food-technologist/references/skills.md

Competences — food technologist

Source: ESCO v1.2.1 occupation-skill relations (http://data.europa.eu/esco/occupation/4b709f9e-6112-4d58-81b0-2d6e6a69d61b).

Essential

• analyse packaging requirements (skill/competence)
• analyse samples of food and beverages (skill/competence)
• apply food technology principles (skill/competence)
• apply GMP (skill/competence)
• apply HACCP (skill/competence)
• apply requirements concerning manufacturing of food and beverages (skill/competence)
• assess HACCP implementation in plants (skill/competence)
• bioeconomy (knowledge)
• biotechnology (knowledge)
• chemistry (knowledge)
• circular economy (knowledge)
• collect samples for analysis (skill/competence)
• combination of flavours (knowledge)
• combination of textures (knowledge)
• describe chemical innovation in products (skill/competence)
• develop food production processes (skill/competence)
• energy efficiency (knowledge)
• ensure public safety and security (skill/competence)
• ensure responsible sourcing in food supply chains (skill/competence)
• enzymatic processing (knowledge)
• evaluate ingredient documentation from suppliers (skill/competence)
• fermentation processes of food (knowledge)
• follow-up lab results (skill/competence)
• food allergies (knowledge)
• food and beverage industry (knowledge)
• food authentication techniques (knowledge)
• food canning production line (knowledge)
• food engineering (knowledge)
• food ethics (knowledge)
• food fraud (knowledge)
• food legislation (knowledge)
• food materials (knowledge)
• food preservation (knowledge)
• food product ingredients (knowledge)
• food products composition (knowledge)
• food safety principles (knowledge)
• food science (knowledge)
• food storage (knowledge)
• food toxicity (knowledge)
• food waste monitoring systems (knowledge)
• foodborne diseases (knowledge)
• functional properties of foods (knowledge)
• health, safety and hygiene legislation (knowledge)
• identify the factors causing changes in food during storage (skill/competence)
• improve chemical processes (skill/competence)
• ingredient threats (knowledge)
• interpret data in food manufacturing (skill/competence)
• keep up with innovations in food manufacturing (skill/competence)
• laboratory-based sciences (knowledge)
• lead process optimisation (skill/competence)
• legislation about animal origin products (knowledge)
• listen actively (skill/competence)
• manage discarded products (skill/competence)
• manage ethics issues in the food industry (skill/competence)
• manage food manufacturing laboratory (skill/competence)
• manage the use of additives in food manufacturing (skill/competence)
• molecular gastronomy (knowledge)
• monitor developments used for food industry (skill/competence)
• monitor processing conditions (skill/competence)
• pathogenic microorganisms in food (knowledge)
• perform food risk analysis (skill/competence)
• prepare visual data (skill/competence)
• processes of foods and beverages manufacturing (knowledge)
• promote ethical eating (skill/competence)
• quality assurance methodologies (knowledge)
• read engineering drawings (skill/competence)
• risks associated to physical, chemical, biological hazards in food and beverages (knowledge)
• strive for nutritional improvement of food manufacturing (skill/competence)
• traceability in food industry (knowledge)
• use new technologies in food manufacturing (skill/competence)
• waste management (knowledge)
• watch food product trends (skill/competence)
• write work-related reports (skill/competence)

