Food Technologist – Retail Grocery

Location: London, UK
Job Type: Full-Time, On-Site / Hybrid (as applicable)
Industry: Retail Grocery | Hospitality | Foodservice

Seeking a highly organised and detail-driven Food Technologist to manage and maintain accurate food, ingredient, and menu specifications for retail grocery and hospitality operations in London. This role plays a critical part in ensuring food safety, allergen control, legal compliance, and consistency across menus, recipes, and suppliers.

The successful candidate will work closely with chefs, suppliers, procurement teams, and operations to ensure all food data is accurate, up to date, and compliant with UK food legislation, including Food Information Regulations (FIR) and Natasha’s Law.

Responsibilities

• Review, verify, and approve final recipes to ensure full compliance with food safety and allergen regulations
• Ensure alignment between approved raw materials and finished product specifications
• Create, update, and maintain detailed ingredient, recipe, and finished dish specifications
• Produce accurate allergen matrices, ingredient breakdowns, and nutritional information
• Maintain and manage food data within specification and menu management systems
• Work closely with suppliers to ensure all technical specifications are complete, accurate, and current
• Ensure specification data is accessible and clearly communicated to operational and site teams

Allergen & Legal Compliance

• Ensure full compliance with UK food safety and allergen legislation, including Food Information Regulations and Natasha’s Law
• Maintain accurate allergen declarations across menus, recipes, labels, and customer-facing information
• Support allergen risk assessments and change control processes when ingredients, recipes, or suppliers change
• Monitor and interpret legislative updates impacting hospitality and retail grocery operations
• Provide technical guidance to teams on allergen management best practices

Supplier & Procurement Support

• Liaise with suppliers to obtain and validate ingredient and product specifications
• Review supplier documentation for traceability, allergen accuracy, and regulatory compliance
• Support procurement teams with the technical approval of new suppliers and raw materials
• Assist with supplier onboarding and specification verification processes

Menu Development & Change Control

• Support menu development, new product launches, seasonal menus, and recipe reformulations
• Manage specification updates related to menu changes, ingredient substitutions, and supplier switches
• Work closely with chefs, product development, and operations teams to ensure accurate technical data
• Ensure all menu updates are reflected correctly in allergen and nutritional documentation

Quality, Food Safety & Audit Support

• Support Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS) and HACCP requirements
• Provide technical documentation support during internal audits, EHO inspections, and third-party assessments
• Support hospitality teams in implementing and maintaining online audit and menu calibration systems
• Assist with customer complaints, allergen incidents, investigations, and corrective actions when required
• Contribute to continuous improvement in food safety and compliance processes

Job Qualifications

• Proven experience in a food technical, quality, or specifications role within hospitality, retail grocery, or foodservice
• Strong knowledge of food safety, allergens, and UK hospitality legislation
• Excellent attention to detail with strong data and document management skills
• Ability to work collaboratively with chefs, procurement, suppliers, and operations teams
• Confident communicator with the ability to manage multiple stakeholders
• Degree or professional qualification in Food Science, Food Technology, Nutrition, or a related discipline
• Experience using menu management, specification, or allergen software systems
• Practical knowledge of HACCP, FSMS, and food safety standards
• Experience supporting multi-site hospitality or retail operations,