Food chemist vs product development chemist

The differences between food chemists and product development chemists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a product development chemist has an average salary of $73,084, 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 product development chemist are lab equipment, product development, and analytical methods.

Food chemist vs product development chemist overview

	Food Chemist	Product Development Chemist
Yearly salary	$62,727	$73,084
Hourly rate	$30.16	$35.14
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	61,028	109,244
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 79%	Bachelor's Degree, 81%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	-	-

Food chemist vs product development chemist salary

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

	Food Chemist	Product Development Chemist
Average salary	$62,727	$73,084
Salary range	Between $44,000 And $87,000	Between $51,000 And $103,000
Highest paying City	Vancouver, WA	Vacaville, CA
Highest paying state	Delaware	Washington
Best paying company	Cargill	Cargill
Best paying industry	-	Manufacturing

Differences between food chemist and product development chemist education

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

	Food Chemist	Product Development Chemist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 79%	Bachelor's Degree, 81%
Most common major	Chemistry	Chemistry
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of Southern California

Food chemist vs product development chemist demographics

Here are the differences between food chemists' and product development chemists' demographics:

	Food Chemist	Product Development Chemist
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 57.3% Female, 42.7%	Male, 61.6% Female, 38.4%
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, 8.2% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 18.1% White, 59.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between food chemist and product development 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.

Product development chemist example responsibilities.

Lead a collaboration with another biotechnology company to design ELISAs for the purpose of evaluating novel reagents.
Execute HPLC method development and method validation to provide data toward supporting specification, and testing of reference materials.
Write and review work instructions and maintain ISO paperwork.
Develop and implement CAPA as an outcome of investigations.
Create validation protocols, OOS reports and final reports for test methods.
Authore and revise operating procedures to reflect changes in the testing methods to comply with ISO requirements.

Food chemist vs product development chemist skills

Common food chemist skills

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

Common product development chemist skills

Lab Equipment, 10%
Product Development, 8%
Analytical Methods, 7%
HPLC, 5%
QC, 5%
Test Methods, 5%

Food Chemist vs. similar jobs

Food Chemist related careers

Food Chemist related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Life, Physical, and Social Science Industry
Food Chemist
Food Chemist vs Product Development Chemist

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse life, physical, and social science jobs