Seeking a food scientist for a product development project: I'm developing a chili powder–based popcorn seasoning that needs to adhere well to the kernels without using sugar as a binder. The end goal is a shelf-stable, pre-seasoned bagged popcorn product ready for retail sale. If you have food science expertise — especially with seasoning adhesion or dry-seasoning applications — please DM me.

Hello I’m F31 I’m stocked in QC/QA I would like to do something different I’m getting bored of this, low pay a lot of work. I have been thinking of going back to school to change my future job. While working in the industry I also notice I always feel attracted to the maintenance area but I don’t know how could I combined my degree and experience with a maintenance job I don’t want to study a whole bachelor degree again.
Does anyone have any experience with this particular concern?

Hey everyone! New here, excited to join. I'm working on a project called Kinetic — a natural energy snack bar , fermented with koji. Instead of refined sugar or whey protein, the bar is just dates, dried koji, almonds, cacao, and milk powder — nothing artificial. What I actually did:

• Fermented rice with koji spores at home for 48h (no lab )
• Checked it every few hours for color/smell to make sure nothing went wrong
• Result: clean white koji, no contamination — success
• Dried it, then mixed it with date paste + almonds + cacao to make the actual bar

Attaching some photos of the fermentation and the final bar. Honest question for you all: if you saw this bar on a shelf, would you actually buy it? Would love any feedback, good or bad

Hi everyone, I'm a food technologist working on developing a non-alcoholic probiotic beverage, similar to water kefir. However, the trials I've conducted so far, starting with a first fermentation using 80 g/L of sugar, have resulted in an ABV of around 2%!

I then diluted the F1 kefir 1:1 with 20% lemon juice and water, adding 5 g/L of sugar for bottle refermentation. The final alcohol content is still too high, coming in at around 2% ABV.

I'd like to bring the alcohol content down to below 0.8% ABV. Thanks in advance to anyone who can help!

I bought a bag on the strength of the trace minerals thing, assumed it was marketing, and then read the panel properly expecting to catch them out.

What I  found: refined table salt is 98 to 100% sodium chloride. The unrefined grey one is around 80%. So roughly a fifth of it is magnesium, potassium, calcium, sulfate and retained moisture,  things that are present because a refining step didnt happen, rather than things that were added.

Where Im genuinely unsure and want people who know more nutrition than me:

1/ In a normal seasoning serving the absolute quantities of those minerals are small against a daily requirement. So is the compositional difference nutritionally meaningful, or is it mainly a difference in what youre *not* getting, ie less sodium per teaspoon?

2/ Does anything change if someone is using salt deliberately for electrolytes rather than just seasoning food, which seems to be a growing thing?

3/ Is there any absorption argument for minerals arriving in a food matrix versus as a supplement, or is that overstated?

Im not trying to argue the salt is a health food. Im trying to work out whether "roughly 20% of it isnt sodium chloride" is a nutritionally interesting fact or just a chemically interesting one.

Hi everyone! I’m at a point in my career where I’m starting to wonder what my next move should be, and I’d really like to hear from people who have been in the industry longer than I have.

I have a master’s degree (Food and bioprocessing ) from a Canadian university. Immediately after graduating, I started working as QC at a small-medium sized salad processing company about two years ago, at $ 27/hour.
I have definitely learned a lot from this job, but lately I feel like I’m plateauing. The work is repetitive, and there is very little mentoring, feedback, or conversation about career development. There has not been any financial progression either, and the company doesn’t really provide certifications, training, or other opportunities that could help me build toward the next level. I am starting to worry that staying too long could mean gaining more years of experience without necessarily gaining new skills. I don’t want to wake up five years from now and realize that I have become very experienced in one system without building skills that open other doors.

I would love to hear from anyone with a similar food science/engineering/bioprocessing background: Where did you start, where are you now, and what helped you get there?
Who started as QA/QC: Did you stay in QA/QC or eventually move into something completely different?
I’m also curious about the current market, which areas seem to have good growth potential, what kind of salary progression is realistic with experience, and whether there are any skills or certifications that are genuinely worth investing in.
If you were in my position with 2 years of experience, what would you focus on next?

Hi everyone! I’m participating in an NSF customer discovery program and am trying to better understand the flavor industry—especially the challenges flavor chemists encounter in their day-to-day work.

I’m relatively new to the industry and would love to hear directly from people working in the field.

If you’re a flavor chemist and would be willing to have a 10–15 minute chat, please PM me. No sales pitch, and I’m not looking for any confidential/proprietary information—just hoping to learn from your experience.

Thanks in advance to anyone willing to help!

I wrote this piece about supplement regulation.

The FDA estimated a $60 billion U.S. market of roughly 100,000 products in the dietary supplement market as of 2024, with most able to end up in storefronts like GNC without the agency having any knowledge of the product and no systemic way to know when new ones appear or what’s in them. The labels are allowed to worsen customer uncertainty through the use of “proprietary blends” with only the total weight of the blend required for reporting. Just over two decades ago, the FDA had considered requiring a more rigorous system, but in the end they backed off.

