Overview

Once upon a time, Americans prepared food in their own kitchens, often using ingredients grown in their own gardens. Today, we eat fish caught in Costa Rica, vegetables grown in Chile, and juice pressed in China.

And that’s when we bother to cook at all. More than twenty percent of our meals are now prepared at a restaurant or in a commercial processing facility.

The more we rely on others to provide our food, the more we need Environmental Health Practitioners who specialize in food safety. According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 76 million Americans contract a foodborne illness every year.

EHP Food Safety Specialists help ensure the quality and safety of our food supply. Most become experts in a specific aspect of food production, or in a segment of the food industry, such as meat processing.

For food grown in the U.S., EHP Food Safety Specialists enforce proper methods of seed selection, fertilization, pest control, harvesting, storage, and transport. They make sure foods are properly labeled, kept at the right temperature and taken off the shelves once they expire. Import inspectors are charged with ensuring that food products imported into the United States meet the same safety standards.

For commercially prepared foods, EHP Food Safety Specialists monitor processing operations, inspect equipment and identify potential sources of contamination. Most foodborne illnesses come from bacteria, so cleanliness and temperature control are essential at every stage of the production process. EHP Food Safety Specialists also inspect food service operators, such as restaurants and caterers, to enforce health and safety regulations.

Most Food Safety Specialists are employed by governmental agencies as inspectors, or work for a food producer helping to promote full compliance with food safety regulations.

You can download, save and print a PDF of this career profile:

Food Safety Specialist 14 May 2008 [pdf, 170 KB]

Working Conditions

EHP Food Safety Specialists see a lot of things the rest of us would rather not know. This is not a career for anyone with a sensitive stomach.

Inspections can take Food Safety Specialists into processing plants, onto farms and in other facilities that can be excessively hot, cold, humid, noisy and smelly. Inspectors may be required to wear protective equipment and may be on their feet much of the day, climbing stairs, standing, kneeling and walking on slippery, narrow, uneven or muddy surfaces.