Carry out poultry butchery
Overview
This standard is about the skills needed for you to carry out butchery of chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese and avian game in food operations. Carrying out butchery of poultry is a key skill in production of meat and in butchery outlets. It is important to the production of a product that meets organisational and customer requirements.
You will need to be able to carry out butchery of poultry to organisational procedures, including minimising the risk of cross-contamination. You must also be able to use correct tools and equipment when carrying out butchery, store poultry and dispose of waste products. You must also know how to address problems and be able to apply your skills and knowledge within food safety and health and safety regulations and any relevant international industry codes. You should also have an understanding of how the green circular economy supports repeated use of resources and products within your organisation.
This standard is for you if you work in food operations and are involved in carrying out butchery of poultry.
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
- prepare to carry out butchery of poultry according to organisational requirements and standards
- wear and use personal protective equipment according to regulatory standards and organisational requirements
- check with the relevant person the cuts of poultry meat required
- check the availability and cleanliness work area, tools and equipment
- source the poultry joint or carcass requiring butchery
- choose the correct knives and ensure they are sharp, clean and suitable for purpose
- check availability of storage areas for final product and waste materials
- produce cuts, joints or dressed carcasses of poultry that adhere to organisational specification
- carry out butchery in a timely way maintaining pace of butchery if appropriate
- minimise waste when producing cuts of poultry
- check cuts are available for storage or next stage of process
- clean personal protective equipment, work area, tools and equipment according to organisational procedures
- store waste for disposal according to regulatory and organisational standard procedures
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
- how to access organisational procedures
- the organisational and regulatory requirements and procedures that must be adhered to when carrying out butchery of poultry
- the personal protective equipment required to carry out butchery of poultry
- the tools and equipment needed to carry out butchery of poultry
- why it is important to have clean personal protective equipment, work area, tools and equipment
- the importance of allergen control
- the importance of temperature control
- the importance of precision cutting in poultry butchery, including yields and margin control
- the specific knives used in poultry butchery
- how to use the specific knives used in poultry butchery
- why it is important to use the correct knife for each cutting specification
- how to access the organisational quality and yield specifications for specific cuts of poultry and why it is important to adhere to them when carrying out poultry butchery
- the typical cuts and joints possible from poultry carcasses
- why string is commonly used in the presentation of meat and how this process is carried out
- how to dress a whole chicken, turkey, duck, goose, rabbit or hare for wholesale or retail sale
- how to utilise continental butchery to produce cuts of poultry
- the importance of keeping waste to a minimum, its effect on yield and the economic value of the carcass
- the edible offal cuts from poultry and how they are butchered for sale
- the inedible by-products from poultry and how they can be utilised
- how to dispose of waste from poultry processing according to organisational and legal and regulatory requirements
- the limits of your own authority and competence and why it is important to work within those limits
- what recording, reporting and communication is needed, how to carry this out and the reasons why it is important to do so