Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers
Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers use hands or hand tools to perform routine cutting and trimming of meat, poultry, and seafood.
Meat, poultry, and fish cutter job description are to cut and trim meat using knives, cleavers, meat saws, bandsaws, or other equipment. They weigh meats, tag containers for weight and contents, inspect meat products for defects or blemishes and remove them along with any excess fat. They prepare meat for packing and separate meats and byproducts into specified containers and seal containers.
Cutters and trimmers process primal parts into cuts that are ready for retail use and prepare ready-to-heat foods by filleting meat or fish or cutting it into bite-sized pieces, preparing and adding vegetables or applying sauces or breading. They prepare sausages, luncheon meats, hot dogs, and other fabricated meat products, using meat trimmings and hamburger meat. They obtain and distribute specified meat or carcass and produce hamburger meat and meat trimmings. The meat cutter's salary is contingent on various factors including working hours, location and experience.
A high school degree is required. The meat cutter job requirements are knowledge of food processing, mathematics and public safety. They work in slaughterhouses, food processing units, restaurants and food joints, and wholesale and retail markets.
To be successful as a poultry fish cutter, one needs arm-hand steadiness and manual dexterity which involves standing for long hours and making repetitive motions. Workers need to wear personal protection equipment.
Qualifications
Every career requires an element of study and academic qualification, and there can be several study routes and pathways you can take. In following any academic pathway you will study subjects that contribute to the specialised knowledge required to achieve your career goals. These qualifications provide a future employer with the evidence that you have the desired knowledge, understanding and experience of their industry, so it’s important to consider the various types of qualifications available to you and to understand how they can boost your career and create opportunities for you.
- M.Sc. Food Processing Technology
- B.Sc. Food Processing Technology
Tasks
- Use knives, cleavers, meat saws, bandsaws, or other equipment to perform meat cutting and trimming.
- Clean, trim, slice, and section carcasses for future processing.
- Cut and trim meat to prepare for packing.
- Remove parts, such as skin, feathers, scales or bones, from carcass.
- Inspect meat products for defects, bruises or blemishes and remove them along with any excess fat.
- Produce hamburger meat and meat trimmings.
- Process primal parts into cuts that are ready for retail use.
- Obtain and distribute specified meat or carcass.
- Separate meats and byproducts into specified containers and seal containers.
- Weigh meats and tag containers for weight and contents.
Progression Routes
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