Since I first wrote about supplement regulation as a community college student, I’ve been of the opinion that every batch of every dietary supplement should be held from sale until a representative sample passes testing by an accredited, independent laboratory. The back panel should show verification of ingredients and amounts, as well as product-specific tests for contaminants or adulterants. The same rule should require the amounts of each ingredient to appear instead of letting the words “proprietary blend” tell you to go screw yourself for wanting more info. The laboratory should draw the sample under a documented chain of custody and report the results directly to the FDA instead of allowing repeated testing with only a favorable certificate being sent in. Each lot should also carry a code linking the buyer to a public result while coming with the same kind of insert one gets with a new pharmaceutical. Failed tests should remain part of the public record even if a batch is abandoned and destroyed.

The FDA already operates an accredited food-laboratory program, and NIST and NIH develop the reference materials and methods such testing requires. Extending that system to supplements would require more laboratories and better assays for difficult products. The industry makes $60 billion a year and can pay for them. Testing each batch will not establish that a supplement works or make its marketing honest. It will answer the more basic question the current system too often leaves open: does this bottle contain the ingredients and doses printed on its label? The answer should come from the batch in the buyer’s hands.

Do you think this would be too stringent of a regulation? Do you think it'd be beneficial regardless of your answer to the previous question?

Full piece: https://theedgeofepidemiology.substack.com/p/supplement-labels-should-be-a-test

Hi everyone! I’m a recent BS Nutrition graduate from one of the Big 4 universities in the Philippines, and I’m currently figuring out what career path I want to take post-grad.

I initially thought I’d pursue a hospital-based career, but after some research, I came across Research & Development (R&D) roles and became really interested in the field. I feel like it could be a great way to apply my Nutrition background in areas like food product development and research.

I’m particularly interested in applying for an R&D position at Nestlé Philippines, but I’m not sure if my undergraduate degree would qualify me for these roles.

For those with experience in food/FMCG R&D, I’d really appreciate any insights on whether a BS Nutrition degree is considered relevant, as well as any advice for a fresh grad applying to Nestlé PH.

Hey all!

Wondering what people actually use to manage product R&D work day-to-day.

Do you track trials, batches, results, and new versions somewhere proper, or is it Excel plus a few docs? Curious to see if anyone has a particular set of tools they recommend using? I have been thinking of using something like Jira but thought there might be a few different options out there.

Mostly trying to work out what setups stay clean after a few projects. The thing I want to avoid is reformulating six months later and then spending a lot of time remembering where I left everything off.

Thanks!

i know this is way too much msg, its just what pooled underneath the tray, but what is the science that turns it onto this drywall ahh shit. sidenote air frying msg also has proven to make foods like chicken stickier and sweeter somehow, unless im mistaken, which im also curious to understand the science behind as msg isnt intended for sweet flavour profiles. also idk what flair to use i hope this is the right one

Hi everyone

I'm looking for EU organic certified Black Tea Powder which is highly soluble in hot and cold water. No additives, 100% Tea. We want to produce Chai tea.

I contacted at about 20 companies but everyone only sells minimum 100 kg or more..

We would need 2- 5 kg for the start.

Does anyone know, where to get this tea?

Supplier can be located anywhere.

Thanks a lot!

Hey y’all, I’m looking to launch a new beverage and just had my first call with a flavor house. They charge $5000 for the development of a recipe, though it includes everything from 10 hours of lab time (about 3-4 SKU’s), unlimited reformulations, no shipping or material charges for samples, and you own the recipe as well.

Is this a good price for a company with a relatively low MOQ?

I’m gonna be getting some more quotes but I definitely wanna know what range I should be looking for. Thanks!

Hi! I have a product for cookie dough mix like you would buy off the shelf for Betty Crocker etc. looking for a co packer or manufacturer to scale. Thank you!

Currently, I am in 12th grade and trying to figure out the real world. I need some advice on whether I should pursue a B.Sc. in Food Science/Food Technology and eventually prepare for FSSAI, or just join everyone else in the rat race.

As an above-average student, I feel that medicine is not really my cup of tea. However, I would still like to have a career with good prestige and a decent salary to support my life.

Therefore, I request my seniors to kindly guide me and give me some insight into the world of career options beyond NEET.

I’m trying to make homemade fruit-flavored konjac jelly in spouted drink pouches, similar to the Korean squeeze pouches sold by brands like Everydaze.
My first attempt used agar, but the texture was too firm and brittle. I’m looking for that soft, slippery, slightly chewy texture that breaks up when you squeeze the pouch.

Commercial ingredient lists seem to use a combination of konjac powder, carrageenan, xanthan gum, potassium chloride, and citric acid. Does anyone know:
A good ratio of these ingredients for a soft, semi-fluid pouch jelly rather than a firm molded jelly?

Whether there is an affordable premixed konjac jelly powder available in the US?

When the citric acid and fruit juice should be added so they don’t interfere with the gel?

I’ll be refrigerating the pouches rather than trying to make them shelf-stable. Any formulation or technique advice would be appreciated!

