- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- the ability to work well with others
- patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
- thinking and reasoning skills
- the ability to analyse quality or performance
- the ability to monitor your own performance and that of your colleagues
- excellent verbal communication skills
- legal knowledge including court procedures and government regulations
- the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
- to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device
Your day-to-day duties may include:
- inspecting conditions in slaughterhouses and processing plants
- carrying out quality control checks
- testing samples of raw ingredients and processed products
- analysing and presenting results
- making sure production processes meet hygiene regulations
- training production staff in the importance of safety standards
- checking labelling and packaging
- writing quality reports
- advising companies about making improvements, and issuing warning notices
You may need to wear protective clothing.
You could work at a manufacturing plant, in a factory or in an office.
Your working environment may be noisy and you'll travel often.
With experience you could become a food safety manager, co-ordinating the work of a team of inspectors.
You could also move into environmental health or food science after training.
You can find out more about careers in food safety from the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health.
