunder could result in inconclusive or incorrect results

How to Become a Food Scientist: Step-by-Step Guide

Agricultural and food scientists must have at least a bachelor’s degree from an approved post-secondary institution, while many have higher degrees. A doctorate in veterinary medicine is earned by some animal scientists (DVM).

1. Get Bachelor’s Degree: To become a food scientist you should atleast have a bachelor degree. You can pursue a BSc in food science which is a 3-year degree course. In this course, you will get to study subjects like human nutrition, food chemistry, food microbiology, food processing, food quality etc.
2. Upscale your Knowledge: It is not mandatory to have a Masters or PhD to become a food scientist but it helps you expand your knowledge and skills with an advanced degree. You will study food science, nutrition, or biochemistry in-depth with the help of research and a thesis.
3. Licenses, Certifications, and Registrations: Licensing standards vary by state but often involve having a bachelor’s degree in soil science with a particular number of credit hours, working for a certain number of years under the supervision of a licensed scientist, and passing an examination. In India, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) deals with all food-related licenses and registrations. A good education from an accredited university is necessary.
4. Start your Internship or Job: Once you have finished your studies, you can start applying for internships and after you have relevant experience you can switch to the job. On average a food scientist earns between INR 5,00,000- 8,00,000.

Popular Food Scientist Courses

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BSc Food Sciences

 MSc Food Sciences

PhD 

Eligibility 

Every university has different eligibility criteria to be fulfilled by all applicants. Here are some of the common criteria for food scientist courses:

1. For bachelor courses, you must have 10+2 with at least 50%
2. For masters courses, you must have a bachelor degree and for PhD courses, you must have a master’s degree in the relevant field
3. For students planning to study abroad have to submit IELTS/TOEFL scores along with LOR, SOP

Top Universities for Food Scientist Courses Abroad 

USA, UK and Canada are some of the best universities to study food scientist courses. Here is the list of best universities as per QS world rankings 2021:

Top Colleges in India 

There are numerous colleges in India offering food scientist courses, let’s explore some of the best colleges you can consider:

1. IIT, Kharagpur
2. NIT, Rourkela
3. Christ University, Bengaluru
4. IKG PTU, Jalandhar
5. Amity University, Noida
6. IIT Guwahati
7. Anna University
8. Sharda University
9. Lovely Professional University
10. Jadavpur University

Career Scope

After completing your degree, you can work in food packaging industries, Agricultural commodities export ventures, food machinery & Instruments manufacturing companies and more. Food scientists have wider scope in India and abroad and can earn between INR 6,00,000- 8,00,000.

Top Recruiting Industries

Industries are seeking specialists from all around India as the reach of food technology in India expands. The following are some of the top recruiters:

• MTR Foods Limited
• AMUL
• Dabur India Ltd
• PepsiCo India Holdings
• Britannia Industries Ltd
• Nestle India Pvt. Ltd
• ITC Limited
• Agro Tech Foods
• Parle Products PVT Ltd
• ITC Limited
• Cadbury India
• Hindustan Liver Limited
• Milk Food
• MTR
• Nestle India
• Godrej Industrial Limited

Are you planning to study any food scientist courses abroad? Our Leverage Edu experts will provide end-to-end guidance from application to the Visa process. Call us at 1800572000 to book your FREE 30-minutes counselling session today!