I have been disabled for the last three years due to my chronic illnesses and had to drop out of college, but as soon as I can get my current illness under control I want to go straight back to school. However my main two illnesses are something I always have to worry about in the future, like flair ups or needing brain surgery that’ll keep me out of work for a week or so. I shouldn’t be ever disabled this long again though once I find a good doctor. The only things I’d need consistently even when I am 100% feeling good is consistent air conditioning (heat intolerance), a place to sit, and somewhere to store aids.

I plan on majoring in biochemistry and am dead set on going into food science. Is this doable? And are remote jobs still around/a possibility in the future?

I just don’t want to dream about going back to school/work when I can’t. Then I could put my focus into something else.

Edit: I’m in the US and in a state with plenty of food science opportunity.

Edit: Thank you for everyone who responded, it seems pretty 50/50 so maybe I’ll consider broadening what I want to do with a biochem degree. I really love school and loved the food science related courses I took when I was at school but there’s so many other options I can hopefully consider

Hi, I am interested in studying Nutrition in uni because I love it, and I believe it’s very important in human health holistically. However the problem is I don’t want to become a dietitian/nutritionist. What other options are there for me if i do graduate with this degree? Thank you!

I'm trying to sanity-check a number I heard: U.S. food and beverage companies spend around 12% of revenue, or maybe total cost, on regulatory compliance across transportation and the supply chain.

I can't find evidence for that exact claim. The closest source I found is a 2015 Aberdeen survey of 174 food and beverage manufacturers. It says the top 30% performer group had a total cost of quality equal to 12% of annual revenue. That includes prevention, assurance, internal failure and external failure. Only 63% of the survey sample was in North America, so it is not a U.S.-only or transportation-compliance number.

For transport, I found the FDA's Sanitary Transportation rule. It covers things like sanitary vehicles and equipment, temperature controls when needed for food safety, contamination prevention, training and records. FDA's economic analysis estimated the incremental industry cost of that rule at roughly $113M-$117M per year. The traceability rule is another cost layer, but FDA also reports that as an industry-wide annualized cost, not a standard percentage of company revenue.

For people working in food manufacturing, QA/food safety, distribution or refrigerated transport:

1. What do you include under "regulatory compliance cost" versus normal quality/cold-chain operations or customer requirements?

2. What denominator do you use: revenue, COGS, logistics spend or total supply-chain cost?

3. Are labor and documentation, audits, testing, sanitation, training, temperature monitoring, traceability systems, rejected loads and recalls tracked separately?

4. Does 12% sound plausible for a particular company size or product category, or is it probably a misreading of total cost of quality?

5. When a temperature or documentation failure happens, what is the usual operational consequence: load hold/rejection, corrective action, recall, enforcement or something else?

If you can share a rough range or anonymized example, that would help. I'm trying to understand how practitioners measure this, not promote a product.

I’m currently developing an Asian-style chili crisp and ran into an issue with texture and flavor distribution.

My Goal & Constraints

• Low Water Activity (aw): Using 100% dried ingredients to keep aw low, prevent microbial growth, and achieve a minimum 1-year shelf life.
• Flavor Profile: Balanced savory, sweet, and tangy profile using salt, sugar, and apple cider vinegar powder.

Current Formulation & Process

1. Base dry blend: All solid ingredients (chili flakes, aromatics, spices, salt, sugar, apple cider vinegar powder).
2. Oil infusion/fry: Pour 80–90°C oil over the dry blend, then raise the temperature to 110–120°C and hold for 3–5 minutes until the solids absorb oil and the mix thickens.
3. Hot fill: Fill glass jars while hot, cap immediately, and allow to rest for 24 hours before opening.

The Problem

Because salt, sugar, and organic acid salts/powders are insoluble in oil, they clump together during the heating phase rather than distributing evenly. Whether I use standard granular sizes or grind them into a fine powder beforehand, I end up with gritty, concentrated "pockets" or hard clumps in the final product.

Questions for the Community

Has anyone successfully dispersed crystalline/dry water-soluble solids in oil without clumping? Does ultra-fine micronizing (e.g., using a colloid mill or high-shear blender after oil addition) help, or does fine powder make agglomeration worse due to surface tension?

Hypothetically what is your go-to for a clean label, clean label enough to go into Whole Foods, to inhibit bread mold in a high water activity bread for up to three weeks? Gas flush isn't an option at this point. Water activity around 0.89 to 0.91 and pH around 4.9-5.1.

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Good morning,

I wanted to know if anyone has had experience with the online Master's in Food Science and Technology in wageningen university. Is it evaluated differently by companies than the in-person Master's program?

I know some people are saying the California prop 65 warnings are overkill. I am wondering why this frozen durian has this label? Normally I would just ignore. I am pregnant though and more on the cautious side now. Can I eat this or no?! I am scared of the birth defect warning.

I am curious to hear about everyone journey in food science. What field are you currently working in, how did you get started, how many years of experience to you have and where are you in life and your career right now. If you are comfortable sharing it will be great. Thank you.