Food safety director vs food service director

The differences between food safety directors and food service directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a food safety director and a food service director. Additionally, a food safety director has an average salary of $69,299, which is higher than the $53,939 average annual salary of a food service director.

The top three skills for a food safety director include food service, FDA and HACCP. The most important skills for a food service director are customer service, culinary, and servsafe.

Food safety director vs food service director overview

	Food Safety Director	Food Service Director
Yearly salary	$69,299	$53,939
Hourly rate	$33.32	$25.93
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	141,051	136,337
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Average age	39	39
Years of experience	4	4

What does a food safety director do?

Food safety directors implement regulations and standards in various facilities. As a food safety director, you are responsible for training other inspectors who help inspect the facility and make detailed reports from which you determine how best to maintain safety standards. You will maintain documentation of day-to-day activities, making sure products meet the outlined criteria, educate suppliers, conduct regular safety audits, and promote smooth workflow.

What does a food service director do?

A food service director is responsible for managing the foodservice operations, achieving the customers' highest satisfaction by supervising the kitchen personnel, monitoring the food distribution, and responding to the guests' inquiries and concerns. Foodservice directors manage the food inventories, ensuring the adequacy of all the ingredients and materials, and keeping the storage safe and clean all the time by enforcing strict sanitary and hygienic procedures. A food service director must be updated with the current food industry trends to update the menu regularly and meet the guests' demands.

Food safety director vs food service director salary

Food safety directors and food service directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Food Safety Director	Food Service Director
Average salary	$69,299	$53,939
Salary range	Between $34,000 And $137,000	Between $35,000 And $82,000
Highest paying City	Concord, NH	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	New Hampshire	California
Best paying company	CyberCoders	Baptist Health Care
Best paying industry	Media	Health Care

Differences between food safety director and food service director education

There are a few differences between a food safety director and a food service director in terms of educational background:

	Food Safety Director	Food Service Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Most common major	Business	Culinary Arts
Most common college	Cornell University	Cornell University

Food safety director vs food service director demographics

Here are the differences between food safety directors' and food service directors' demographics:

	Food Safety Director	Food Service Director
Average age	39	39
Gender ratio	Male, 58.9% Female, 41.1%	Male, 58.1% Female, 41.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 17.9% Asian, 9.1% White, 56.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 7.3% White, 60.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between food safety director and food service director duties and responsibilities

Food safety director example responsibilities.

Manage operations and provide support to a team of 245 union employees at various elementary, middle and high school cafeterias.
Prepare HACCP analysis report and provide reports for the areas not meeting the quality standards.
Supervise culinary selection, catering, event planning, and baking/cooking functions and oversee menu development.
Assist with the development and execution of HACCP plans specific to projects and special events.
Ensure collaboration between interdisciplinary teams including the clinical, culinary, and patient food service management staff to improve department efficiency.
Assist in directing total food service operation in accordance with USDA policies and procedures.

Food service director example responsibilities.

Train and manage countless dishwashers, cooks, servers, and other managers to achieve significant improvements in their productivity.
Manage both front of the house (FOH) and back of the house (BOH) operations.
Manage a team of 12 managers and 160 FTE.
Achieve highest level of compliance with CMS and Steritech audits.
Manage departmental budget and payroll for 111 FTE's, service and production of ~ 1200 meals/day.
Manage food services at 142 bed sub-acute rehabilitation and skil nursing facility with a staff of 43 FTE's.

Food safety director vs food service director skills

Common food safety director skills

Food Service, 10%
FDA, 7%
HACCP, 7%
Continuous Improvement, 6%
Culinary, 6%
Fsma, 5%

Common food service director skills

Customer Service, 13%
Culinary, 9%
ServSafe, 8%
Food Preparation, 6%
Good Judgment, 5%
Cost Control, 4%

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Food Safety Director
Food Safety Director vs Food Service Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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