• The industry has a high incidence of injury and illness; meatpacking in particular has the highest incidence among all industries.
• Production workers account for nearly 1 out of 2 jobs.
• Most jobs require little formal education or training; many can be learned in a few days.

Food processing workers perform tasks as varied as the many foods we eat. For example, they slaughter, dress, and cut meat or poultry; process milk, cheese, and other dairy products; can and preserve fruits, vegetables, and frozen specialties; manufacture flour, cereal, pet foods, and other grain mill products; make bread, cookies, and other bakery products; manufacture sugar and candy and other confectionery products; process shortening, margarine, and other fats and oils; produce alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages; prepare packaged seafood, coffee, potato and corn chips, and peanut butter. Although this list is long, it is not exhaustive—food processing workers also play a part in delivering numerous other food products to our tables.

Table 1 shows that about 30 percent of all food processing workers are employed in plants that produce meat products, and another 25 percent work in establishments that make bakery goods and preserved fruits and vegetables. Sugar and confectionery products, the smallest sector of the food processing industry, accounts for only about 5 percent of all jobs.

In 1999, there were 12.7 cases of work-related injury or illness per 100 full-time food processing workers, more than double the 6.3 rate for the private sector as a whole. Injury rates vary significantly in specific food processing industries, ranging from a low of 4.5 per 100 workers in wet corn mills to 26.7 per 100 in meatpacking plants, the highest rate among all industries.

In an effort to reduce occupational hazards, many plants have redesigned equipment, increased job rotation, allowed longer or more frequent breaks, and developed training programs in safe work practices. Some workers wear protective hats, gloves, aprons, and shoes. In many industries, uniforms and protective clothing are changed daily for sanitary reasons.

Because of the considerable mechanization in the industry, most food processing 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 In some highly automated plants, “hands-on” manual work has been replaced by computers and factory automation, resulting in less waste and higher productivity.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 control, product movement, packing, and inspection.

Working conditions also depend on the type of food being processed. For example, some bakery employees work at night or on weekends and spend much of their shift near ovens that can be uncomfortably hot. In contrast, workers in dairies and meat processing plants work typical daylight hours and may experience cold and damp conditions. Some plants, such as those producing processed fruits and vegetables, operate on a seasonal basis, so workers are not guaranteed steady, year-round employment and occasionally travel from region to region seeking work. These plants are increasingly rare, however, as the industry continues to diversify and processing plants produce alternate foods and beverages during otherwise inactive periods.

The employment distribution in this industry is widely varied. The vast majority of employees work in the meat products sector. Employment in this sector has increased over the past 15 years. However, this industry is very dependent on technological advances and the demand for meats in the United States and abroad. The fruits and vegetables, bakery, and beverages sectors also employ a fairly large portion of industry workers, but employment in each of these areas has been declining over the same period.

Food processing workers are found in all States, although some sectors of the industry are concentrated in certain parts of the country. For example, Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, North Carolina, and Texas employ more than a third of workers in meat-producing industries. Wisconsin has more cheese-processing workers than any other State. Similarly, most workers producing chewing gum work in Illinois and Pennsylvania. California accounts for more than x in x canned, frozen, and preserved fruit, vegetable, and food specialty workers, and together with Illinois, Pennsylvania, and New York, employs a third of all workers who produce bakery products. Employment in raw cane sugar processing is concentrated in Florida, Hawaii, and Louisiana.

Red meat production is the most labor-intensive food processing operation. Animals are not uniform in size, and slaughterers and meatpackers, must slaughter, skin, eviscerate, and cut each carcass into large pieces. They usually do this work by hand, using large, heavy power saws. They also clean and salt hides and make sausage. Meatcutters and trimmers use hand tools to break down the large primary cuts into smaller sizes for shipment to wholesalers and retailers. Poultry trimmers and cutters use knives and other hand tools to eviscerate, split, and bone chickens and turkeys.

Bakers mix and bake ingredients according to recipes to produce breads, cakes, pastries, and other goods. Bakers produce goods in large quantities, using mixing machines, ovens, and other equipment.

