Food Technology - Internship Programme

Job Purpose

To provide the Food Technology Intern/Graduate with structured workplace experience in a large-scale airline catering environment, enabling them to apply food science and technology principles to food production, food safety, quality assurance, product development, process control and continuous improvement.

The programme should prepare the graduate for future roles within Quality Assurance, Food Safety, Production, Product Development, Compliance or Operational Management.

Principal Accountabilities

Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Food Safety and Quality Assurance

• Identify and report food safety risks and quality non-conformances.

• Participate in internal quality and hygiene audits.

• Food Production and Process Control

• Gain practical exposure to large-scale food preparation and airline catering production processes.

• Assist with conducting in-process quality checks.

• Gain an understanding of production planning, workflow and operational constraints.

• Hygiene and Sanitation

• Participate in routine hygiene inspections of production areas, equipment and food-contact surfaces.

• Assist with monitoring cleaning and sanitation procedures.

• Monitor employee compliance with personal hygiene and food-handling requirements.

• Raw Material and Ingredient Quality

• Assist with inspecting incoming food products and raw materials against required specifications.

• Check product quality, packaging, labelling, expiry information and storage requirements.

• Gain exposure to supplier quality requirements and supplier performance.

• Work with Stores, Procurement, Production and Quality teams to resolve ingredient-quality issues.

• Product Quality and Specification Control

• Assist with verifying finished products against approved product and customer specifications.

• Conduct portion, weight, appearance and presentation checks.

• Support the maintenance and updating of product specifications.

• Product Development and Menu Support

• Assist with evaluating new ingredients and products.

• Support shelf-life and product-quality assessments.

• Assist with documenting product-development trials and outcomes.

• Work with production and culinary teams to ensure new products can be reproduced consistently at operational scale.

• Laboratory / Food Testing Exposure

• Assist with collecting food, water, surface or environmental samples for testing.

• Ensure samples are correctly identified and recorded.

• Maintain sampling and testing records.

• Allergen and Special Meal Control

• Assist with monitoring allergen-management controls.

• Assist with ensuring special meals are prepared according to applicable specifications.

• Assist with maintaining relevant allergen and special-meal documentation.

• Escalate deviations from approved procedures.

• Traceability and Documentation

• Assist with maintaining accurate food-safety and quality records.

• Support product traceability activities across receiving, storage, production and dispatch.

• Assist with data capturing and preparation of quality reports.

• Non-Conformance and Corrective Action

• Assist with recording food safety, quality and production non-conformances.

• Participate in investigations to determine root causes.

• Waste Management and Continuous Improvement

• Assist with monitoring food waste, spoilage and product rejection.

• Analyse potential causes of excessive waste.

• Identify opportunities to improve production efficiency, product consistency and quality.

Qualifications & Experience

• National Diploma in Food Technology

Knowledge and Skills

Interpersonal and communication

Time management

Planning skills

Problem solving

Basic MS office/ Computer literacy

Basic office administration

Attributes

Behaviours and Values:

• High attention to details

Passionate and creative with a hands on approach to kitchen innovation

Adaptable and able to thrive in fast-paced environment

Collaborative team player

Punctual and reliable

Additional Information

Air Chefs SOC Ltd is a premium food solutions company with over 40 years of experience. A wholly owned subsidiary of South African Airways, we are uniquely positioned to deliver exceptional food and hospitality services across air, corporate, and event sectors. With three strategically located operational units in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban, we have the capacity to produce over 50000 meals daily, serving domestic and international airlines, airport lounges, events, and corporate canteens.

12-Month Internship Programme The 12-Month Internship Programme is a structured development initiative designed to provide interns with practical workplace experience, skills development, mentorship, and exposure to various aspects of the business over a 12-months period.