Food Scientists and Technologists
Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations- O*NET-SOC code
- 19-1012.00
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.
- Data source: BLSPublished: 2026-08
High· relative
LowFour relative bandsVery highGroup-level value
Scale, basis and source
Four relative bands (Low / Moderate / High / Very high)
831 detailed occupations in the BLS Employment Projections table. Assigned per National Employment Matrix (NEM) code, so occupations sharing a NEM code carry the same band
- Data source: AnthropicPublished: 2026-03
0.000
0.000Range of values carried here0.745Scale, basis and source
Observed exposure index, 0–1 as published
Mapped onto O*NET tasks
Published per SOC 2018 occupation; every O*NET occupation with the same SOC 2018 code carries this value
- Data source: ILOPublished: 2025
0.40
0.09Range of values carried here0.70Group-level value
Scale, basis and source
Generative AI exposure index, 0–1 as published
Published per ISCO-08 unit group. Linked to this occupation, wholly or in part, by applying U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics crosswalks (ISCO-08 to 2010 SOC, 2010 SOC to 2018 SOC) as published
What kind of figure this source publishes
The BLS category is a relative rank, not an absolute level, and it is not a first-hand measurement: it groups an occupation's percentile ranks across several published studies into four bands. It is not an employment or wage forecast, not a probability of adoption, and it does not separate automation from augmentation.
Task-level exposure
Show 7 hidden tasks13 rated tasks · 9 tasks with β ≥ 0.5 (69.2%)
β = direct exposure (E1) + 0.5 × exposure when tools are available (E2), per the source repository's definition.
- Source unit: O*NET 27.2 tasks → O*NET 31.0 occupation code
- All rated tasks are in the O*NET 31.0 task list.
- Source
- OpenAI "GPTs are GPTs" exposure rubric
- Release
- gh-main-0471612
- License
- MIT License, Copyright (c) 2024 OpenAI
| Task (O*NET 20.1) | Claude.aiRaw / share % |
|---|---|
Study the structure and composition of food or the changes foods undergo in storage and processing.19-1012.00 | 0.046962.4 |
Study methods to improve aspects of foods, such as chemical composition, flavor, color, texture, nutritional value, and convenience.19-1012.00 | 0.009512.7 |
Check raw ingredients for maturity or stability for processing and finished products for safety, quality, and nutritional value.19-1012.00 | 0.00597.8 |
Evaluate food processing and storage operations and assist in the development of quality assurance programs for such operations.19-1012.00 | 0.00597.8 |
Test new products for flavor, texture, color, nutritional content, and adherence to government and industry standards.19-1012.00 | 0.00395.2 |
Stay up-to-date on new regulations and current events regarding food science by reviewing scientific literature.19-1012.00 | 0.00314.2 |
Values in this tab are predicted labels, not observations. Eloundou et al. (2023) published two rating regimes — human raters and GPT-4 — and the β shown here is derived from the GPT-4 rater basis alone; the same task can take a different value under the other regime. The unit and the meaning differ from the observed shares (%) in the other tabs, so do not place them on the same axis.
| Task (O*NET 27.2) | βE1 + 0.5 × E2 |
|---|---|
Test new products for flavor, texture, color, nutritional content, and adherence to government and industry standards.O*NET Task ID 7485 | 0.5 |
Check raw ingredients for maturity or stability for processing, and finished products for safety, quality, and nutritional value.O*NET Task ID 7486 | 0.5 |
Confer with process engineers, plant operators, flavor experts, and packaging and marketing specialists to resolve problems in product development.O*NET Task ID 7487 | 0.5 |
Evaluate food processing and storage operations and assist in the development of quality assurance programs for such operations.O*NET Task ID 7488 | 0.5 |
Develop new or improved ways of preserving, processing, packaging, storing, and delivering foods, using knowledge of chemistry, microbiology, and other sciences.O*NET Task ID 7491 | 0.5 |
Develop food standards and production specifications, safety and sanitary regulations, and waste management and water supply specifications.O*NET Task ID 7492 | 0.5 |
Seek substitutes for harmful or undesirable additives, such as nitrites.O*NET Task ID 7495 | 0.5 |
Develop new food items for production, based on consumer feedback.O*NET Task ID 18611 | 0.5 |
Stay up to date on new regulations and current events regarding food science by reviewing scientific literature.O*NET Task ID 18612 | 0.5 |
β = E1 + 0.5 × E2 · E1 = tasks where direct LLM access alone cuts time by at least 50%, E2 = tasks where software built on top of an LLM cuts time by at least 50%. Values take only 0 / 0.5 / 1.0.
