Inspection, Testing and Metrology Services Workers Green occupation

How to become a Food and Agricultural Products Tester

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 农产品食品检验员

Also called: Agricultural Produce Quality and Safety Tester, Grain and Oil Quality Inspector, Food Inspector

Tests whether farm produce, grain and oil, food of all kinds and food additives are safe and meet quality standards.

Main tasks

Taking testing requests and preparing and confirming test methods
Collecting samples and preparing test portions
Preparing reagents and making up standard solutions
Preparing samples before testing
Judging the appearance of farm produce, grain and oil and food by the senses and with tools
Measuring the quality and nutrients of farm produce with instruments and checking for pesticide and veterinary drug residues, heavy metals, toxins and environmental pollutants
Testing grain and oil with instruments for grading measures, special and nutritional quality, storage quality and safety measures
Testing food with instruments for nutrients, additives, harmful substances, microbes and radioactivity
Designing raw data sheets, recording test data and calculating results
Writing test reports
Checking and maintaining instruments and equipment and keeping the testing area clean and safe
Carrying out testing quality control and following the quality management system

Ways in

Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Food Testing and Inspection Technology (490104). Vocational major 490104 Food Testing and Inspection Technology (食品检验检测技术), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Food Inspection Management; Grain and Agricultural Food Safety Assessment.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Grain Storage, Transport and Quality Safety (490302). Vocational major 490302 Grain Storage, Transport and Quality Safety (粮食储运与质量安全), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Food Inspection Management; Grain and Agricultural Food Safety Assessment.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Health Inspection and Quarantine Technology (520508). Vocational major 520508 Health Inspection and Quarantine Technology (卫生检验与检疫技术), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Health Professional and Technical Qualification; Food Inspection Management; Food Compliance Management.; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Biological Products Testing and Inspection (670101). Vocational major 670101 Biological Products Testing and Inspection (生物产品检验检测), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Food Inspection Management; Rapid Testing of Edible Foods.; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Drug and Food Testing (690204). Vocational major 690204 Drug and Food Testing (药品食品检验), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Rapid Testing of Edible Foods; Food Inspection Management.; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Grain and Oil Storage, Transport and Inspection Technology (690302). Vocational major 690302 Grain and Oil Storage, Transport and Inspection Technology (粮油储运与检验技术), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Grain and Agricultural Food Safety Assessment.; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Grain, Oil and Feed Processing Technology (690301). Vocational major 690301 Grain, Oil and Feed Processing Technology (粮油和饲料加工技术), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Grain and Agricultural Food Safety Assessment.; Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Food Engineering Technology (290101). Vocational major 290101 Food Engineering Technology (食品工程技术), 4 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Grain and Agricultural Food Safety Assessment; Food Inspection Management; Food Compliance Management.

Pay · AI and this job

Median pay in China: CN¥67,400 a year (2025).
Middle half: CN¥49,200 to CN¥96,500. One in ten earn less than CN¥38,000 and one in ten more than CN¥140,900.
This is the figure for the mid group Technical Support Services Workers, not for this job alone.
National figure: wage prices of enterprise employees from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) enterprise pay survey. The public sector and the self-employed are not covered.
Guangzhou only: median CN¥95,603 a year (2025), middle half CN¥60,879 to CN¥151,286.
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

The census group Technical Support Services Workers holds 0.75% of everyone employed in China; 36.7% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
64.4% are under 35, 33.1% are 35 to 54 and 2.5% are 55 or older. The middle age band is 30 to 34.
Census figures for the whole mid group (2020 long-form sample), not for this job alone.

Questions people ask

How do I become a Food and Agricultural Products Tester?

Ways in include: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Food Testing and Inspection Technology (490104); Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Grain Storage, Transport and Quality Safety (490302).

How much does a Food and Agricultural Products Tester earn in China?

Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥67,400 a year (Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS), 2025). The public sector and the self-employed are not covered. It is the figure for the mid group Technical Support Services Workers. In Guangzhou alone it is CN¥95,603 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of a Food and Agricultural Products Tester?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS): 2025 enterprise pay survey information: wage prices of enterprise employees by occupation mid group, and digital occupations (P10 to P90 annual CNY) (2025 (published 2026-07-08)), retrieved 5 October 2026
Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau: Guangzhou 2025 labour market wage prices (P10 to P90 annual CNY by occupation) (2025 (enterprise pay survey)), retrieved 4 October 2026
National Bureau of Statistics of China: China Population Census Yearbook 2020, long-form tables 4-6 and 4-7 (employed by occupation mid group, sex, age) (2020 Census long form (10% sample)), retrieved 4 October 2026
International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, State Administration for Market Regulation, National Bureau of Statistics: Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China, 2022 edition (public consultation draft) (2022 public consultation draft (1,636 occupations; final edition 1,639)), retrieved 4 October 2026

Sources: Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition, public consultation draft), Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, State Administration for Market Regulation and National Bureau of Statistics; Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, 2025 enterprise pay survey information; Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, 2025 labour market wage prices; National Bureau of Statistics of China (www.stats.gov.cn), 2020 Population Census yearbook; Ministry of Education, vocational education major profiles (2022 revision) and undergraduate major catalogue (2025); Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, national vocational qualifications catalogue (2021); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Figures processed by Peernovo. English text, translations and the matching of occupations to ISCO-08, majors, degree fields and qualifications by Peernovo.

Descriptions and tasks are Peernovo's own words, written from the facts in the Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition). Job titles and work types are the classification's own.

Updated 5 October 2026