Food Chemist

Have you ever dreamed of creating a new kind of candy? Do you wish there were more sugar-free beverages that didn’t use artificial sweeteners? How about the packaging on that steak? Do you want an environmentally friendly alternative to Styrofoam? Food Chemists spend their days coming up with these kinds of products, and more.

As a Food Chemist, you work in food production plants, studying the ingredient lists in foods. Then you rearrange, substitute, and alter those ingredients until you come up with new flavors or healthier content. Maybe your goal as a Food Chemist is to find a way to reduce fat in potato chips, or to preserve foods with less sodium. You study the proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and nutrient content of foods at different stages in the process. Do carrots have the most nutritional value when consumed raw, boiled, steamed, frozen, or microwaved?

In addition to the food itself, you perform research on food collection, processing, production, packaging, storage, and transportation. Each of these steps has the potential to introduce bacteria or decrease the quality of the food. Your job is to ensure the food is safe for consumption, even after that passion fruit from South America hops an international flight and two train rides before hitting the local grocery store.

While you’re at it, you might as well make sure the process you design is cost-effective, and find a new ingredient that enhances the color and visual appeal of the food. As you can see, food chemistry holds many opportunities to enhance the quality of the food on our tables.