Consumer Safety Inspector Career
Consumer Safety Inspector Career
The Real Poop
Food is a big deal. We celebrate holidays with special meals, we get over break-ups with a pint of ice cream, and who doesn't love grilling while watching your dog plot ways to steal your steaks? Somewhere between the farm and your trusty (slightly rusty) grill is a consumer safety inspector (CSI) who makes sure your food is safe to eat. Bacon doesn't just happen, you know.
CSI jobs are perfect for people who want secure work, don't like guesswork, and enjoy the feeling of helping others without working directly with the public. Ensuring food safety means following strict guidelines, daily. In this case, variety is not the spice of life.
CSIs go through a daily routine of testing temperatures and meat samples, as well as overseeing the production lines to make sure everyone is following the guidelines. But what do you get for all this attention to detail? You'll make a salary ranging from $27,000 to $55,000 per year, depending on your experience and education.
Entry-level jobs for CSIs require a high school diploma and about one year of food-service job experience. Let's say you work in a grocery store's meat cutting and packaging area for a year or so. You can then take a written test to become a CSI and start moo-ving up the career ladder. Many people begin their food service careers this way, then go on to become CSIs.
Jobs in food service are plentiful and cannot be outsourced to other countries. With a bachelor's degree in science or food safety and several years of work experience, a CSI may ultimately become a consumer safety officer. They work for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), oversee entire districts of meat production facilities, and train CSIs. CSO's pay range is $46,000 to $95,000 (source). Shoot for the stars, Shmoopers.
The tough parts of being a CSI at the lowest levels include being part of the kill team and having to remove the animal parts not used for food. As tough as that sounds, keep in mind the purpose of a CSI's job—to ensure a safe food supply for everyone.
CSIs are kind of unsung heroes, meaning you only hear about food safety issues when something goes wrong. You could watch all the cable news channels twenty-four hours a day for a week—or better yet, search their websites—and we're sure you won't find any stories about how awesomely safe everyone's food has been lately. It just doesn't work that way. But if there's even one case of mad cow disease, bam—it's wall-to-wall coverage.
You'll never hear: "Breaking News, all steaks eaten in America this week were perfectly safe, even if some were overcooked. Well done, Consumer Safety Inspectors."