Alumnus testimonial
Alumnus Job - MSc Food Safety
Job completed the Master Food Safety, specialisation Supply Chain Safety.
I was given this role as they thought it would fit my diverse background quite well and I really think so too so far.
Current role
Job works as a product manager for a company that is one of Europe’s largest providers of chicken products. He is responsible for products including meals and salads, as well as alternative proteins like mycoprotein. Job is currently focused on getting business with new retailers, quick service restaurants, food service companies and other customers with
these product types.
Favourite aspect of the job
Job likes that he can easily talk with people from product management, product development, R&D, but also to those in the more trademark category management side as well as sales. Job says that he’s able to successfully handle such a diverse role because he has quite a broad educational background. He completed his bachelor’s in food technology before the Master’s Food Safety programme. This gave him knowledge about a lot of different things, like what ingredients do, what processes do, how things works. And then during his master’s, he chose quite a lot of elective courses in subjects like business and economics. Furthermore, he did his internship in the area of category management.
Challenges and opportunities in the Food Safety sector
I think these ‘forever chemicals’ will be a major part of food safety in the next 20 years, so it's also good that we focus on that and that we have to know more about them.
Interestingly enough, Job’s MSc thesis dealt with one of the major challenges facing the food safety sector today. This has to do with the problem of “forever chemicals” that find their way into our foods and are plaguing our food system. For example, people start to grow chicken eggs home and these chemicals find their way into those eggs. This also happens in many other foods that we eat.
What’s more, is that people have no idea they’re eating them. Job fears that in 20 years from now, people they will become sick from these chemicals. Food safety professionals are on the frontline in finding out why this happens and where these chemicals come from. Furthermore, the growing population and demand for food will become exponentially harder due to the new stricter rules in the food industry and farming sector from, for example, the European Union. This will require new innovations and
technologies.
Advice to aspiring Food Safety professionals
There are also a lot of possibilities that we can make a change with good food safety and especially with control and prevention.
In Job’s opinion, a career in food safety is a great choice, but more importantly, a valuable one. A job will never get lost as a as food scientist or food safety experts or food quality. With the growing world population, there will be a greater and greater demand for safe and healthy foods. That brings loads of possibilities for well-qualified food safety professionals and the ability to make meaningful societal changes with good food safety and especially with control and prevention. Therefore, MFS graduates will be in demand in years to come.