Career in Food Technology

Rising incomes have made the middle class more particular about their eating habits. This has given a tremendous push to the food technology. Discover this hot new option

Qualification: 10+2 with 50 per cent in science
Duration: Four years
Cost of course: Rs 63,500 per semester
Starting salary: Rs 3 lakh to Rs 4 lakh per annum
Institute: Amity Institute of Food Technology, Amity University, Noida (www.amity.edu)

Revolution in the food and beverage and retail industry in the last two decades has not only paved way for processed food but also made the consumers quality and nutrition conscious. As private food industries make a beeline for the top spot in the market, it has become imperative to learn about food processing and technology in small and large scale units.

One of the courses that covers the topic is food technology. The course attracts a large number of students because of its novelty as an educational course and also because of the growing demand for food technologists in today's world of packaged and fast foods. Amity Institute of Food Technology has launched a course for bachelors degree in technology in food technology.

The course includes an in-depth knowledge on life sciences, principles of food processing, thermodynamics, food chemistry, food microbiology, food quality analysis, food processing, and food plant sanitation. Its prerequisites are: 10+2 with 50 per cent in physics, chemistry and mathematics. The course begins from July.

Food technology professionals are qualified to man various positions in public and private sectors such as assistant managers, production managers, food packaging manager, research and development personnel, food scientist, food development manager, quality control officers, sensory scientists, food safety auditors and the more offbeat food stylists for instance. A fresher can expect a salary package ranging between Rs 2.1 lakh and Rs 3.5 lakh per annum. However, people with prior work experience can get a salary in the range of Rs 3 lakh to Rs 4 lakh per annum to start with.

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