How To Become A Food Inspector: What It Is and Career Path

What is a food inspector and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

A fire chief serves as the director of the fire department to prevent or minimize injury, loss of life, and property damage. They are responsible for monitoring and directing the activities of the fire department. This responsibility involves ensuring adequate training for all firefighters, monitoring firefighting equipment, and implementing all firefighting policies and procedures according to federal and local laws.

Furthermore, a fire chief acts as the sole authority and command at the scene of a fire or other type of emergency. They may also be responsible for investigating the cause of the fire, but this is not required in all states or municipalities. The duties of a fire chief require a high level of physical fitness, a fine set of leadership skills, and extensive experience in the fire department.

A fire chief must also have the ability to withstand high levels of mental and emotional stress, as it is often part of the job. In terms of education, many fire chiefs have a bachelor's degree in fire science and protection, but a high school diploma is usually the minimum requirement.

ScoreFood InspectorUS Average

Salary

3.4

Avg. Salary $43,824

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.5

Growth rate -3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.70%

Asian 5.52%

Black or African American 13.24%

Hispanic or Latino 20.92%

Unknown 3.66%

White 55.96%

Gender

female 47.06%

male 52.94%

Age - 53

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 53

Stress level

7.5

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.6

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.3

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a food inspector

Explore food inspector education requirements

Most common food inspector degrees

Bachelor's

46.8 %

Associate

18.8 %

High School Diploma

17.7 %

Start to develop specific food inspector skills

Skills	Percentages
Food Handling	31.45%
Federal Laws	14.82%
Food Preparation	13.64%
Sanitation Procedures	9.61%
Human Consumption	5.60%

Complete relevant food inspector training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New food inspectors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a food inspector based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real food inspector resumes.

Research food inspector duties and responsibilities

Provide education to plant management and employees in regard to federal regulations, HACCP and SSOP.
Perform health and safety verification sampling and tests for detection of specific microbes, residues or contaminants.
Identify and document deviations from plant's written procedures outline in HACCP and SSOP plans to ensure compliance with federal regulations.
Perform CSI duties as needed.

Prepare your food inspector resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your food inspector resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a food inspector resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable food inspector resume templates

Build a professional food inspector resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your food inspector resume.