Also called: Pet Food QA Specialist, Pet Food Safety Specialist
Makes sure pet food is safe, nutritious, and matches its label.
Pulls samples off the kibble line to test for salmonella and nutrients, audits a supplier's meat plant, and investigates customer complaints.
Estimate.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in food science, animal science, or microbiology.
Ways in: 4-year college. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Food Science, Animal Science, Microbiology.
Growing faster than average. Growing pet food industry.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. Inline sensors and automated lab tests catch more defects; audits, recalls and plant judgment calls stay human.
Classes: AP Chemistry, AP Biology, Food science CTE, Statistics.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-4013.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.