Official ‘Dog Food Taster’ Is A Real Job And Fetches Up To $77,000 Per Year

You might find it a little hard to stomach, but there is such thing as an official dog food taster, and what’s more, the position can earn a handsome $77,000 per year for the lucky taster.

The job description is fairly straightforward, after all, premium dog food companies wish to ensure the highest quality products for their canine customers, just like any good business would.

As far as the job itself is concerned, it isn’t exactly a picnic, as the taster opens sample tins of freshly made dog food, smells them, then eats them to see if they reache the company’s exacting standards.

One such dog food taster, Philip Wells, the chief taster for Lily’s Kitchen pet food, told reporters, according to an article in the Guardian, “Although dogs’ palates are different to ours, taste is an important quality check to ensure each different ingredient is perfectly balanced in just the right way. Trying the food is also a good way to pick up on the nuances of the cooking; this works especially well on the dry kibbles.”

Okay, we get the point Mr. Chief Food Taster; even dog food needs tasting to ensure it is good, but how much can one earn in such a profession?

Well, according to Wells, an entry level salary stands at around $31,000, but that figure rises to an “easily achievable” $77,000 annually, and includes the all-important job of developing new recipes and advising the business on technical and regulatory matters.

Even though Wells admits that he quite likes tasting dog food, the meat used in pet food has to be derived from animals passed as fit for human consumption, under the Animal Feed Regulations 2010, and he says the firm uses “human-grade freshly prepared raw food” in its recipes.

Then again, Wells also admitted, “There are some pretty gruesome pet foods out there and although I don’t taste them, the smell is enough to turn the stomach when I do a bit of market research.”