This position shall be filled in accordance with the provisions of the OCSEA Collective Bargaining Agreement. ODA bargaining unit members have selection rights before non-bargaining unit members. All other applications will only be considered if an internal bargaining unit applicant is not selected for this position.
The Ohio Department of Agriculture is currently seeking candidates for a Meat Inspector Trainee position in the Meat Inspection Division, District 1, headquartered in the following counties: Columbiana, Mahoning, and Stark County. The duties for the Meat Inspector Trainee position include but are not limited to:
Receives training and mentoring from higher level meat inspector to learn procedures and assists in conducting inspections of registered meat plants, private, commercial slaughtering plants and custom- exempt red meat and/or poultry processing facilities
Learns to perform ante mortem and postmortem inspections of carcasses and enforces state and federal sanitation, humane slaughter, meat processing and food safety policies, procedures and guidelines
Conducts visual examination of live animal and/or poultry prior to slaughter while looking for abnormalities in appearance and behavior such as sick, hurt and/or non-ambulatory
Contacts veterinarian for final disposition of unhealthy animals and records results
Makes determination of age of beef through dentition of cattle 30 months or older for removal of backbone due to concerns of BSE
Performs visual, tactile and/or incisory inspection of head, lymph nodes, viscera, carcass and offal to include liver, heart, brain and tripe to determine whether or not pathological conditions are present and carcass is in clean and wholesome condition
Inspects all equipment, facilities and personnel to ensure acceptable sanitation levels and prohibiting use of unsanitary, unsafe and/or unapproved equipment and facilities until cleaned and/or corrected to include pest and rodent control, use of pesticides and chemicals, condition and use of potable water supply and waste and sewage systems
Halts production for poor sanitation and/or non-compliance
Assures proper disposition of unfit and condemned products, enforces sanitary dressing procedures and controls carcass branding
Learns labeling requirements and assists in reviewing labeling materials
Reviews proposed labels, product formulations, production procedures, quality control programs, quality control records and laboratory reports for state inspected meat and/or poultry establishments
Checks formulations of all types of meat food products for compliance with federal regulations and periodically monitors inspection procedures for maintaining compliance in production of meat products
Learns sampling procedures and assists higher level inspector with submission of product samples of products for analysis for microbiological adulterants and for consumer protection
Requires meat slaughter plants to conduct microbial testing for generic E.coli to verify adequacy of process controls for prevention of fecal contamination
Learns how to document verification results and navigate in the Public Health Information System (PHIS)
Assists higher level inspector with other meat inspection duties as assigned
Performs re-inspection of meat and/or poultry products and non-meat ingredients for such products intended for further processing or distribution
Inspects critical control points in preparation and handling of meat or poultry products (i.e., monitors formulation, temperature controls, preparation procedures, use of restricted ingredients and sampling) to ensure compliance
Prepares, maintains and monitors required records, reports and formulations concerning product condemnations and retentions
Controls all sanitation discrepancies and corrective actions
Assists in industry quality control programs
Analyzes report deviations, travel and pay reports and submits such through proper channels
Attends training courses (e.g., Incidence Command Systems training courses; Inspection System Procedures including Homeland Security)
Refresher seminars and on-job training activities
Unless required by legislation or union contract, starting salary will be set at the lowest rate of the salary range. In most cases successful employees will move up a step in the salary range within six months, with subsequent step increases occurring every year with successful performances.
1 course in animal science, agribusiness and/or food business management or 3 months experience in livestock industry/industrial meat and poultry processing AND 1 course in biological sciences or chemistry AND must be able to provide own transportation.
-Or equivalent of Minimum Class Qualifications for Employment noted above.
