IMPMP203  Monitor carcass production in meat or poultry processing

Overview

This standard is about the skills and knowledge needed for you to monitor carcass production in meat or poultry processing from the initial stunning and killing through to the production of a meat or poultry carcass. Monitoring the production of a meat or poultry carcass is important to maintaining the flow of production to storage for further processing and to ensuring maximum economic value is achieved by ensuring organisational quality and yield specifications are adhered to.

You will need to be able to monitor the processing line, ensuring quality, yield and pace of production are maintained according to organisational specifications.

This standard is for you if you work in food operations and are involved in the monitoring the carcass processing line.

Performance criteria

You must be able to:

1. wear and use personal protective equipment required while carrying out monitoring according to regulatory standards and organisational requirements
2. monitor availability and cleanliness of equipment, work area, facilities and resources in carcass production work areas
3. liaise with relevant people to check availability of meat and poultry species
4. monitor quality and yield of carcass according to organisational specifications
5. monitor pace of carcass production
6. monitor carcass offal and by-products against quality and yield organisational specifications
7. work within the limits of your responsibility, reporting problems to the relevant people
8. check storage facilities and resources are sufficient to maintain pace of carcass production

Knowledge and understanding

You need to know and understand

1. why meat or poultry species are stunned before bleeding
2. the major stunning techniques used in the production of meat and poultry
3. the factors determining which stunning system is most suitable for the stunning of specific meat and poultry species
4. which types of manual and automatic stunning systems are most suitable for meat and poultry species
5. the major features of a gas stunning system, how it operates, its advantages and disadvantages
6. the gas combinations used in gas stunning systems
7. the advantages associated with a two stage gas stunning system
8. how an electrical gas stunning system operates, its positive and negative features
9. the voltages and amperes needed to ensure complete stunning of meat and poultry species
10. the importance of waveform, frequency and constant current stunners to meat or poultry species welfare
11. why an immersion tank is used in an electrical stunning system
12. the positive and negative features of a head only immersion system in electrical stunning systems
13. the positive and negative features of a high frequency electrical waterbath system
14. how the penetrating captive bolt and non-penetrating mushroom headed bolts are used as mechanical stunning systems
15. the positive and negative features of captive bolt and mushroom headed mechanical stunning systems
16. signs of ineffective bleeding of meat or poultry species
17. the different bleeding systems used in the production of meat or poultry
18. the factors determining which bleeding system should be used in the production of meat or poultry
19. the positive and negative features of automatic bleeding systems
20. how different bleeding systems can affect microbial contamination of carcasses
21. why it is important for all neck blood vessels to be cut completely and promptly after stunning
22. signs of ineffective bleeding of meat or poultry species
23. the importance of working within the limits of your responsibility and reporting problems to the relevant people

Keywords:  Meat; poultry; slaughter; techniques; food