Food Tech

Food Technology students learn about the science and engineering involved in combining materials/ingredients to formulate new food or drink products. It's creative, hands-on and develops problem-solving and project management skills that will be useful in many jobs.

If you enjoy studying Food Technology, then you could consider tertiary courses in food technology, food science or chemical & process engineering. You might also be interested in microbiology and food safety, biochemistry or other product development/engineering areas.

If you enjoy studying Food Technology, why not have a look at one of the job roles featured on this page?

You can also read the stories of people who studied Food Technology when they were at school.

What is Food Technology?

The Technology curriculum is often taught as a number of different subjects, but there are core elements that are common to all. These include the key concept of 'intervention by design' and exploring the 'what', 'why' and 'how' of the process by which humans make things and shape their environment.

Food Technology is part of the Processing Technologies area of the Technology curriculum – it's quite different from traditional Cooking or Home Economics subjects. Students learn about the basic chemistry of food ingredients, design and test formulations, and develop skills in consumer testing and product evaluation.

Why should I take Food Technology at school?

Studying Food Technology is good preparation for tertiary study in Food Technology, Food Science and Chemical & Process Engineering, although it is not a required subject for entry into any of these courses.

You'll need Maths (especially Calculus and Algebra),Physics and Chemistry to get into Engineering and Food Technology courses. English is another good subject to take, as you'll always need to be able to communicate with clients and work in teams.

Job roles that use Food Tech

Agricultural or Horticultural Scientist

Biotechnologist

Chemical & Process Engineer

Entrepreneur/Intrapreneur
Food Safety (QA) Officer

Food Scientist

Food Technologist

Microbiologist
Operation or Production Engineer

Product Evaluator