Food & BeverageCompare

Food Batchmaker

O*NET: Food Batchmakers·51-3092.00

The Verdict:Food batchmaking demands hands-on tending of mixers, vats, ingredients through variable production runs, with irreplaceable sensory checks for taste, texture, quality. Automated lines handle routine mixing in factories, but human operators adapt to batches and malfunctions. The role evolves with machinery but remains essential for flexible manufacturing next decade.

Resilience Score

/100

Resilient

Score tiers

Highly Resilient81–100

Resilient61–80

Moderate Risk41–60

High Risk21–40

Critical Risk0–20

How is this scored?

Task Resilience

How much of this role's daily work remains beyond AI and robotic automation.

30% of score

Physical Presence

The degree to which this job needs a human present — hands-on, in the field, or in the room.

20% of score

Human Necessity

How important the unique human edge is — for trust, accountability, or judgment.

15% of score

Regulatory Shield

How strong the legal requirement is for a human in this job (by law, licensing, or credentials).

13% of score

Technological Maturity

How far AI remains from performing this role's core functions.

10% of score

Displacement Evidence

The volume of jobs in this field being eliminated by AI or automation right now.

12% of score

Score last updated: February 2026Full methodology

Avg Salary

Median annual wage from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2024 release.

$41k

Job Growth (10yr)

Projected change in total number of jobs (not salary) from 2024–2034. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections.

+6.9%

AI Exposure

Percentage of this role's analyzed tasks that AI can handle autonomously or nearly so. 1 of 25 tasks are classified as AI-exposed.

Low exposure

Task Analysis

This role's core work is hard to automate.
18 of 25 tasks require human judgment, presence, or trust. The 24% that are AI-leverage offer an edge — professionals who learn these tools will outperform those who don't.

1exposed

6AI leverage

18human-essential

View all 25 tasks

AI Can Handle This1 task

Tasks AI can do autonomously or nearly so

Record production and test data for each food product batch, such as the ingredients used, temperature, test results, and time cycle.

AI Leverage6 tasks

Master these tools — humans who do outperform those who don't

Follow recipes to produce food products of specified flavor, texture, clarity, bouquet, or color.

Give directions to other workers who are assisting in the batchmaking process.

Determine mixing sequences, based on knowledge of temperature effects and of the solubility of specific ingredients.

Test food product samples for moisture content, acidity level, specific gravity, or butter-fat content, and continue processing until desired levels are reached.

Grade food products according to government regulations or according to type, color, bouquet, and moisture content.

Formulate or modify recipes for specific kinds of food products.

Human Advantage18 tasks

Tasks requiring trust, presence, or novel judgment

Clean and sterilize vats and factory processing areas.

Set up, operate, and tend equipment that cooks, mixes, blends, or processes ingredients in the manufacturing of food products, according to formulas or recipes.

Mix or blend ingredients, according to recipes, using a paddle or an agitator, or by controlling vats that heat and mix ingredients.

Select and measure or weigh ingredients, using English or metric measures and balance scales.

Press switches and turn knobs to start, adjust, and regulate equipment, such as beaters, extruders, discharge pipes, and salt pumps.

Observe and listen to equipment to detect possible malfunctions, such as leaks or plugging, and report malfunctions or undesirable tastes to supervisors.

Observe gauges and thermometers to determine if the mixing chamber temperature is within specified limits, and turn valves to control the temperature.

Turn valve controls to start equipment and to adjust operation to maintain product quality.

Modify cooking and forming operations based on the results of sampling processes, adjusting time cycles and ingredients to achieve desired qualities, such as firmness or texture.

Examine, feel, and taste product samples during production to evaluate quality, color, texture, flavor, and bouquet, and document the results.

Inspect vats after cleaning to ensure that fermentable residue has been removed.

Fill processing or cooking containers, such as kettles, rotating cookers, pressure cookers, or vats, with ingredients, by opening valves, by starting pumps or injectors, or by hand.

Manipulate products, by hand or using machines, to separate, spread, knead, spin, cast, cut, pull, or roll products.

Cool food product batches on slabs or in water-cooled kettles.

Place products on carts or conveyors to transfer them to the next stage of processing.

Homogenize or pasteurize material to prevent separation or to obtain prescribed butterfat content, using a homogenizing device.

Operate refining machines to reduce the particle size of cooked batches.

Inspect and pack the final product.

Resilience Landscape

Food Batchmaker lands in Stable, Lower Pay

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