Career Mirror-- by Mark Sproxton

Like a crime lab detective, the scientist carefully squirts a drop of liquid onto a slide for examination under a microscope. Having just heated, added an acid and used a machine to spin her original sample at many kilometres per hour, the look at the slide reveals there are no unusual or unhealthy organisms present. That's the kind of good news the scientist at a local food processing plant strives to return.

"The main goal of my work is to make sure the product is safe from any bacteria that is harmful," explains Cathy, quality control manager with Foothills Creamery Ltd.

Currently Cathy spends about half her time in the lab and the other half completing paperwork, documenting what tests have been conducted, when the testing was done and the results of her findings. For example, she will have to test the cream being used for butter-fat content and then record what she finds. Cathy said larger companies will tend to have dedicated lab staff who do only lab work and don't do the paperwork-side of the job.

With about 10 years experience in the food industry, Cathy is thankful she landed here after completing a degree in chemistry. "When I graduated from university I sent résumés out to chemical companies and labs and food companies fell in there. That wasn't my plan but it worked out pretty good. I'm not working with dangerous chemicals all the time." She began her food career working for a large beverage company and has held positions as a product tester and a food lab technician before taking on her current role.

Now she thoroughly enjoys her dual function: one part doing the analytical lab detective work and then switching gears to complete the required paper work. "It's fun working around the food. And I get to eat the ice cream. I really like my job." Her experience in the industry has given her the insight to know there are many skills required to work in quality control. "You have to be an analytical thinker and be well organized and honest," Cathy said. "You can't make up your own numbers. And you have to have confidence and stand up to people."

On the rare occasion when quality control people do find problems, Cathy said sometimes the people responsible for food production get angry. When quality control finds a problem, food production is halted and everyone involved puts on their thinking-caps to try and determine what has happened, Cathy said. "It's like detective work. Everybody has to figure out where it came from and that requires more research and then ends up with the writing of procedures so it doesn't happen again. When there are problems there can be extra hours of work."

Most often, though, Cathy works eight hours a day Monday to Friday and no weekends. Her day typically sees her getting to work and going to the lab to check samples for bacteria, then going to the food production line, taking samples and preparing them to check later in the day. She'll also have to make and take phone calls, receive and send faxes, verify ingredient lists and complete paper work. Some days may also be spent entirely in the lab or just completing required documentation.

Cathy said those who work in food laboratories will earn between $30,000 and $45,000 a year while those who move into managerial positions will earn more. She said anyone with an interest in science and math, regardless of whether they have a university degree or a college diploma, would do well to consider the food industry as a career option. "There's a big future in this," she said. "People are more interested in what's in their food and public interest will demand companies have people doing this."