Optional

• adapt production levels (skill/competence)
• adjust production schedule (skill/competence)
• advocate for consumer matters in production plants (skill/competence)
• analyse production processes for improvement (skill/competence)
• analyse trends in the food and beverage industries (skill/competence)
• apply control process statistical methods (skill/competence)
• apply scientific methods (skill/competence)
• assess quality characteristics of food products (skill/competence)
• assess shelf life of food products (skill/competence)
• assess the life cycle of resources (skill/competence)
• attend to detail in preparation for audits (skill/competence)
• be at ease in unsafe environments (skill/competence)
• carry out environmental audits (skill/competence)
• carry out training in environmental matters (skill/competence)
• check quality of products on the production line (skill/competence)
• check quality of raw materials (skill/competence)
• collect briefing regarding products (skill/competence)
• configure plants for food industry (skill/competence)
• coordinate launches of new food products (skill/competence)
• create new recipes (skill/competence)
• cultural customs on food preparation (knowledge)
• detect microorganisms (skill/competence)
• develop food scanner devices (skill/competence)
• develop new food products (skill/competence)
• develop standard operating procedures in the food chain (skill/competence)
• effects of pesticides in food raw materials (knowledge)
• ensure compliance with environmental legislation in food production (skill/competence)
• ensure correct goods labelling (skill/competence)
• ensure finished product meet requirements (skill/competence)
• fermentation processes of beverages (knowledge)
• follow laboratory manuals (skill/competence)
• food homogenisation (knowledge)
• food plant design (skill/competence)
• food policy (knowledge)
• food safety standards (knowledge)
• identify hazards in the workplace (skill/competence)
• identify nutritional properties of food (skill/competence)
• inspect silo systems (skill/competence)
• keep food laboratory inventory (skill/competence)
• keep up-to-date with regulations (skill/competence)
• manage communications with food industry governmental bodies (skill/competence)
• manage environmental management system (skill/competence)
• manage packaging development cycle from concept to launch (skill/competence)
• manage scale-up experiments for manufacturing of products (skill/competence)
• mitigate waste of resources (skill/competence)
• monitor ingredient storage (skill/competence)
• monitor packaging operations (skill/competence)
• monitor the production line (skill/competence)
• operate automated process control (skill/competence)
• participate as observer in different types of audits in the food sector (skill/competence)
• participate in the development of new food products (skill/competence)
• perform chemical experiments (skill/competence)
• perform food safety checks (skill/competence)
• perform microbiological analysis in food (skill/competence)
• perform physico-chemical analysis to food materials (skill/competence)
• perform quality audits (skill/competence)
• perform sensory evaluation of food products (skill/competence)
• perform strategic planning in the food industry (skill/competence)
• plan shifts of employees (skill/competence)
• project management (knowledge)
• provide food labelling expertise (skill/competence)
• provide training on quality management supervision (skill/competence)
• research new cooking methods (skill/competence)
• research new food ingredients (skill/competence)
• select adequate packaging for food products (skill/competence)
• use resource-efficient technologies in hospitality (skill/competence)

Market evidence (job-ad analysis, 7 ads, as of 2026-07-12)

Share of analyzed job ads mentioning the item (threshold ≥ 20 %). Source: JSearch/Adzuna APIs.

Hard skills

• regulatory compliance — 43 %
• project management — 29 %
• product development — 29 %
• formulation development — 29 %
• sensory evaluation — 29 %
• shelf-life design — 14 %
• quality assurance — 14 %
• sanitation checks — 14 %
• specification translation — 14 %
• supplier sourcing — 14 %
• technical leadership — 14 %
• technical support — 14 %
• test conduction — 14 %
• validation — 14 %
• formulation optimization — 14 %
• haccp compliance — 14 %
• emulsion science — 14 %
• fda compliance — 14 %
• flavor development — 14 %
• food labeling — 14 %
• food product development — 14 %
• food product research — 14 %
• food safety — 14 %
• formula development — 14 %
• beverage product manufacturing — 14 %
• bill of materials management — 14 %
• analytical testing — 14 %
• commercialization — 14 %
• cost savings analysis — 14 %
• dairy applications — 14 %
• data analysis — 14 %
• data collection — 14 %
• process improvement — 14 %
• product inspection — 14 %
• product research — 14 %
• production implementation — 14 %
• production problem solving — 14 %
• ingredient functionality — 14 %
• ingredient sourcing — 14 %
• physical testing — 14 %
• plant trials — 14 %

Methods

• pre-operational sanitation — 14 %
• cold-fill — 14 %
• leaker detection — 14 %
• continuous processing — 14 %
• batch processing — 14 %
• hot-fill — 14 %
• gmps — 14 %
• haccp — 14 %
• scale-up — 14 %
• temperature monitoring — 14 %
• sqf — 14 %
• ssop — 14 %

Responsibilities

• technical support — 29 %
• problem solving — 29 %
• project management — 29 %
• regulatory compliance — 29 %
• routine inspections — 14 %
• sample management — 14 %
• project status reporting — 14 %
• product review assistance — 14 %
• product testing — 14 %
• product optimization — 14 %
• processing parameter optimization — 14 %
• product development — 14 %
• product evaluation setup — 14 %
• prioritization — 14 %
• plant trial leadership — 14 %
• new formula development — 14 %
• new product research — 14 %
• label information development — 14 %
• ingredient procurement — 14 %
• ingredient exploration — 14 %
• formulation optimization — 14 %
• formulation review — 14 %
• commercialization documentation compilation — 14 %
• compliance assurance — 14 %
• bom accuracy maintenance — 14 %
• client collaboration — 14 %
• corrective action development — 14 %
• cross-functional collaboration — 14 %
• customer interaction — 14 %
• documentation accuracy — 14 %
• team member training — 14 %
• technical guidance — 14 %
• supplier partnership — 14 %
• sanitation oversight — 14 %
• record verification — 14 %
• shelf-life study management — 14 %
• sensory evaluations — 14 %
• troubleshooting — 14 %