Food chemist vs formulation chemist

The differences between food chemists and formulation chemists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a formulation chemist has an average salary of $66,678, which is higher than the $62,727 average annual salary of a food chemist.

The top three skills for a food chemist include laboratory equipment, FDA and sops. The most important skills for a formulation chemist are scale-up, R, and product development.

Food chemist vs formulation chemist overview

	Food Chemist	Formulation Chemist
Yearly salary	$62,727	$66,678
Hourly rate	$30.16	$32.06
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	61,028	3,011
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 79%	Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	-	-

Food chemist vs formulation chemist salary

Food chemists and formulation chemists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Food Chemist	Formulation Chemist
Average salary	$62,727	$66,678
Salary range	Between $44,000 And $87,000	Between $46,000 And $94,000
Highest paying City	Vancouver, WA	Frederick, MD
Highest paying state	Delaware	Washington
Best paying company	Cargill	Apple
Best paying industry	-	Manufacturing

Differences between food chemist and formulation chemist education

There are a few differences between a food chemist and a formulation chemist in terms of educational background:

	Food Chemist	Formulation Chemist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 79%	Bachelor's Degree, 79%
Most common major	Chemistry	Chemistry
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of Southern California

Food chemist vs formulation chemist demographics

Here are the differences between food chemists' and formulation chemists' demographics:

	Food Chemist	Formulation Chemist
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 57.3% Female, 42.7%	Male, 60.6% Female, 39.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.8% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 18.2% White, 59.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 7.8% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 18.6% White, 59.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between food chemist and formulation chemist duties and responsibilities

Food chemist example responsibilities.

Manage food chemistry testing laboratory and measure clenbuterol levels in beef samples by HPLC
Position are focused around ensuring that the different products being test pass the specifications put in place by the FDA.
Provide calculated electronic absorption (UV/Vis) spectra for molecular candidates suspect to be impurity chromophores in a commercial nylon process.
Establish extraction profiles and develop appropriate QC methods for product certification and annual qualification.

Formulation chemist example responsibilities.

Utilize Citrix LIMS to register, manage, enter and release sample results for supervisor review.
Provide key data in GLP testing of in-house samples using GC, AA, and UV-Vis.
Follow ASTM procedures and criteria for analyzing products.
Create internal sensory training according to the ASTM method.
Help to aid the plant in becoming compliant with EPA standards.
Perform analysis of pharmaceutical drug products in compliance cGMP and GLP procedures.

Food chemist vs formulation chemist skills

Common food chemist skills

Laboratory Equipment, 18%
FDA, 17%
Sops, 13%
R, 9%
HPLC, 9%
Food Products, 8%

Common formulation chemist skills

Scale-Up, 8%
R, 7%
Product Development, 6%
Lab Notebook, 6%
Formulation Development, 5%
QC, 4%

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Food Chemist vs Formulation Chemist

Updated January 8, 2025

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