 Food Manufacturing
 Related
Profiles of
Professionals
Industry
Overview
Workers in the food manufacturing industry link farmers and other
agricultural producers with consumers. They do this by processing raw
fruits, vegetables, grains, meats, and dairy products into finished
goods ready for the grocer or wholesaler to sell to households,
restaurants, or institutional food services.
 Quality
control and quality assurance are vital to this industry. The U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) oversees all aspects of food
manufacturing. In addition, other food safety programs have been adopted
recently as issues of chemical contamination and the growing number of
new food-borne pathogens remain a public health concern. For example, by
applying science-based controls from raw materials to finished products,
a program called Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP)
focuses on identifying hazards and preventing them from contaminating
food.
Working
Environment
Because of the considerable mechanization in the industry, most food
manufacturing plants are noisy, with limited opportunities for
interaction among workers. In some highly automated plants, "hands-on"
manual work has been replaced by computers and factory automation,
resulting in less waste and higher productivity. While much of the basic
production -- such as trimming, chopping, and sorting -- will remain
labor intensive for many years to come, automation is increasingly being
applied to various functions, including inventory management, product
movement, and quality control issues such as packing and inspection.
Employment
In 2004, the food manufacturing industry provided 1.5 million jobs.
Almost all employees were wage and salary workers, but a few food
manufacturing workers were self-employed and unpaid family workers. In
2004, about 29,000 establishments manufactured food, with 89 percent
employing fewer than 100 workers. Nevertheless, establishments employing
500 or more workers accounted for 36 percent of all jobs.
 Food
manufacturing workers are found in all States, although some sectors of
the industry are concentrated in certain parts of the country. For
example, in 2004, California, Illinois, Iowa, Pennsylvania, and Texas
employed 24 percent of all workers in animal slaughtering and
processing. That same year, Wisconsin employed 33 percent of all cheese
manufacturing workers, and California accounted for 20 percent of fruit
and vegetable preserving and specialty food manufacturing workers.
Degree
Paths into this Industry
 Engineers,
scientists, and technicians are becoming increasingly important as the
food manufacturing industry implements new automation and food safety
processes.
These workers include
industrial engineers, who plan equipment layout and workflow in
manufacturing plants, emphasizing efficiency and safety. Also,
mechanical engineers plan, design, and oversee the installation of
tools, equipment, and machines. Chemists perform tests to develop new
products and maintain the quality of existing products. Computer
programmers and systems analysts develop computer systems and programs
to support management and scientific research. Food scientists and
technologists work in research laboratories or on production lines to
develop new products, test current ones, and control food quality,
including minimizing food-borne pathogens.
Industry
Forecast
 Overall
wage and salary employment in food manufacturing is expected to increase
by 4 percent over the 2004-14 period, compared with 14 percent
employment growth projected for the entire economy. Despite the rising
demand for manufactured food products by a growing population,
automation and increasing productivity are limiting employment growth.
Nevertheless, numerous job openings will arise in many segments of food
manufacturing, as experienced workers transfer to other industries or
retire or leave the labor force for other reasons.
Although automation
has had little effect on most handworkers, it is having a broader impact
on numerous other occupations in the industry. Fierce competition has
led food manufacturing plants to invest in technologically advanced
machinery to be more productive. The new machines have been applied to
tasks as varied as packaging, inspection, and inventory control. As a
result, employment will not increase as rapidly among some machine
operators, such as packaging machine operators, as for industrial
machinery mechanics who repair and maintain the new machinery. Computers
also are being widely implemented throughout the industry, reducing
employment growth of some mid-level managers and resulting in decreased
employment for administrative support workers, but increasing the demand
for workers with excellent technical skills. Taken as a whole,
automation will continue to have a significant impact on workers in the
industry as competition becomes even more intense in coming years.
 Food manufacturing
firms will be able to use this new automation to better meet the
changing demands of a growing and increasingly diverse population. As
convenience becomes more important, consumers increasingly demand highly
processed foods such as pre-marinated pork loins, peeled and cut
carrots, microwaveable soups, or "ready-to-heat" dinners. Such a shift
in consumption will contribute to the demand for food manufacturing
workers and will lead to the development of thousands of new processed
foods. Domestic producers also will attempt to market these goods abroad
as the volume of international trade continues to grow. The increasing
size and diversity of the American population has driven demand for a
greater variety of foods, including more ethnic foods. The combination
of expanding export markets and shifting and increasing domestic
consumption will help employment among food manufacturing workers to
rise over the next decade and will lead to significant changes
throughout the food manufacturing industry.
Unlike many other
industries, food manufacturing is not highly sensitive to economic
conditions. Even during periods of recession, the demand for food is
likely to remain relatively stable.
Related
Degree Fields
Professional
Associations/Resources
Note: Some resources in this section are provided by the US Department
of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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