What does a consumer safety officer do?
Consumer safety officers are in charge of initiating actions against policy violators, directing regulatory programs, and developing inspection techniques. These officers advise the state, local, and industry officials to understand and enforce safety regulations. They ensure that the industries regulated by the government follow standard health protocols and comply with the law. Their jobs focus on different areas depending on the fields they are inspecting, and their main duty is to inspect for the industry's procedures and techniques, regulatory non-compliance, and health violations.
Consumer safety officer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real consumer safety officer resumes:
- Manage and facilitate extensive Safety/Security and HAZMAT training for all personnel.
- Perform investigations pertaining to consumer complaints relate to FDA regulate products.
- Provide GMP guidance to industry.
- Perform HACCP inspections for several food industries.
- Assist NTSB in identifying production glitch after crash of new aircraft.
- Code adverse events with MedDRA and ARGUS safety database entry of adverse events.
- Examine evidence to support NTSB's root cause findings, reporting results to engineering.
- Work with several additional agencies on violative cases and recall products, including USDA FSIS.
- Render product codes, device listing numbers, registration numbers, non-disclosure agreements (NDA) and ADAs.
- Conduct and maintain professional communications with facility management, the FSIS supervisory chain, and inspection team members.
- Inspect agricultural commodities or relate operations for compliance with laws and regulations governing health, quality, and safety.
- Prepare and submit serious and non-serious spontaneous adverse event and product quality complaint reports to IPS using the ARGUS database.
- Display dependability, reliability and open communication.
- Conduct investigations and inspections for industries, which are regulate by FDA, particularly pharmaceutical and dietary supplements.
- Provide factual information to plant employees and USDA FSIS personnel through primarily face-to-face discussion regarding work operations and administrative matters.
Consumer safety officer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 23% of Consumer Safety Officers are proficient in HACCP, Food Products, and FDA. They’re also known for soft skills such as Ability to use technology, Communication skills, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Consumer Safety Officers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- HACCP, 23%
Assist with the daily monitoring and assessment of the facility's Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) program.
- Food Products, 17%
Inspected seafood products and processing facilities to ensure conformance to government regulations and customer requirements for this fee-for-service program.
- FDA, 10%
Conducted investigations and inspections for industries, which are regulated by FDA, particularly pharmaceutical and dietary supplements.
- Public Health, 10%
Participate in operations involving other government agencies targeting the discovery of public health hazards.
- Food Safety, 8%
Report facility food safety/sanitation audit findings to program administrators and industry participants - as directed.
- Regulatory Compliance, 6%
Evaluated electronic Prior Notice data from food shipments to ensure regulatory compliance.
"haccp," "food products," and "fda" are among the most common skills that consumer safety officers use at work. You can find even more consumer safety officer responsibilities below, including:
Ability to use technology. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a consumer safety officer to have is ability to use technology. Their role and responsibilities require that "occupational health and safety specialists and technicians must be able to use advanced technology." Consumer safety officers often use ability to use technology in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "perform investigations pertaining to consumer complaints related to fda regulated products. "
Communication skills. Another essential skill to perform consumer safety officer duties is communication skills. Consumer safety officers responsibilities require that "occupational health and safety specialists and technicians must be able to communicate safety instructions and concerns to employees and managers." Consumer safety officers also use communication skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "detected and identified communication errors between fda and the automated targeting system (ats) databases. "
Detail oriented. consumer safety officers are also known for detail oriented, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to consumer safety officer responsibilities, because "occupational health and safety specialists and technicians need to understand and follow safety standards and complex government regulations." A consumer safety officer resume example shows how detail oriented is used in the workplace: "maintained detailed reports of all incidents; reviewed reports to identify trends and implement corrective action, including program improvements. "
Physical stamina. A big part of what consumer safety officers do relies on "physical stamina." You can see how essential it is to consumer safety officer responsibilities because "occupational health and safety specialists and technicians must be able to stand for long periods and be able to travel regularly." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical consumer safety officer tasks: "conduct emergency response drills, daily physical hazard/safety inspections, investigations, interviews, and key control audit. "
