Food chemist vs production chemist

The differences between food chemists and production chemists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a production chemist has an average salary of $62,937, 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 production chemist are GMP, laboratory equipment, and synthesis.

Food chemist vs production chemist overview

	Food Chemist	Production Chemist
Yearly salary	$62,727	$62,937
Hourly rate	$30.16	$30.26
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	61,028	58,948
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 79%	Bachelor's Degree, 83%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	-	-

Food chemist vs production chemist salary

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

	Food Chemist	Production Chemist
Average salary	$62,727	$62,937
Salary range	Between $44,000 And $87,000	Between $38,000 And $101,000
Highest paying City	Vancouver, WA	Pennsauken, NJ
Highest paying state	Delaware	Delaware
Best paying company	Cargill	Bio-Rad Laboratories
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between food chemist and production chemist education

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

	Food Chemist	Production Chemist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 79%	Bachelor's Degree, 83%
Most common major	Chemistry	Chemistry
Most common college	University of Southern California	University of Southern California

Food chemist vs production chemist demographics

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

	Food Chemist	Production Chemist
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 57.3% Female, 42.7%	Male, 70.4% Female, 29.6%
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, 7.2% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.3% Asian, 24.4% White, 54.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between food chemist and production 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.

Production chemist example responsibilities.

Lead the team in the isolation and purification of critical enzymes vital to the manufacture of diagnostic medical reagents.
Test developmental compounds to ASTM standards and manage certification submissions.
Experience with running ELISA as well as SDS-PAGE.
Coordinate with technicians on ELISA performance and troubleshooting.
Perform UPLC, FTIR, and moisture analysis.
Perform in-process and finish products sample testing using HPLC.

Food chemist vs production chemist skills

Common food chemist skills

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

Common production chemist skills

GMP, 13%
Laboratory Equipment, 10%
Synthesis, 8%
ISO, 7%
R, 5%
Safety Guidelines, 4%

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Food Chemist vs Production Chemist

Updated January 8, 2025

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