Data sources & licenses — O*NET®, Anthropic Economic Index, Eloundou et al. (2023): see full notices on the Credits page
All O*NET 31.0 task statements (13)
All O*NET 31.0 task statements for this occupation (English, as published; task type core or supplemental). Exposure values are not listed here; they are in the table above, next to each task statement as worded in the O*NET version each source used.
| Task (O*NET 31.0) | Type |
|---|---|
| Test new products for flavor, texture, color, nutritional content, and adherence to government and industry standards. | Core |
| Check raw ingredients for maturity or stability for processing, and finished products for safety, quality, and nutritional value. | Core |
| Confer with process engineers, plant operators, flavor experts, and packaging and marketing specialists to resolve problems in product development. | Core |
| Evaluate food processing and storage operations and assist in the development of quality assurance programs for such operations. | Core |
| Study methods to improve aspects of foods, such as chemical composition, flavor, color, texture, nutritional value, and convenience. | Core |
| Study the structure and composition of food or the changes foods undergo in storage and processing. | Core |
| Develop new or improved ways of preserving, processing, packaging, storing, and delivering foods, using knowledge of chemistry, microbiology, and other sciences. | Core |
| Develop food standards and production specifications, safety and sanitary regulations, and waste management and water supply specifications. | Core |
| Demonstrate products to clients. | Core |
| Inspect food processing areas to ensure compliance with government regulations and standards for sanitation, safety, quality, and waste management. | Core |
| Seek substitutes for harmful or undesirable additives, such as nitrites. | Core |
| Develop new food items for production, based on consumer feedback. | Core |
| Stay up to date on new regulations and current events regarding food science by reviewing scientific literature. | Core |
0.36/ 3· Robot exposure index
Scale, basis and source
Each physical task is graded 0–3 by the setting in which robots that have been deployed, sold or demonstrated could do it (0 none · 1 purpose-built robot settings such as a fenced machine cell or a bottling line · 2 structured facilities such as a hospital pharmacy or a container port · 3 unstructured settings such as a private home or a construction site), and the grades are averaged by share of working time
Physical tasks among this occupation's O*NET 29.3 tasks
Anthropic estimated the grades and time shares with Claude Opus 5 using web search, as of 2026.
The robot exposure index is a different measure from the AI exposure figures on this site and cannot be added to or compared with them. It does not measure actual adoption or cost, and 0 also covers occupations with no physical tasks.
Tier of each physical task
Robot environment tiers (E0–E3)
E0 noneDetails
Rated not doable by robots that have been deployed, sold or demonstrated, even in a purpose-built setting
E1 purpose-built robot settingsDetails
Rated doable in a setting built around the machine, such as a fenced machine cell or a bottling line
E2 structured facilitiesDetails
Rated doable in a human work facility that an institution keeps to a working standard, such as a hospital pharmacy or a container port
E3 unstructured settingsDetails
Rated doable in a setting that no institution keeps to a working standard, such as a private home or a construction site
Only tasks classified as physical are listed; other tasks have no tier in the source.
| Task (O*NET 29.3) | Robot environment tier |
|---|---|
| Test new products for flavor, texture, color, nutritional content, and adherence to government and industry standards. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Check raw ingredients for maturity or stability for processing, and finished products for safety, quality, and nutritional value. | E2 structured facilities |
| Study methods to improve aspects of foods, such as chemical composition, flavor, color, texture, nutritional value, and convenience. | E0 none |
| Study the structure and composition of food or the changes foods undergo in storage and processing. | E1 purpose-built robot settings |
| Develop new or improved ways of preserving, processing, packaging, storing, and delivering foods, using knowledge of chemistry, microbiology, and other sciences. | E0 none |
| Demonstrate products to clients. | E0 none |
| Inspect food processing areas to ensure compliance with government regulations and standards for sanitation, safety, quality, and waste management. | E0 none |
| Seek substitutes for harmful or undesirable additives, such as nitrites. | E0 none |
| Develop new food items for production, based on consumer feedback. | E0 none |
Occupation information
Employment outlook (BLS)
- Employment, 2025
- 14K
- Projected employment, 2035
- 15K
- Change (2025–35)
- +6.2%
- Median annual wage, 2025
- $88,720
- Typical education needed for entry
- Bachelor's degree
Korea classification links (KSCO)
Links from the current release of the Korea Occupation Direct Crosswalk v1.1, made by AI Changing Work. Relation values are read from the O*NET-SOC occupation side.
| KSCO code | KSCO title | Relation | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21117 | 식품학 연구원 | This occupation is broader | confirmed |
| 23910 | 식품공학 기술자 및 연구원 | This occupation is broader | confirmed |
Relation and status definitions(kr-direct v1.1)
ILO occupational description
AI Changing Work links the ISCO-08 unit groups below to this occupation by applying the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics crosswalks (2018 SOC to 2010 SOC, 2010 SOC to ISCO-08) as published, without case-by-case selection; each link may be whole or partial.
