Control an automated stunning system
Overview
This standard is about the skills and knowledge needed for you to control an automated stunning system in food manufacture and/or supply operations. This will include electrical, manual-electrical and gas stunning systems. Operating and understanding an automated stunning system is important to maintaining the safe, hygienic production of meat or poultry, including the maintenance of animal welfare. It is also important to maintaining supply to the meat or poultry production process. You will need to be able to prepare work area, tools and equipment to control an automated stunning system. You also need to be able to control an automated stunning system adhering to regulatory and organisational standards. This standard is for you if you work in food manufacture and/or supply operations and are involved in controlling an automated stunning system.
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
Prepare to control an automated stunning system
prepare to carry out automated stunning in accordance with
organisational standards
wear and use personal protective equipment in accordance with
regulatory standards and organisational requirements
check that power is switched on and the equipment is working
before red and white meat species are exposed to the stunning
operations
check that the feed to the stunning equipment is switched on and
running at the proper speed
check that the sticking point is ready to receive stunned meat or
poultry species
check the first meat or poultry species into the equipment to
ensure they are properly stunned
refer problems outside the limits of your responsibility to the
relevant people
check that meat or poultry species are fed to the stunning point at
the right speed
check that the feed of meat or poultry species into the stunning
point meets regulatory requirements
monitor efficiency of stunning to ensure meat or poultry species
are properly stunned in accordance with organisational standards
take the necessary action to deal with inadequately stunned
animals or birds
monitor the flow of meat or poultry species from the stunning
equipment to the sticking point to ensure that it meets legal
requirements
address problems within the limits of your responsibility
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
why it is important to follow organisational standard operating
procedures during the controlling of the automated stunning of red
and white meat species
why animals or birds are stunned before sticking
regulatory requirements relating to the welfare of the animals or
birds
the key features of an automated stunning system
how to start up automated stunning operations
why it is important to check the cleanliness of tools and equipment
how to access the organisational standard operating procedures
how to handle the meat or poultry carcass to maintain its quality
how to identify effective and ineffective stunning of animals and
birds
the consequences of failure in the stunning equipment
how ineffective stunning can lead to a reduction of flow to the next
stage of processing
what action to take when incomplete stunning takes place
how to deal with operating problems within the limits of your
responsibility