Food Technologist – Food Waste Reduction (Contract)

Job title:

Food Technologist – Food Waste Reduction (Contract)

Company

Teagasc

Job description

Job DescriptionDuration:Temporary externally funded non Grant-in-Aid contract post, the indicative duration of which is 12 months, subject to contract. A panel may be formed from which future similar vacancies may be filled; such a panel will remain active for a maximum period of 12 months.Basic Function:The successful candidate will contribute to reducing food waste in a number of sectors across Europe. As a member of the team on an EU funded project (called ROSETTA), they will work to develop value added foods produced from fruit and vegetables that do not meet marketing standards but are still safe to eat. In Ireland, pilot initiatives will be established to develop a range of products from “waste” horticultural products and to assess the feasibility of establishing a product range, involving a cluster of horticultural producers, for the Irish retail market. The role will involve collaboration with the Teagasc Horticultural Development Department and Department of Agrifood Business and Spatial Analysis within Teagasc’s Rural Economy and Development Programme, as well as Bord Bia, Fingal Leader Partnership Ltd and SECAD Partnership.The appointee will join the Irish team as a dedicated food technologist. Their role will include recipe and product development, scaling and pilot processing of horticultural products, general trouble-shooting and technical support. Product development work will be undertaken within the National Prepared Consumer Foods Centre at Teagasc, Ashtown and these products will be tested in the market place, with the overall concept promoted to retailers. Candidates should have strong technical understanding of food, with culinary/recipe development experience. They should have a good knowledge of food manufacturing processes, as well as pilot plant and industrial experience in a broad range of food production, processing and packaging technologies.Background:Coordinated by Q-Plan in Greece, the €5 million Horizon Europe-funded ROSETTA project involves 17 partners, across 10 European countries. It responds to the fact that a substantial amount of food waste may arise due to marketing standards, but that there is very limited evidence on how much, why and how to address it. ROSETTA sets out to deliver reliable evidence, produced through transdisciplinary research with the engagement of use case multi-actors, that a) estimates food waste generated by the use of marketing standards along the whole value chain, b) co-defines and validates sustainable solutions for the valorisation of that waste, and c) assesses trade-offs. It is expected that this will reduce food waste due to marketing standards by 60% – 80% through alternative market access for suboptimal foods, with solutions including food processing and other strategies as well as changes in social practices. Insights will be used to develop replication guidelines and policy recommendations, targeting food businesses, marketing standards owners, policy makers and regulators, to help revise or design marketing standards and to support future policy development, in order to prevent and reduce food waste.This position provides an exciting opportunity to contribute to reducing food waste in Ireland, and to collaborate with others to develop and find solutions that may be put into widespread practice across Europe. Within ROSETTA, applied research will be undertaken to identify the impact of marketing standards on food waste in different sectors across Europe (fruit & vegetables, cereals, dairy and meat). This knowledge will be used to develop pilot use cases, involving all key actors in the food value chain (farmers, processors, manufacturers, distributors and retailers, as well as consumers, researchers, policy makers and regulators, food banks and other NGOs). Within the use case, transdisciplinary research, co-creation activities and pilot experiments will be undertaken to better identify, measure, understand and find solutions to deal with food waste generated by the use of marketing standards.Job Objectives

• Developing a range of value added foods produced from fruit and vegetables and processes relevant to the deliverables of the project (ROSETTA)
• Formulating new fruit and vegetable food products and determining the impact of processing on their physical and functional attributes.
• Operation of test kitchen and pilot plant and associated equipment, including mixing, packaging and dehydration unit operations.
• Supporting the transfer of knowledge and uptake of technologies and outputs from the project.
• Development of SOPs and risk assessment for relevant equipment and developed processes.
• Identification and application of recent and emerging developments in product and process technologies.
• Sourcing of equipment, ingredients and packaging materials for product, process and packaging trials.
• To assist Teagasc in meeting the commitments of the Quality Customer Service Charter and Action Plan.
• To actively participate in the annual business planning and Performance Management Development System (PMDS) processes.
• Fully co-operate with the provisions made for ensuring the health, safety and welfare of themselves, fellow staff and non-Teagasc staff and co-operate with management in enabling Teagasc to comply with legal obligations. This includes full compliance with the responsibilities outlined in the Safety Statement.
• Any other duties as may be assigned from time to time

• This job specification is intended as a guide to the general range of duties and is intended to be neither definitive nor restrictive. It will be reviewed from time to time with the post holder.

Skills RequirementEssentialDesirableQualifications

• A Level 8 degree (as recognised on the

or ), in Food Science or other relevant discipline.

• A postgraduate degree and/or research experience in industry or other appropriate field. would be a distinct advantage

Skills

• Track record of recipe development, product development and scaling across a range of food product categories.
• Experience in operating food processing equipment.
• Excellent organisation and communication skills.
• Ability to adapt to changing requirements and meet deliverables in a timely manner.
• Data recording and report writing skills is required.

• Product development experience.
• Analytical experience (food testing).
• Aptitude for multidisciplinary approaches.

Knowledge

• Strong technical understanding of food manufacturing processes and the effect of various parameters on the quality and stability of food products.
• Knowledge of new and emerging technologies with applications for the food industry.
• Understanding of food quality and safety management systems (HACCP, BRC, ISO) as well as basic food regulations.

• Knowledge of the chemistry, microbiology, physical and sensory characteristics of foods.
• Knowledge of major retailer/s and Food Service Sector Product Development

Behavioural Competencies

• Conscientious self-starter, disciplined, organised and capable of working independently to progress projects within tight deadlines.
• Attention to detail will be a critical competency.
• Ability to work as part of a team, including consulting, collaborating and building relationships with key stakeholders.
• Strives for high quality of work and demonstrates commitment to the programme.
• Ability to communicate effectively to enable knowledge and technology transfer.
• Flexible, can-do attitude, with an ability to prioritise tasks effectively, with a quality customer service focus.

OtherAs this role will involve driving vehicles, candidates must ideally satisfy and continue to satisfy during employment with Teagasc, legal requirements to drive a car unaccompanied on Irish public roads.
Eligibility This is an open public competition. Should a current serving Teagasc staff member be successful in their application through open public competition for this post, their current contract of employment with Teagasc will come to an end on taking up this post.Note: The ‘essential’ qualifications, knowledge, skills and behavioural competencies outlined above are ‘must-have’ which will be used in the selection process.

Expected salary

€40580 per year

Location

Ashtown, Dublin

Job date

Fri, 28 Feb 2025 07:34:16 GMT

To help us track our recruitment effort, please indicate in your email/cover letter where (un-jobs.net) you saw this job posting.