- ISCO-08 2131Biologists, Botanists, Zoologists and Related Professionals
The definition, tasks and examples below are the ILO's description of that unit group, not of this occupation.
Biologists, botanists, zoologists and related professionals study living organisms and their interactions with each other and with the environment, and apply this knowledge to solve human health and environmental problems. They work in diverse fields such as botany, zoology, ecology, marine biology, genetics, immunology, pharmacology, toxicology, physiology, bacteriology and virology.
Tasks
- (a) undertaking research in laboratories and in the field to increase scientific knowledge of living organisms; to discover new information; to test hypotheses; to solve problems in areas such as the environment, agriculture and health; and to develop new products, processes and techniques for pharmaceutical, agricultural and environmental use;
- (b) designing and conducting experiments and tests;
- (c) gathering human, animal, insect and plant specimens and data, and studying their origin, development, chemical and physical form, structure, composition, and life and reproductive processes;
- (d) examining living organisms using a variety of specialised equipment, instruments, technologies and techniques such as electron microscopes, telemetry, global positioning systems, biotechnology, satellite imaging, genetic engineering, digital imaging analysis, polymerase chain reaction and computer modelling;
- (e) identifying, classifying, recording and monitoring living organisms and maintaining databases;
- (f) writing scientific papers and reports detailing research and any new findings which are then made available to the scientific community in scientific journals or at conferences for scrutiny and further debate;
- (g) designing and carrying out environmental impact assessments to identify changes caused by natural or human factors;
- (h) providing advice to governments, organizations and businesses in areas such as conservation, management of natural resources, the effects of climate change and pollution.
Example occupations
Animal behaviourist · Bacteriologist · Biochemist · Biologist · Biomedical researcher · Biotechnologist · Botanist · Cell geneticist · Marine biologist · Microbiologist · Molecular biologist · Molecular geneticist · Pharmacologist · Zoologist
Sources: ILO ISCO-08 — details: Credits
ESCO occupational vocabulary
Each entry below is matched to this occupation in the published ESCO-O*NET Crosswalk (version 1, 2022). The match types are that crosswalk's; the wording is AI Changing Work's.
- brewmasterESCO 2145.1.2This occupation is broader
Brewmasters ensure brewing quality of current products and create mixtures for the development of new products. For current products, they oversee the whole brewing process following one of many brewing processes. For new products, they develop new brewing formulas and processing techniques or modify existing ones as to come up with potential new products.
- cider masterESCO 2145.1.3This occupation is broader
Cider masters envision the manufacturing process of cider. They ensure brewing quality and follow one of several brewing processes. They modify existing brewing formulas and processing techniques in order to develop new cider products and cider-based beverages.
- food analystESCO 3111.3This occupation is broader
Food analysts perform standardised tests to determine the chemical, physical, or microbiological features of products for human consumption.
- food safety specialistESCO 2263.2This occupation is broader
Food safety specialists organise processes and implement procedures to avoid problems with food safety. They comply with regulations.
- food technologistESCO 2145.1.4This occupation is broader
Food technologists develop processes for manufacturing foodstuffs and related products based on chemical, physical, and biological principles and technology. They design and plan layouts or equipment, oversee staff, engage in controlling, and improve food technologies in food production processes.
- oenologistESCO 2145.1.7This occupation is broader
Oenologists track the wine manufacturing process in its entirety and supervise the workers in wineries. They supervise and coordinate production to ensure the quality of the wine and also give advice by determining the value and classification of wines being produced.
- sensory scientistESCO 2113.2This occupation is broader
Sensory scientists carry out sensory analysis in order to compose or improve flavours and fragrances for the food, beverage and cosmetics industry. They base their flavour and fragrance development on sensory and consumer research. Sensory scientists carry out research and analyse statistical data to meet customers expectations.
- food biotechnologistESCO 2131.5Overlapping, not the same
Food biotechnologists study the life cycle of food from its preservation up to the spoilage and the food-borne pathogens. They research and understand food-borne diseases in order to prevent them. They ensure that food products abide by government regulations regarding food health and safety.
