Certified Food Scientists Making Strides One Year Later

The Institute of Food Technologists debuted its Certified Food Scientist (CFS) credential in 2013 to recognize the applied scientific knowledge and skills of food scientists, and the recently released Employment & Salary Survey from Food Technology magazine suggests that it is indeed a beneficial designation. According to survey data, CFS recipients earn a median salary of $101,000 vs a median of $81,048 for those who do not have CFS certification.

Written byInstitute of Food Technologists

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The CFS certification program recognizes food scientists’ knowledge and applied skills.Photo courtesy of Wikimedia CommonsOne year later, the CFS program now has more than 1,500 certificants in 866 organizations from 55 countries around the world. These include ingredient and consumer package goods companies, universities, consultancies, government agencies, and many more. All 18 of the 2013 Fortune 500 companies categorized as either Beverage or Food Consumer Goods companies have Certified Food Scientists on staff.

“Over the past year, the program has shown remarkable global growth as well as an impressive list of credential holders and companies that have participated,” said International Food Science Certification Commission (IFSCC) Chair Kurt Buckman, CFS. “We are looking forward to continued growth in the future.”

The CFS certification program recognizes food scientists’ knowledge and applied skills. In order to obtain a CFS, a candidate must meet the eligibility requirements and take an exam. The program itself complements both academic and work experience, and ultimately, helps demonstrate the professions’ commitment to safe, nutritious and plentiful food for consumers.

The International Food Science Certification Commission (IFSCC), an independent, third-party certification body within IFT, oversees the testing, governance and policymaking of the CFS program. The IFSCC ensures the autonomy of the CFS program and provides appropriate oversight of the certification process. The CFS program governance, exam creation and administration are designed to meet standards of internationally-recognized certification programs – the International Standards Organization (ISO) 17024 standard for personnel certification programs.

This year’s certificants will be formally recognized at the 2014 IFT Annual Meeting & Food Expo® on June 24th at a special CFS networking breakfast. The next application deadline is August 4, 2014 for the August 11 - August 29, 2014 Testing Cycle. For more information, please visit http://www.ift.org/certification.aspx