Related Profiles of Professionals

• Noel Anderson, Kraft Foods
• Deborah Rech, Thomas J. Lipton Company

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 In some highly automated plants, "hands-on" manual work has been replaced by computers and factory automation, resulting in less waste and higher productivity.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

• Agricultural Engineering
• Chemistry
• Engineering
• Engineering Technology
• Industrial Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering

Professional Associations/Resources

• American Frozen Food Institute
• Grocery Manufacturers of America
• Institute of Food Technologists
• International Association of Food Industry Suppliers
• International Bottled Water Association
• U.S. Department of Agriculture

Note: Some resources in this section are provided by the US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.