Nutritionist and Food Inspector are two diverse profession related to food and its nutritional values. Both the professions deal with the food safety and security of humans.

Food Inspector and Opportunities

In order to get in to the profession of food inspector, the candidate should have passed graduation in the subject of food safety. Those who have completed graduation in any of the areas of chemistry, biology or agriculture can also apply for the position. After completion of the course, the candidate has to pass certain competitive exams such as All India Food Inspectors exam, UPSC exam etc. to get in to the job profile of Food Inspector. These professionals can find enough job opportunities with public and private sector firms that deals with food inspection.

Nutritionist and Opportunities

Graduation in any of the areas of Home Science, Nutrition or Food Technology is enough for one to get in to the role of nutritionist. They can get employed in hospitals or in other health care facilities (collectively called as Clinical nutritionists) where they involve in creating meal plans to patients. The same is done unique to each patient’s health conditions. Community nutritionists promote public health by making the society aware about healthy eating practices. They can also find opportunities in educational institutions or can work as consultants and engage in private practice.

Key differences between Nutritionist and Food Inspector

Food inspectors are involved in inspecting food products and its processing for safety validation where as Nutritionist is involved in the nutritional aspects of food.

Food Inspectors usually work under any public or private sector firms, where as Nutritionist has the option to serve as freelancers also.

Nutritionist offers health meal tips to patients and general public where as food inspectors are not involved in such kind of communication.

The career of Food Inspector deals with the safety and freshness of food items. They carry out inspections at the food processing or manufacturing plants and ensure whether the companies are following the appropriate laws or regulations. The collected information is then passed over to the concerned authority for research applications. Nutritionist on the other hand, promotes healthy eating habits in individuals through nutrition rich meal plans. Though the professions are similar in certain aspects, they do differ in certain other facts.