- food technicianESCO 3119.5Overlapping, not the same
Food technicians assist food technologists in the deveolpment of processes for manufacturing foodstuffs and related products based on chemical, physical, and biological principles. They perform research and experiments on ingredients, additives and packaging. Food technicians also check product quality to ensure compliance with legislation and regulations.
Source: European Commission, DG EMPL — ESCO API 2026-08-08 (bridge v1.2.1)
License: CC BY 4.0 (EU Reuse Notice)
ESCO reuse terms and the modification notice are in Credits.
France classification links (ROME)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and ROME 4.0 job profiles, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side. Links marked “provisional” were adopted on the judgments of two judges from the same model family (Claude) alone, or by an operator rule applied to their judgments, so they rest on weaker evidence than confirmed links.
| ROME code | ROME title (French) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| A1423 | Œnologue | This occupation is broader |
| H1244 | Formulateur / Formulatrice de produits alimentaires | This occupation is broaderprovisional |
| H1206 | Ingénieur / Ingénieure R&D en industrie | Related, not a matchprovisional |
| H1310 | Responsable sécurité sanitaire en agroalimentaire | Related, not a matchprovisional |
| H1505 | Nez | Related, not a matchprovisional |
Source: France Travail — Répertoire Opérationnel des Métiers et des Emplois (ROME 4.0), version 61, last updated 15 June 2026 (https://www.data.gouv.fr/datasets/repertoire-operationnel-des-metiers-et-des-emplois-rome). Licence Ouverte 2.0.
ROME codes and titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET-SOC occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not a France Travail correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: fr-direct v1)
Spain classification links (CNO-11)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and CNO-11 occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| CNO-11 code | CNO-11 title (Spanish) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 2427 | Enólogos | This occupation is broaderprovisional |
| 2158 | Profesionales de la salud y la higiene laboral y ambiental | Related, not a match |
| 2435 | Ingenieros químicos | Related, not a match |
| 2413 | Químicos | Related, not a matchprovisional |
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), National Classification of Occupations 2011 (CNO-11, Royal Decree 1591/2010) — www.ine.es · Licensed CC BY 4.0. CNO-11 codes and Spanish titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not an INE correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: es-direct v1)
Germany classification links (KldB)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and KldB occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| KldB code | KldB title (German) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 29104 | Berufe in der Getränkeherstellung (ohne Spezialisierung) - hoch komplexe Tätigkeiten | This occupation is broaderprovisional |
| 29114 | Brauer/innen und Mälzer/innen - hoch komplexe Tätigkeiten | This occupation is broaderprovisional |
| 29134 | Brenner/innen und Destillateure/Destillateurinnen - hoch komplexe Tätigkeiten | This occupation is broaderprovisional |
| 29284 | Berufe in der Lebensmittelherstellung (sonstige spezifische Tätigkeitsangabe) - hoch komplexe Tätigkeiten | This occupation is broaderprovisional |
| 29204 | Berufe in der Lebensmittelherstellung (ohne Spezialisierung) - hoch komplexe Tätigkeiten | Overlapping, not the same |
| 41384 | Berufe in der Chemie (sonstige spezifische Tätigkeitsangabe) - hoch komplexe Tätigkeiten | Related, not a match |
| 11604 | Berufe im Weinbau - hoch komplexe Tätigkeiten | Related, not a matchprovisional |
| 82284 | Berufe in Ernährungs- und Gesundheitsberatung, Wellness (sonstige spezifische Tätigkeitsangabe) - hoch komplexe Tätigkeiten | Related, not a matchprovisional |
Source: © Statistik der Bundesagentur für Arbeit — Klassifikation der Berufe 2010 – überarbeitete Fassung 2020, https://statistik.arbeitsagentur.de. KldB codes and titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own mapping (eigene Zuordnung) and are not a Bundesagentur für Arbeit correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: de-direct v1)
Japan classification links (JSCO)
AI Changing Work's links between this occupation and JSCO occupations, judged with AI models. Relations are read from this occupation's side.
| JSCO code | JSCO title (Japanese) | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| 071 | 食品技術者（開発） | This occupation is broader |
| 081 | 食品技術者（開発を除く） | Overlapping, not the same |
| 051 | 自然科学系研究者 | Related, not a match |
Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), Japan Standard Occupational Classification (Dec. 2009, MIC Notification No. 555). JSCO codes and Japanese titles are reproduced unchanged; the links to O*NET occupations are AI Changing Work's own judgment and are not a MIC correspondence.
(AI Changing Work link release: jp-direct v1)
Sources, licenses and AI Changing Work's modification and translation notices for this page: Credits & sources