Problem-solving skills. Another common skill required for consumer safety officer responsibilities is "problem-solving skills." This skill comes up in the duties of consumer safety officers all the time, as "occupational health and safety specialists and technicians must be able to solve problems in order to design and implement workplace processes and procedures that help protect workers from hazardous conditions." An excerpt from a real consumer safety officer resume shows how this skill is central to what a consumer safety officer does: "developed reports consisting of inspectional and investigation findings as well as sample collection information.exercise strategic thinking and conflict resolution strategies. "
Compare different consumer safety officers
Consumer safety officer vs. Public health internship
A public health internship provides students with a great learning opportunity to put into practice those educational principles and skills learned in the classroom. They will gain a better understanding and appreciation for the duties and responsibilities of full-time professionals in public health. This exposure will provide students with leadership skills and professional development learning opportunities. In addition, students have an opportunity to contribute to various health-related agencies and organizations. The internship location should be at a primary public health agency whose work reflects the best in the industry.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, consumer safety officer responsibilities require skills like "haccp," "food products," "fda," and "food safety." Meanwhile a typical public health internship has skills in areas such as "environmental health," "ehs," "patients," and "osha." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
On average, public health interns reach similar levels of education than consumer safety officers. Public health interns are 0.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 6.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Consumer safety officer vs. Ehs specialist
Usually working for large industries, an environment and health safety (EHS) specialist's role is to ensure the implementation of the safety policies and regulations in the workplace. Typically, they spearhead programs such as fire and earthquake drills, train new employees, identify areas of vulnerabilities in the system, and organize conferences and workshops. An EHS specialist must also maintain documentation of processes, produce progress reports, prepare presentations, and develop new policies when necessary. Furthermore, it is essential to coordinate with all departments, ensuring safety compliance in all areas.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real consumer safety officer resumes. While consumer safety officer responsibilities can utilize skills like "haccp," "food products," "fda," and "public health," ehs specialists use skills like "osha," "environmental health," "risk assessments," and "corrective action."
Ehs specialists may earn a lower salary than consumer safety officers, but ehs specialists earn the most pay in the health care industry with an average salary of $76,165. On the other hand, consumer safety officers receive higher pay in the manufacturing industry, where they earn an average salary of $104,990.ehs specialists earn similar levels of education than consumer safety officers in general. They're 1.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 6.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Consumer safety officer vs. Sanitarian
A health specialist is primarily responsible for the health and welfare care of patients in a community or medical facility. They are also responsible for providing consultations, conducting assessments and examinations, providing prescriptions, and recommending care methods. A health specialist may also diagnose and treat ailments and injuries, coordinate with other health experts, and discuss conditions with patients and their families. Furthermore, a health specialist may participate in public discussions to raise awareness of health issues and lifestyles.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, consumer safety officers are more likely to have skills like "food products," "public health," "food safety," and "regulatory compliance." But a sanitarian is more likely to have skills like "inspection reports," "pest control," "vector control," and "swimming pools."
Sanitarians earn the highest salary when working in the government industry, where they receive an average salary of $48,591. Comparatively, consumer safety officers have the highest earning potential in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $104,990.sanitarians typically earn similar educational levels compared to consumer safety officers. Specifically, they're 3.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 6.9% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Consumer safety officer vs. Health specialist
Even though a few skill sets overlap between consumer safety officers and health specialists, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a consumer safety officer might have more use for skills like "haccp," "food products," "food safety," and "regulatory compliance." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of health specialists require skills like "patients," "health education," "data collection," and "veterans. "
Health specialists enjoy the best pay in the government industry, with an average salary of $56,603. For comparison, consumer safety officers earn the highest salary in the manufacturing industry.In general, health specialists hold similar degree levels compared to consumer safety officers. Health specialists are 0.1% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 4.8% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of consumer safety officer
Updated January 8, 2025
