Food inspector vs consumer safety inspector

The differences between food inspectors and consumer safety inspectors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a food inspector and a consumer safety inspector. Additionally, a consumer safety inspector has an average salary of $50,363, which is higher than the $43,824 average annual salary of a food inspector.

The top three skills for a food inspector include food handling, federal laws and food preparation. The most important skills for a consumer safety inspector are SSOP, microbes, and food safety programs.

Food inspector vs consumer safety inspector overview

	Food Inspector	Consumer Safety Inspector
Yearly salary	$43,824	$50,363
Hourly rate	$21.07	$24.21
Growth rate	-3%	-3%
Number of jobs	64,809	32,001
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Average age	50	50
Years of experience	2	2

What does a food inspector do?

The Food Inspector focuses on securing all consumers' health and safety from a company's food products. They must enforce all food standards outlined by the Food and Drug Administration. Other responsibilities include inspection of slaughterhouses, food production facilities, and other food-related establishments if they follow safety and health regulations and protocols. The Food Inspector determines if the establishment is safe to sell food products and if they have permits to operate. Their job also requires them to ensure that all food sold is fit for consumption and safe according to federal laws.

What does a consumer safety inspector do?

Consumer safety inspectors work in poultry, meat, and egg processing plants owned by one or more private individuals. Their job is to ensure that the plant operations follow the written HACCP system, processing, and sanitation plans. They also work with different people to discuss how to resolve problems, discuss their understanding of the HACCP, and be updated on other food safety and consumer protection requirements. Part of their duties is to participate in performing tests to detect microbes like salmonella in their meat and poultry products.

Food inspector vs consumer safety inspector salary

Food inspectors and consumer safety inspectors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Food Inspector	Consumer Safety Inspector
Average salary	$43,824	$50,363
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $70,000	Between $36,000 And $69,000
Highest paying City	Harrisburg, PA	Chicago, IL
Highest paying state	Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania
Best paying company	Office of Human Services	Department of Agriculture and Fisheries
Best paying industry	Government	Government

Differences between food inspector and consumer safety inspector education

There are a few differences between a food inspector and a consumer safety inspector in terms of educational background:

	Food Inspector	Consumer Safety Inspector
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	Stanford University

Food inspector vs consumer safety inspector demographics

Here are the differences between food inspectors' and consumer safety inspectors' demographics:

	Food Inspector	Consumer Safety Inspector
Average age	50	50
Gender ratio	Male, 52.9% Female, 47.1%	Male, 58.7% Female, 41.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 13.2% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 20.9% Asian, 5.5% White, 56.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 22.1% Asian, 4.8% White, 56.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between food inspector and consumer safety inspector duties and responsibilities

Food inspector example 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.
Report information from inspection shifts to plant DVM.
Have knowledge of FSIS procedures and can adapt to current procedures

Consumer safety inspector example responsibilities.

Investigate and document incidents using accurate and industry relate terminology to protect against lawsuits and to provide OSHA with additional information.
Inspect viscera of slaughter lamb, goat, and pig.

Food inspector vs consumer safety inspector skills

Common food inspector skills

Food Handling, 31%
Federal Laws, 15%
Food Preparation, 14%
Sanitation Procedures, 10%
Human Consumption, 6%
Food Animals, 3%

Common consumer safety inspector skills

SSOP, 11%
Microbes, 10%
Food Safety Programs, 10%
Plant Operations, 8%
Enforcement Actions, 8%
CSI, 7%

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