Many food processing workers use their hands or small hand tools to do their jobs. Cannery workers perform a variety of routine tasks—such as sorting, grading, washing, trimming, peeling, or slicing—in canning, freezing, or packing food products. Hand food decorators apply artistic touches to prepared foods. Candy molders and marzipan shapers form fancy shapes by hand.

With increasing levels of automation in the food processing industry, a growing number of workers operate machines. For example, food batchmakers operate equipment that mixes, blends, or cooks ingredients used in manufacturing various foods, such as cheese, candy, honey, and tomato sauce. Dairy processing equipment operators process milk, cream, cheese, and other dairy products. Cutting and slicing machine operators slice bacon, bread, cheese, and other foods. Mixing and blending machine operators produce dough batters, fruit juices, or spices. Crushing and grinding machine operators turn raw grains into cereals, flour, and other milled grain products, and they produce oils from nuts or seeds. Extruding and forming machine operators produce molded food and candy, and casing finishers and stuffers make sausage links and similar products. Bottle packers and bottle fillers operate machines that fill bottles and jars with beverages, preserves, pickles, and other foodstuffs.

Cooking machine operators steam, deep fry, boil, or pressure cook meats, grains, sugar, cheese, or vegetables. Grain roasters operate equipment that roasts grains, nuts, or coffee beans, and drying machine operators tend ovens, kilns, dryers, and other equipment that removes moisture from macaroni, coffee beans, cocoa, and grain. Baking equipment operators tend ovens that bake bread, pastries, and other products. Some foods—ice cream, frozen specialties, and meat, for example—are placed in freezers or refrigerators by cooling and freezing equipment operators. Other workers tend machines and equipment that clean and wash food or food processing equipment. Some machine operators also clean and maintain machines and perform other duties such as checking the weight of foods.

Many other workers are needed to keep food processing plants and equipment in good working order. Industrial machinery mechanics repair and maintain production machines and equipment. Maintenance repairers perform routine machinery maintenance, such as changing and lubricating parts. Specialized mechanics include heating, air-conditioningand refrigeration technicians, farm equipment mechanics, and diesel engine specialists.

Still other workers directly oversee the quality of the work and of final products. Supervisors direct the activities of production workers. Graders and sorters of agricultural products, production inspectors, and quality control technicians evaluate foodstuffs before, during, or after processing.

Food may spoil if not properly packaged and promptly delivered, so packaging and transportation employees play a vital role in the industry. Among these are freight, stock, and material movers, who manually move materials; hand packers and packagers, who pack bottles and other items as they come off the production line; and machine feeders and offbearers, who feed materials into machines and remove goods from the end of the production line. Industrial truck and tractor operators drive gasoline or electric-powered vehicles equipped with forklifts, elevated platforms, or trailer hitches to move goods around a storage facility. Truckdrivers transport and deliver livestock, materials, or merchandise, and may load and unload trucks. Driver/sales workers drive company vehicles over established routes to deliver and sell goods, such as bakery items, beverages, and vending machine products.

The food processing industry also employs a variety of managerial and professional workers. Managers include top executives, who make policy decisions; industrial production managers, who organize, direct, and control the operation of the manufacturing plant; and advertising, marketing, promotions, public relations and sales managers, who direct advertising, sales promotion, and community relations programs.

Engineers, scientists, and technicians are becoming increasingly important as the food processing industry implements new automation. 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 quality of existing products. Computer programmers and systems analysts develop computer systems and programs to support management and scientific research. Food scientists, such as food technicians and technologists and chemical technicians, work in research laboratories or on production lines to develop new products, test current ones, and control food quality.

Finally, many sales workers, including manufacturers’ representatives and demonstrators, are needed to sell the manufactured goods to wholesale and retail establishments. Bookkeeping and accounting clerks, procurement clerks, and traffic clerks keep track of the food products going into and out of the plant. Janitors and cleaners keep buildings clean and orderly.

