Eviscerate meat or poultry
Overview
This standard is about the skills and knowledge needed for you to eviscerate meat or poultry in food manufacture and/or supply operations. Evisceration is the removal of the internal organs of an animal. It includes the removal of category 2 and 3 animal by-products including those intended for disposal or human consumption. Complete evisceration is important in maximising the economic revenue from a carcass and in ensuring meat entering the food chain adheres to food safety standards. You will need to be able to eviscerate meat or poultry species manually using the correct tools and equipment, 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 the evisceration of meat or poultry by hand.
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
Prepare to eviscerate
prepare to eviscerate meat or poultry in accordance with
organisational standards
wear and use personal protective equipment in accordance with
regulatory standards and organisational requirements
check availability of meat or poultry for evisceration
assemble tools and equipment needed for evisceration
check availability of facilities for viscera and carcass with relevant
people
check appropriate preparation of meat or poultry has taken place
for clean and efficient evisceration
position the carcass for the safe, hygienic removal of viscera
open the carcass following organisational standards
identify the viscera you are required to remove from the carcass
locate and sever the membranous attachments that secure the
viscera
remove viscera from carcass
trim edible viscera to organisational and regulatory specifications
store edible and inedible viscera separately according to
organisational standards
work within the limits of your responsibility and refer problems to
relevant people
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
why it is important to follow organisational and regulatory standard
operating procedures while eviscerating meat or poultry by hand
why meat or poultry species are eviscerated
the evisceration process for meat or poultry
the viscera of meat or poultry
why it is important to check the cleanliness of tools and equipment
used in the manual evisceration of meat or poultry species
how to handle the meat or poultry carcass to maintain its quality
how to avoid contamination of the carcass during evisceration
how to access organisational quality and yield specifications
relating to the manual evisceration of meat and poultry species
- the work area, tools and equipment needed to carry out manual
evisceration
- how to store viscera and animal processing by-products according
to organisational procedures
- how ineffective evisceration can lead to wastage, potential
customer complaints and lost revenue
why it is important to work within the limits of your responsibility
how to address problems outside the limits of your responsibility