Table 2. Employment of wage and salary workers in food processing by occupation, 2000 and projected change, 2000-10 (Employment in thousands)
Occupation	Employment, 2000		Percent change, 2000-10
	Number	Percent
All occupations	1,684	100.0	-3.0
Management, business, and financial occupations	102	6.0	-2.2
General and operations managers	18	1.1	-4.2
Industrial production managers	14	0.8	-4.9
Professional and related occupations	38	2.3	0.3
Service occupations	56	3.3	-2.3
Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners	30	1.8	1.4
Sales and related occupations	51	3.1	-7.5
Office and administrative support occupations	131	7.8	-8.5
Shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks	21	1.2	-7.2
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	25	1.5	4.9
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	106	6.3	-3.9
Industrial machinery mechanics	24	1.4	3.5
Maintenance and repair workers, general	42	2.5	-9.7
Production occupations	832	49.4	-1.7
First-line supervisors/managers of production and operating workers	54	3.2	-6.6
Team assemblers	29	1.7	-10.2
Bakers	34	2.0	-1.5
Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers	115	6.8	8.6
Slaughterers and meat packers	116	6.9	2.0
Food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders	15	0.9	-8.8
Food batchmakers	58	3.5	-1.1
Food cooking machine operators and tenders	29	1.8	-1.7
All other food processing workers	41	2.4	-15.6
Mixing and blending machine setters, operators, and tenders	24	1.4	0.8
Helpers--Production workers	52	3.1	-7.7
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers	24	1.4	-17.6
Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders	127	7.5	-1.1
Transportation and material moving occupations	335	19.9	-4.4
Driver/sales workers	23	1.4	-14.3
Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer	41	2.4	-2.5
Industrial truck and tractor operators	48	2.8	-8.6
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand	58	3.4	-8.3
Machine feeders and offbearers	15	0.9	-17.2
Packers and packagers, hand	93	5.5	0.6
NOTE: May not add to totals due to omission of occupations with small employment.

Some food processing workers need specialized training and education. Inspectors and quality control workers, for example, often are trained in food safety and may need a certificate to be employed in a food processing plant. Formal educational requirements for managers in food processing plants range from 2-year degrees to master’s degrees. Those who hold research positions, such as food technologists and scientists, usually need a master’s or doctoral degree.

In addition to specialized training, a growing number of workers receive broader training to perform a number of jobs. The need for flexibility in more-automated workplaces has meant that many food processing workers are learning new tasks and being trained to effectively work in teams.

Advancement may come in the form of higher earnings or more responsibility. Helpers usually progress to jobs as machine operators, but the speed of this progression can vary considerably. Some workers who perform exceptionally well on the production line, or those with special training and experience, may advance to supervisory positions. Plant size and the existence of formal promotion tracks may influence advancement opportunities.

Requirements for other jobs are similar to requirements for the same types of jobs in other industries. Employers usually hire high school graduates for secretarial and other clerical work. Graduates of 2-year associate degree or other postsecondary programs often are sought for science technician and related positions. College graduates or highly experienced workers are preferred for middle management or professional jobs in personnel, accounting, marketing, or sales.

Job growth will vary by occupation but will be concentrated among food processing workers—the largest group of workers in the industry. Because many of the sorting, cutting, and chopping tasks performed by these workers have proven difficult to automate, employment among handworkers will rise along with the growing demand for food products. Handworking occupations include meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers, whose employment will rise as the consumption of meat, poultry and fish climbs and more processing takes place at the manufacturing level. Other production workers also will benefit from the recent rise in the share of processing that occurs in food processing plants instead of in retail establishments.

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 processing plants to invest in technologically advanced machinery to be more productive. These machines have been applied to tasks as varied as packaging, inspection, and inventory control. As a result, employment has fallen among some machine operators, such as packaging machine operators, but has risen for industrial machinery mechanics who repair and maintain the new machinery. Computers also are being widely implemented throughout the industry, reducing employment levels of some mid-level managers and 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 processing firms will be able to use this new automation to better meet the changing demands of the American marketplace. As convenience becomes more important, consumers increasingly demand highly processed foods such as prepeeled and cut carrots and microwaveable soups or “ready-to-heat” dinners. Such a shift in consumption will contribute to the demand for food processing workers and will lead to the development of thousands of new processed foods. Domestic producers will also attempt to market these goods abroad as international trade continues to grow. The combination of growing export markets and shifting domestic consumption will help employment among food processing workers to rise slightly over the next decade and will lead to significant changes throughout the food processing industry.

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